MORE than 200 Tasmanian seafarers are facing the axe if reforms to federal shipping laws take effect, according to the Maritime Union of Australia. Tasmanian Greens senator Nick McKim has vowed to fight against the "unfair, job-destroying" laws aimed at deregulating the shipping industry. But the Infrastructure Minister's office has argued that by making coastal shipping more competitive, the Commonwealth is supporting the generation of more jobs in Tasmania's key export industries. The federal government has a bill before Parliament to deregulate the industry, which would pave the way for foreign-flagged ships to spend more time in Australian waters. The legislation has sparked fears Australian seafarers will be replaced with foreign workers, prompting more than 100 Australian Maritime College students to urge the Prime Minister to abandon the proposed laws. In response to a Senate inquiry into the legislation, the MUA said 382 jobs would be lost across Bass Strait. The union claimed about 230 of these jobs would be shed in Tasmania, with the balance to be lost in Victoria and other mainland states. The MUA estimated almost 2000 seafarers would be sacked across the country if the legislation was passed. Senator McKim said the figures confirmed the heartless and disastrous effect of the coastal shipping laws. "More than 200 workers are now facing the sack, and for that they can thank the Liberal members for Bass, Braddon and Lyons, as well as their mates in the Senate," Mr McKim said. "Caltex cutting jobs in Devonport was just the tip of the iceberg. This government is taking the axe to Australian workers' jobs and ruining the conditions for the workers who are left." However, a spokesman for Infrastructure Minister Warren Truss said the projected job losses were significantly overestimated and ignored wider economic benefits. "Labor's reforms have failed coastal shipping and unless we act now, businesses relying on coastal shipping will be sunk and the government fears that the Australian industry will just continue its decline," he said. "By making coastal shipping more competitive, the government is supporting growth and the expansion of jobs in Tasmania's manufacturing, mining, horticultural and agricultural industries."
Tasmanian Greens senator Nick McKim has vowed to fight against the "unfair, job-destroying" laws aimed at deregulating the shipping industry.
MORE than 200 Tasmanian seafarers are facing the axe if reforms to federal shipping laws take effect, according to the Maritime Union of Australia.
Tasmanian Greens senator Nick McKim has vowed to fight against the "unfair, job-destroying" laws aimed at deregulating the shipping industry.
But the Infrastructure Minister's office has argued that by making coastal shipping more competitive, the Commonwealth is supporting the generation of more jobs in Tasmania's key export industries.
The federal government has a bill before Parliament to deregulate the industry, which would pave the way for foreign-flagged ships to spend more time in Australian waters.
The legislation has sparked fears Australian seafarers will be replaced with foreign workers, prompting more than 100 Australian Maritime College students to urge the Prime Minister to abandon the proposed laws.
In response to a Senate inquiry into the legislation, the MUA said 382 jobs would be lost across Bass Strait.
The union claimed about 230 of these jobs would be shed in Tasmania, with the balance to be lost in Victoria and other mainland states.
The MUA estimated almost 2000 seafarers would be sacked across the country if the legislation was passed.
Senator McKim said the figures confirmed the heartless and disastrous effect of the coastal shipping laws.
"More than 200 workers are now facing the sack, and for that they can thank the Liberal members for Bass, Braddon and Lyons, as well as their mates in the Senate," Mr McKim said.
"Caltex cutting jobs in Devonport was just the tip of the iceberg. This government is taking the axe to Australian workers' jobs and ruining the conditions for the workers who are left."
However, a spokesman for Infrastructure Minister Warren Truss said the projected job losses were significantly overestimated and ignored wider economic benefits.
"Labor's reforms have failed coastal shipping and unless we act now, businesses relying on coastal shipping will be sunk and the government fears that the Australian industry will just continue its decline," he said.
"By making coastal shipping more competitive, the government is supporting growth and the expansion of jobs in Tasmania's manufacturing, mining, horticultural and agricultural industries."
