NATIONAL NEWS

Navy in piracy drama

AUSTRALIA was not immune from the threat of piracy and ought to continue to work at an international level to find more effective ways to combat it, European commissioner for maritime affairs Joe Borg said last week.

Tasmanian rail line out for a month

THE TASMANIAN Government is under pressure from quarters as diverse as business and the Greens after another derailment.

New vessel to deliver information

THE LIFT-OUT List section of Australia’s leading source of maritime market information will shift fully online from today.

Forwarders now looking to relief from taxing burden

TWO YEARS of industry struggle over Goods and Services Tax (GST) on delivery duty paid (DDP) and delivery duty unpaid (DDU) shipments and exports could be resolved through last week’s Budget – but not until mid-2010.

Customs hope for more from less with inspections cut back

THE SYSTEMATIC screening to which inbound Australian cargo is subjected has had its successes and inevitably some failures.

ROADS: Trucking says thank you

THE TRUCKING industry has praised the Federal Government’s $3.4bn budget commitment for Australian roads and bonus tax deduction offering.

PORTS: Light but very vital cargo

WESTERN Australia’s Oakajee port project and the port of Darwin have gained a secondary green light from Infrastructure Australia (IA).

CSIRO: wins new research vessel

THE COMMONWEALTH Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has won Budget funding for its new ship.

RAIL: the new government line

AUSTRALASIAN Railway Association chief executive Bryan Nye was “ecstatic” about the change of emphasis in the Federal Government’s rail investment strategy, as revealed in last week’s Budget.

Back on track: the Budget detail

THE MAJOR rail plans for priority spending are:

ALC sees 28 women move forward to logistics graduation

THE AUSTRALIAN Logistics Council (ALC) has celebrated 28 Queensland women graduating in Toowoomba from its second national Women Moving Forward mentoring program.

Australian airfreight imports climb to defy world trends

AUSTRALIA’S airfreight sector defied global trends in March, recording another import surge in a sign that the country is weathering the global economic conditions better than most.

Wage talks set to continue

WAGE talks between Patrick Stevedores parent Asciano and the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) on behalf of Webb Dock workers were continuing this week after industrial action was called off last Thursday night.

QTA in Queensland fuel subsidy backlash

THE QUEENSLAND Trucking Association (QTA) has likened the mooted removal of the state’s 8.354 cents-a-litre fuel subsidy to the imposition of a tax.

Fertile solution to market in process of rapid change

SHIPS can still be expected to call in at Incitec Pivot’s wharf in Geelong following the closure of its single superphosphate (SSP) plant there, a company spokesman said.

Keel clearance advance for Melbourne

THE PORT of Melbourne Corporation was the latest ports body to take up OMC International’s Dynamic Under Keel Clearance (DUKC) technology, the Melbourne maritime engineering firm said on Monday.

Software takes on hard tasks for truckers

A BUSINESS management and accreditation software product is now available for the trucking industry, business and safety management scheme provider TruckSafe said last week.