Treasurer stops Patrick price hike

Australia’s New South Wales (NSW) Treasurer and Minister for Ports Eric Roozendaal, has announced that he will be regulating freight prices in response to Port Botany stevedore Patrick increasing its rail handling charges by 67%.

“The NSW Government has a very clear commitment to moving 40% of freight by rail and I will not allow this to be compromised,” said Roozendaal. “Government and industry have been working hard for more than two years to provide certainty, fairness and equity for all elements of the supply chain and I will not allow Patrick to side-line those efforts. The prospect of having thousands of extra trucks on our roads because of Patrick’s price rise is simply unacceptable. This is monopolistic behaviour [and] I will be regulating prices to ensure fairness – and to keep freight on rail,” he added.

Roozendaal said that Patrick’s decision to increase rail handling charges on September 1, 2010 from A$15 to A$25 per container follows the announcement in April 2010 by the NSW Government of a penalty regime for road operations. Both stevedores and truck carriers now face penalties if they do not meet operating benchmarks.

“Patrick was fully aware that stevedore handling charges for both road and rail operations are already incorporated into existing shipping line contracts with the respective port stevedore and Patrick is implementing fees of this magnitude for a service which is already being paid for by the shipping lines and ultimately, the cargo owner,” Roozendaal explained.

Roozendaal added that that the NSW Government has been working with industry on the Port Botany Landside Improvement Strategy (PBLIS) to improve the efficiency of landside operations by introducing fairness, equity and certainty for all users of Port Botany. “Patrick has decided to act outside the spirit of this, increasing prices and effectively holding everyone to ransom. There is no justification for a new rail handling charge: it will force more trucks onto our roads and that is why I will be regulating prices,” he said.
(Source:www.container-mag.com)