Cut the red tape on trade

All too often the gap between thought and practice results in wild inefficiencies or added costs that have us all scratching our heads and wondering who could come up with this sort of stuff.

This is exactly where we find ourselves with our ports at the moment, and it was a pretty big topic of conversation and debate at our recent annual conference.

Here in NSW we have three ports, each with its own advantages and disadvantages, but one of them is being artificially restricted and the end result is that it's costing farmers and the nation serious money.

Our farmers in NSW produce more than $17 billion worth of food and fibre every year, or around 25 per cent of total national production, and contribute significantly to the state's total exports.

Data from the NSW Department of Primary Industries shows primary industries exports increased by 17pc to $6.6 billion in 2020-21.

Agricultural industries are an economic dynamo driving our state and our nation forward, but like any machine if one part isn't working properly the whole thing suffers and productivity is lost.

The Port of Newcastle has been limited to a certain amount of container freight each year because of a deal done by bureaucrats. And when you compare Newcastle to Botany, the differences are stark.

Botany is at the eastern end of the country's biggest city, it can't take big trains and requires trucks to haul containers along Sydney's congested roads.

Newcastle, meanwhile, has excellent rail links that don't cut through suburbia, but it's not allowed to operate at full capacity because of - you guessed it - pointless theories, restrictions and red tape.

Which is sad because it could save farmers up to $22/tonne on rail freight, or $2.8 billion over the next 30 years.

Allowing the Port of Newcastle to increase its export potential would make a big difference for farmers, the state and the nation.