Excessive costs in the processing and transport sectors and an antiquated industrial relations system have held back the full potential of Australia's processed foods and canned foods industries. The Government's Domestic Reform Program Let me assure you that this Government is committed to achieving substantial, real reforms to our domestic economy. At the microeconomic level, the Government is determined to improve Australia's productivity over the long term, through improved efficiencies in key infrastructure sectors, like the waterfront and transport and communications. It is no secret that productivity on the Australian waterfront remains far below international best practice. It is in fact slipping behind even further.
Performance is no better than it was four years ago.
Meanwhile our competitors in New Zealand achieve around 25 TEUs per hour, and in some other countries, port crews can handle 40 or 50 TEUs per hour. The bottom line is that Australia's best performing ports are the equivalent to New Zealand's worst performing ports. The Government will also be encouraging states to privatise the non-core functions of their port authorities, because overseas experience shows that privatising port services leads to greater efficiencies and lower costs. The aim of the game is to give waterfront operators the ability to manage their enterprises on a sound commercial basis. Changes such as these will be fundamental to bringing Australian ports into line with internationally competitive practice.