21 March 2023
Newcastle Port users also paying for botched privatisation
Today’s revelation by the NSW Treasurer of a significant taxpayer liability relating to the 2014 privatisation of the Port of Newcastle is further evidence of the risks involved when critical infrastructure is sold by governments without adequate safeguards.
Documents to be tabled by the Treasurer in NSW Parliament today are set to reveal taxpayers face a liability of up to $4.3 billion as a result of the previous privatisation of key ports in NSW, including the Port of Newcastle.
Despite being an critical economic asset for NSW, the 2014 sale of the Port of Newcastle failed to include adequate protections for Port users.
While this may have helped maximise the sale price at the time, it also resulted in significant price increases for users of the Port of Newcastle ever since.
This is because the sale of the Port turned it into a privately owned, unregulated monopoly, without any oversight of the charges it can impose upon its users.
The Port has since used this power to repeatedly increase its charges.
Since the privatisation in 2014, Navigation Service Charges at the Port have tripled.
Wharfage Charges at the Port are now also set to triple for all Port users, including for container movements, and will soon be five times higher at the Port than in 2014.
The Wharfage Charge for coal exporters at the Port will also soon be three times higher than similar wharfage charges at comparable Queensland coal loading ports.
Over the last decade, the ACCC has repeatedly expressed concerns over the monopoly status of the Port of Newcastle. The ACCC continues to seek regulatory changes to ensure pricing at the Port is appropriately monitored.
Changes are needed to ensure the Port of Newcastle is subject to regulatory oversight in relation to the charges it imposes on its users now, and in the future.
ENDS Brad Emery | NSW Minerals Council | bemery@nswmining.com.au | 0450620254