THE Australian Government has continued an extension for cruise ships under the Coastal Trading Act until 31 Dec 2026, maintaining an existing arrangement allowing foreign-flagged vessels to carry passengers between local ports (CW breaking news).
The extension, which was set to expire at the end of the year, provides clarity for cruise lines and the Australian tourism industry on the operations of ships for the next two years.
There had been no decision made on the extension as recently as Jun (CW 14 Jun), when CW learned a review into the Act by Minister for Transport Catherine King had yet to begin.
The extension was welcomed by Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), which had been advocating strongly regarding the Act’s extension.
“The Australian Government has continued an exemption to the Coastal Trading Act, which maintains existing arrangements and means eligible cruise lines can continue to operate between Australian ports.
“The exemption is an important regulatory provision in Australia and supports cruise operations worth more than $5.6 billion a year to communities around the coast,” the CLIA statement said.
“Cruise ships made almost 1,400 port calls around Australia in 2022-23, creating an economic impact that supports more than 18,000 Australian jobs.”
This year’s extension announcement has fortuitously come earlier than 2023’s, when the industry was kept waiting until the 11th hour (CW 14 Dec), with King delaying a decision until just weeks before its expiration.
The anticlimactic announcement also saw the exemption only granted for an extra 12 months, as opposed to the prior five-year waiver issued in 2018, and this year’s two-year extension.
The next item on the Government’s docket is the upcoming wholesale review of the Coastal Trading Act, with a view to creating longer-term regulatory certainty for the cruise industry in Australia.
Regulatory uncertainty has caused significant problems for the local sector, particularly in the wake of the closure of P&O Cruises Australia (CW 04 Jun).
Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy told CW regulatory challenges in Australia were hampering the company’s ability to do business Down Under, which played a part in the decision to retire the P&O brand.
“More regulation creates more risk and more cost,” she said. MS