THE Maritime Union of Australia is urging the Federal Government to urgently repatriate all crew members on board foreign cruise ships, other than those directly responsible for marine operations, to address the growing humanitarian crisis.

With reports that up to 11,000 foreign workers remain on board 11 foreign cruise ships in Australian waters, the union said it was alarmed but unsurprised by the ongoing failure of the industry to help workers return to their home countries.

MUA national secretary and International Transport Workers’ Federation president Paddy Crumlin said the current crisis was the direct result of an international cruise ship industry built on the exploitation of international workers, with vessels registered in tax havens, sailing under flags of convenience, and utilising secretive ownership structures.

“The plight of the thousands of crew members on board foreign cruise ships anchored in Australian waters is an emerging humanitarian crisis that requires immediate government action,” Mr Crumlin said.

“The Australian Government must urgently act to allow the safe repatriation of all crew members not essential for marine operation to their home countries.

“The crew of these ships must be tested for COVID-19, and the ships sterilised under the highest Australian standards, with crew members then allowed to disembark through Australian ports and flown back to their home countries at the expense of their employers.

“All relocation, travel, and medical expenses must be covered by the international cruise companies like P&O, Carnival, and Royal Carribean.

“Not a single cent should be paid by Australian taxpayers to support or bail out these international companies that have spent years using flags of convenience and opaque ownership structures to avoid paying local taxes and exploit workers.”

ITF Australia coordinator Dean Summers said it should now be abundantly clear to all Australians the threat posed by flag of convenience shipping to public health, the economy, environment and national security.

“The current Federal Government’s maritime policies have encouraged the use of flag of convenience vessels in both domestic shipping between states and territories, along with the cruise ship industry,” Mr Summers said.

“These ships have no connection to Australia, other than sourcing huge profits from our community for faceless multinational corporations, while their home ports are in the Caribbean or West Africa.

“At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic is making our country’s supply chains extremely vulnerable, our community is at the mercy of cheap flag of convenience ships registered in countries including Panama, the Bahamas and Liberia to deliver essential food, fuel, and medical supplies.

“It should be abundantly clear to all Australians that flag of convenience shipping is responsible for serious threats to the nation’s health, economy, environment, and national security.”

Mr Crumlin commended Australian-based cruise ship operators like Queensland-based Coral Cruises and West Australian-based True North, saying both had rejected the policies of the former Abbott Government which had encouraged them to abandon Australian registration for their vessels, despite only operating in Australia.

“These cruise ship operators which have chosen to register their vessels in Australia, pay tax here, and employ local workers should be commended,” he said.

“As we start to imagine a future beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, we are urging the Federal Government to ensure the use of ships whose registration has a transparent link to the country of beneficial ownership.”

The MUA is urging the Federal Government to undertake a number of actions in response to the cruise ship crisis, including:

1. All crew, other than those directly responsible for marine operation, on board foreign cruise ships must be repatriated home through Australian ports and airports at the expense of their employers. These ships must be brought alongside crew tested and ships sterilised under the highest Australian standards;
2. That no taxpayer money or in kind support be given to this industry in any form other than to Australian registered and crewed vessels, where needed;
3. The development of a policy to rebuild an Australian merchant fleet under an Australian flag to protect the interests of Australian people; 
4. The development of a policy to further build an Australian cruise ship industry, employing Australian workers and on ships registered in Australia; and
5. That no cabotage exemptions be given to international flag of convenience cruise vessels working around the Australian domestic cruise ship market.

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PROFESSOR Janek Ratnatunga, CEO of the Institute of Certified Management Accountants (ICMA), stated in a paper published on March 31 titled The Financial Modelling Wars: COVID -19 vs. The Economy, that trying to model economic impacts of this global pandemic, based on the experience gained from past virus outbreaks, is fruitless; given the significant errors in the assumptions, and the resultant predictions made in extremely recent econometric models.

“Even though the government has not released the pandemic modelling the Australian Health Protection Committee has used; if the model used in the UK is applicable here, then the extreme measures of social isolation, as those being implemented in Australia, are still inadequate to prevent the health system from being overwhelmed at the ‘peak’ of the epidemic," Prof. Ratnatunga said.

Prof. Ratnatunga’s financial modelling shows that Australia would need a 900 percent increase in ICU beds for two months at a cost of $12 billion. This means from 2,000 beds nationally to 20,000. He said such a boost would cost the government at most only $12 billion.  

Given that the Australian Government is spending $130 billion to keep the economy in ‘hibernation’ for six months Prof. Ratnatunga believes that this level of expenditure will be comparatively miniscule; especially if the private hospitals and hotels are ‘commandeered’ into the war effort.

“Today’s (April 2) announcement by Premier Daniel Andrews to double Victoria’s ICU Beds and open another 4,000 does not go far enough. Even with a 900 percent boost, it would still mean a significant number of infections, and a dramatic rise in COVID-19 related and non-COVID19 related deaths."

In overwhelmed healthcare systems, lifesaving treatments such as mechanical ventilation have to be rationed by medical professionals, and only offered to those with maximum chance of survival, while others can only receive supportive or palliative care.

Prof. Ratnatunga said, “To prevent such battlefield decisions being made by medical professionals in isolation, governments could reduce the burden of rapid end-of-life decision making required by frontline healthcare workers by offering financial support for well people to remain home, or unwell patients to remain in total isolation at home or other external lodgings."

He also said, in this ‘war’ situation, governments should consider raising awareness about Advanced Care Directives and that broadening access to Voluntary Assisted Dying legislation can also be explored on a temporary basis.

The silver-lining in his paper is that by boosting the number of ICU beds, and offering financial incentives home stay/isolation during the ‘peak’ two months, will enable the Australian economy to come out of hibernation after only three months, saving the government at least $65 billion in worker support costs.

Prof. Ratnatunga concluded that in the longer-term, approaches such as those adopted by the governments in Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore – where the economy is kept open, subject to stringent safety rules, and combined with extensive testing, contact tracing and detailed people tracking – may be the most viable way forward, though challenges may arise in liberal, Western societies.

About Prof. Ratnatunga
Prof. Janek Ratnatunga is the CEO of the Institute of Certified Management Accountants, Australia. He has held senior appointments at the University of South Australia, Monash University, University of Melbourne, and the Australian National University in Australia; and the Universities of Washington, Richmond and Rhode Island in the US. Prior to his academic career he worked as a chartered accountant with KPMG. He has also been a consultant to many large Australian and international companies and to the World Bank.

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THE Joint Select Committee on Implementation of the National Redress Scheme will continue with its scheduled public hearings scheduled for Monday 6 April and Wednesday 15 April via teleconference.

The programs for these public hearings will be available on the Committee’s website prior to each hearing.

The full proceedings of these hearings will be broadcast on the Parliament House website.  Anyone interesting in listening can do so via www.aph.gov.au/live.

Date: Monday 6 April 2020
Time: 12pm to 4.15pm (AEST)
Location: via teleconference

Date: Wednesday 15 April 2020
Time: TBC
Location: via teleconference

Interim Report

The Committee intends to produce an interim report on or by 30 April 2020. This report will reflect the evidence received so far by the Committee. It is the Committee’s intention that the report will inform the legislated second anniversary review of the National Redress Scheme which is to commence after 30 June 2020.

The Committee is still accepting submissions and these can be made via the Committee’s website.

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THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell said she was disappointed by reports of big businesses using COVID-19 as an excuse to delay payments to their small business suppliers.

Echoing the Minister for Small and Family Business, Senator Michaelia Cash, Ms Carnell said it was vital large businesses paid their small business suppliers on time, for the sake of the small business as well as the national economy.

“Now is the time for big businesses to do the right thing and be a part of the solution in this very difficult period,” Ms Carnell said.

“Cash flow is always king for small businesses and never more so than now, particularly for small businesses struggling with the ripple-effects of coronavirus.

“That’s why it’s so important for big businesses to step up and pay on time or reduce payment times.

 “We know that by paying small businesses on time, the whole economy benefits.

“Both our Payment Times Inquiry and our Insolvency Practices Inquiry show that cash flow is the leading cause of insolvency.

“It’s been so encouraging to see some big Australian businesses such as Telstra, BHP, Rio Tinto and more recently Woolworths, commit to faster payment times and there’s no reason why others can’t adopt the same practices.

“Any small business experiencing issues with payment times are encouraged to contact my office for assistance.”

www.asbfeo.gov.au

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