Proposed Policy Changes For The Port Of Newcastle

BY JARROD MELMETH

The NSW Government have proposed changes to the Environmental Planning Policy at three Ports across the state.

Planning Minister Anthony Roberts announced yesterday policy changes for NSW's three largest seaports, Newcastle, Botany and Kembla, to streamline their operations.

Mr Roberts said the amendments give the port operators and their tenants the ability to undertake essential, day-to-day development on land within the lease areas more efficiently, subject to compliance with standards.

"Essential maintenance, installation of pollution control measures and other requirements of a working port will be able to be built under the exempt and complying development pathways.

"In addition, we are also protecting our ports from incompatible land-use encroaching on their sites and making it harder to go about their business," Mr Roberts said.

A container terminal at the Port of Newcastle has been a point of contention after it was revealed earlier this year the NSW Government had entered into an agreement meaning that if Newcastle was to build a container terminal, it would have to compensate Port Botany for any containers it handled above a limit of 30,000 a year.

Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald said the proposed changes would ensure Port land is protected for potential future expansion but does not set out provision for the possibility of a container port.

"It will protect the future of the Port of Newcastle. It is the primary bulk commodity port. It is already allowed to move a certain amount of containers as part of the agreement. In the future it means that those uses can continue," Mr MacDonald said.

The Department of Planning is calling on anyone interested in the amendments to review and comment on the proposed changes.

The Port of Newcastle. Image: NSW Mining.

Former Port Waratah Coal Services Supervisors Working as "Strike-breakers"

BY SARAH JAMES

The Maritime Union of Australia is furious that at least two former supervisors of Port Waratah Coal Services are now working as strike-breakers during the industrial dispute at the Port Kembla Coal Terminal.

Long-running tensions regarding their current enterprise agreement came to a head at Port Kembla on Sunday, with more than 60 workers being locked out by the company.

Workers affected by this lockout will have their pay suspended for five days.

This move has drawn criticism from the Maritime Union of Australia, who argue it is ultimately stalling any enterprise agreement negotiations going ahead.

"Going outside and hiring external strike-breaking labour at the end of the day is not beneficial to anybody in finalising an agreement that has any stability going forward," said Deputy President of South Coast Labour Council Garry Keane.

"The workers in that terminal have kept that place going for many years. They've sat down and done numerous enterprise agreements, and they've never come to this situation. They've always been willing to sit down, work out agreements and they still are. But they're not going to do while they've got a gun held to their head that strips back the entitlements of 25 years," he elaborated.

Port Waratah Coal Services

Australia's Future Submarine Fleet could be Calling Newcastle Home

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Newcastle could become the home for Australia's $50 billion future of submarines.

The Daily Telegraph reports both Newcastle and Wollongong's Port Kembla are options on the table for the French-designed Barracuda subs.

Sydney is reportedly too cramped to house the 12 new submarines particularly after the closure of the HMAS Platypus base.

It won't be anytime soon though, the subs aren't expected to be finished until 2030.

Image sbs.com.au