The Australian Government decides that the shipping channel service at a bottleneck port infrastructure will remain unregulated (Port of Newcastle)

In a decision that will be welcomed by many of Australia’s port operators, for the second time in less than two years, the Federal Treasurer has decided that the shipping channel service at the Port of Newcastle should not be regulated. The Treasurer’s decision on 16 February 2021 is in response to an application made by the NSW Minerals Council to the National Competition Council (NCC) on 23 July 2020 for declaration of the shipping channel service at the port under Part IIIA of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) (CCA). The NSW Minerals Council’s application followed the decision by the Treasurer in September 2019 to revoke the declaration of effectively the same service at the port. The NCC provided the Treasurer with its final recommendation on 18 December 2020. The NCC