Improved enforcement of anti-cartel measures has been cited by Australasian regulatory authorities as a benefit of the newly signed co-operation agreement between the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the NZ Commerce Commission (NZCC).
“With the latest changes permitting the exchange of compulsorily acquired information, we now have what is probably the most complete set of cooperation arrangements in place globally, outside countries that have established cross border enforcers, such as the EU,” said Rod Sims, the ACCC chairman.
“There is now a real potential for joint investigations and an even stronger relationship between the Commerce Commission and ACCC,” said New Zealand’s commerce minister, Craig Foss. “As some forms of anti-competitive behaviour such as cartels extend across borders, the co-operation arrangement will allow the Commerce Commission to assist and be assisted by the ACCC. “This will result in more efficient enforcement of competition and consumer laws, and facilitate positive outcomes for consumers and businesses in both jurisdictions.”
Speaking at a recent Wellington seminar linked to the agreement signing, Sims referred to the driving reasons behind regulators taking action against cartels as well as the criminalisation of cartel conduct in Australia.
“When combined with the ACCC’s immunity policy for cartel conduct, which offers immunity to the first to disclose and cooperate (not dissimilar to the policy employed in New Zealand), there has never been a greater combination of threat and incentive to deter and break open cartels.
“While the ACCC has not seen a significant upturn in cartel immunity approaches since criminalisation, it has seen a change in anxiety about the consequences of cartel behaviour amongst those it deals with.”
The ACCC/NZCC agreement, which is available online, gives effect to New Zealand’s Commerce (International Co-operation, and Fees) Amendment Bill, which passed into law late last year. It allows the NZCC to provide the ACCC with information that has been compulsorily acquired under the Commerce Act, Fair Trading Act, Telecommunications Act, and Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act, subject to specific safeguards.
The provision of protected information from the ACCC to the NZCC already was permitted, with the new arrangement formalising this further. Supply of information is subject to the provisions of section 155AAA of the Competition and Consumer Act.
Cargo 2000’s membership classification analysis shows continued improvements to the quality of air cargo services.
Launched in 2012, Cargo 2000’s Membership Classification process aims to recognise the achievements and commitments of members compared to the previous year and to encourage all members to strive for higher standards of service for their customers.
Members are assessed on results and activities in three key areas: Performance and integrity; process and degree of implementation and contribution to the C2K community. These three main elements are weighted with the highest value placed on contribution to the C2K community.
In 2013, the number of members achieving the highest status - platinum - increased to nine, with Air France Cargo and Delta Air Lines both moving up from the Gold level. In the Gold category, Cargo 2000 has listed 14 members. Four members achieved an improvement over 2012 and moved up to the Gold level: Korean Air Cargo, Martinair, Cargomind and Panalpina.
Iberia improved from member to Silver, joining SAS. The member category includes all remaining C2K partners.
Mattijs ten Brink, chairman of Cargo 2000, said: “In the challenging economic conditions facing the air cargo industry, it would have been easy for companies to take their eye off their quality commitments, but in fact the opposite has been true. In 2012, Cargo 2000 members measured an average of 1.25 million shipments a month to our quality standards, a three per cent increase over 2011 and performance levels remained stable throughout the year. Currently, our membership classification only takes into consideration airline and forwarding members but we are hopeful of extending this to a broader cross section of our membership before the next round of analysis.”
The Australian Federation of International Forwarders (AFIF), in a submission made in response to the NSW Draft Freight and Ports Strategy, pointed to the introduction of off-airport CTO facilities by Qantas Freight and Toll Dnata.
“A by-product of this initiative has been to ease traffic choke points at Sydney Airport with freight forwarders taking delivery of consolidated cargo at off-airport locations in a model that is not too dissimilar to the intermodal terminal concept being promoted in the sea cargo environment,” said the submission.
Noting that the short-term leases on these facilities could be affected by the need for passenger terminal expansion, AFIF said it was “essential that the NSW government and Sydney Airport closely engage with federal statutory authorities, CTOs and freight forwarders as a part of any long term planning to take into account commercial interests, fundamental operational requirements and to co-ordinate overall road management issues.”
SYD okay until 2045? However, responding to the much-publicised Commonwealth Bank report on Sydney Airport capacity, the airport company claimed it was based on flawed assumptions and that the airport had ample capacity to meet forecast demand until at least 2045.
“In particular, the report assumes no changes to the current configuration of the airport, ignoring the fact that Sydney Airport is constantly investing in additional capacity – in excess of A$2 billion has been spent in the last 10 years - and we are consulting with stakeholders on the new vision concept plan, announced in December 2011, that would unlock additional capacity and drive greater efficiency.”
It pointed to increased efficiencies generated by trends in international aviation, with Sydney having become one of the busiest A380 airports in the world.
“We agree that due to outdated regulations, Sydney Airport is under-utilised compared to other international airports. Australia and Sydney would benefit from a fresh look at policies that better reflect the growth in larger, greener and quieter aircraft to replace the existing regulatory settings that were made close to 20 years ago and haven’t kept pace with these changes.”
This year’s annual conference of the Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association of NZ (CBAFF) has a theme of growing international relevance and interest: Supply chain collaboration – the way of the future?
Ensuring that this theme is addressed in some depth, the conference organisers have lined up an impressive array of speakers from New Zealand and Australia.
The program also allows plenty of time for discussion on the question posed in the event’s theme as well as the usual networking and socialising.
The conference will be held at Trinity Wharf, Tauranga, from May 8-10.
CBAFF has departed a little from traditional formats, working with potential delegates, speakers and sponsors to develop a program which they describe as “more inclusive of mutual needs and desired outcomes”. It also features initiatives intended to encourage more participation by younger staff members.
Feedback from recent conferences also indicated the need to align with areas of interest incorporating social media integration, new technology and building business value, strength and capacity.
Consequently, the conference has been divided into sub-themes which include globalisation and the changing world, environmental sustainability, the NZ supply chain, supply chain visibility, supply chain flexibility and supply chain security and risk.
Keynote speaker will be Melbourne-based Dr Hermione Parsons, director of the Institute for Supply Chain and Logistics who has more than 20 years’ public and private sector experience in the management of logistics and supply chains.
Other speakers include Doug Meuross of High-Tech Solutions Australia and Singapore, Paul Campbell from Customs, Roger Smith of the Ministry for Primary Industries, Air NZ Cargo’s Stephen McKeefry, Tony Ponder from Southern Produce, CBAFF president Willie van Heusden, Jane Smith from B2BE, James Lowe of SAP, Peter Stevens of GS1 NZ and Graeme Norton from the 3R Group.
Customs and Border Protection has reacted defensively to a Fairfax Media investigation that claimed CBP personnel have stolen and possibly sold goods that had been seized and which were earmarked for destruction. The investigation also detailed several other alleged internal failings in CBP.
The Fairfax investigation reports suggested that this “exposed extremely haphazard governance within the agency charged with protecting Australia’s borders”.
CBP issued an immediate statement saying it knew all about the allegations, having released the information to Fairfax under the Freedom of Information Act.
Fairfax said it had taken a “two year battle” to get the information from CBP.
“The documents reveal an agency overwhelmed by the threat of organised crime, but they also expose several serious management failures in the organisation’s senior ranks,” said Fairfax, calling for an overhaul of CBP’s internal affairs monitoring and investigations, as well as financial controls as part of an overall review of what has been going on.
The documents detail that from 2007-08 to 2009-10 there were 724 complaints, allegations, issues of concern or incidents reported to and from within CBP, relating to agency staff. But, said Customs, they don’t take into account the “significant improvements” made to CBP’s “defences against corruption and serious misconduct” since 2010.
And said CBP chief executive Mike Pezzullo, he was already planning a management review of the internal professional standards function. This is being discussed with the newly-appointed Customs Reform Board in a bid to establish best practice in this area, he noted.
It was vital the service had a robust and effective integrity framework which was beyond reproach, he agreed. It needed to have the resources and ability to manage disciplinary matters with accountability, better case and records management, stringent checks and balances, enhanced leadership and improved technical skills and vocational standards.
“There is no place in the service for corruption, serious misconduct or fraud. The vast majority of Customs and Border Protection officers are committed to protecting Australia’s borders and our community and are diligent, honest and hard-working.
“I know they, like me, are committed to the highest levels of professionalism and integrity while carrying out our vital role in protecting the country.”
According to the Fairfax investigation, there is a lot of work to be done.
It pointed to one case where an officer was caught in June 2009 removing cigarettes marked for destruction from a detained goods facility. He was fined A$1500, but the whistleblower had told investigators “others may be involved and quantities could be much higher”.
The internal affairs unit identified the problem as a “systemic issue”.
In Queensland at about the same time, said the Fairfax reports, an audit of one of CBP’s Detained Goods Management (DGM) stores revealed a stock shortage of 1200 sticks of tobacco.
A number of CBP officers working in the cargo group were identified by the investigation, with the internal affairs team saying that procedures at the DGM were “extremely haphazard’, characterised by poor supervision and “fraudulent records”.
At one stage CBP investigators were concerned that ammunition and “a variety of associated equipment” might be missing, but this was later attributed to poor management and major accounting errors.
CBP said that the documents released to Fairfax covered a wide range of matters, not solely allegations of criminal or fraudulent conduct. “In many cases they relate to internal disciplinary matters.”
In many of the cases no evidence was found to substantiate the allegation of corruption or serious misconduct, CBP claimed. Other allegations which the investigation described as “substantiated” related to cases where there was no evidence, or insufficient evidence, found of criminal conduct by an officer.
“These matters were referred to the service’s internal human resources area, which at the time had responsibly for managing disciplinary matters including breaches of the Australian Public Service Code of Conduct.”
The results of some internal disciplinary measures cannot now be determined due to subsequent changes in record-keeping methodology and systems.
In 39 cases, officers were found to be in breach of the APS code and were subject to administrative action, including loss of salary. Another five cases resulted in prosecution action. CBP stresses that it should be kept in mind that in many cases the report of concern was generated from within the agency, which it construed as “evidence of a strong reporting culture”.
In January 2011, CBP came under the jurisdiction of the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity (ACLEI). All allegations of corruption or serious conduct are now notified to ACLEI for consideration and possible investigation.
This has already resulted in the arrest of four officers for alleged serious offences related to their work at Sydney Airport, while others are facing serious internal disciplinary action. And CBP pointed to the new legislation introduced late last year which gave the service additional powers to strengthen its integrity framework.
Improved enforcement of anti-cartel measures has been cited by Australasian regulatory authorities as a benefit of the newly signed co-operation agreement between the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the NZ Commerce Commission (NZCC).
“With the latest changes permitting the exchange of compulsorily acquired information, we now have what is probably the most complete set of cooperation arrangements in place globally, outside countries that have established cross border enforcers, such as the EU,” said Rod Sims, the ACCC chairman.
“There is now a real potential for joint investigations and an even stronger relationship between the Commerce Commission and ACCC,” said New Zealand’s commerce minister, Craig Foss. “As some forms of anti-competitive behaviour such as cartels extend across borders, the co-operation arrangement will allow the Commerce Commission to assist and be assisted by the ACCC. “This will result in more efficient enforcement of competition and consumer laws, and facilitate positive outcomes for consumers and businesses in both jurisdictions.”
Speaking at a recent Wellington seminar linked to the agreement signing, Sims referred to the driving reasons behind regulators taking action against cartels as well as the criminalisation of cartel conduct in Australia.
“When combined with the ACCC’s immunity policy for cartel conduct, which offers immunity to the first to disclose and cooperate (not dissimilar to the policy employed in New Zealand), there has never been a greater combination of threat and incentive to deter and break open cartels.
“While the ACCC has not seen a significant upturn in cartel immunity approaches since criminalisation, it has seen a change in anxiety about the consequences of cartel behaviour amongst those it deals with.”
The ACCC/NZCC agreement, which is available online, gives effect to New Zealand’s Commerce (International Co-operation, and Fees) Amendment Bill, which passed into law late last year. It allows the NZCC to provide the ACCC with information that has been compulsorily acquired under the Commerce Act, Fair Trading Act, Telecommunications Act, and Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act, subject to specific safeguards.
The provision of protected information from the ACCC to the NZCC already was permitted, with the new arrangement formalising this further. Supply of information is subject to the provisions of section 155AAA of the Competition and Consumer Act.
Cargo 2000’s membership classification analysis shows continued improvements to the quality of air cargo services.
Launched in 2012, Cargo 2000’s Membership Classification process aims to recognise the achievements and commitments of members compared to the previous year and to encourage all members to strive for higher standards of service for their customers.
Members are assessed on results and activities in three key areas: Performance and integrity; process and degree of implementation and contribution to the C2K community. These three main elements are weighted with the highest value placed on contribution to the C2K community.
In 2013, the number of members achieving the highest status - platinum - increased to nine, with Air France Cargo and Delta Air Lines both moving up from the Gold level. In the Gold category, Cargo 2000 has listed 14 members. Four members achieved an improvement over 2012 and moved up to the Gold level: Korean Air Cargo, Martinair, Cargomind and Panalpina.
Iberia improved from member to Silver, joining SAS. The member category includes all remaining C2K partners.
Mattijs ten Brink, chairman of Cargo 2000, said: “In the challenging economic conditions facing the air cargo industry, it would have been easy for companies to take their eye off their quality commitments, but in fact the opposite has been true. In 2012, Cargo 2000 members measured an average of 1.25 million shipments a month to our quality standards, a three per cent increase over 2011 and performance levels remained stable throughout the year. Currently, our membership classification only takes into consideration airline and forwarding members but we are hopeful of extending this to a broader cross section of our membership before the next round of analysis.”
The Australian Federation of International Forwarders (AFIF), in a submission made in response to the NSW Draft Freight and Ports Strategy, pointed to the introduction of off-airport CTO facilities by Qantas Freight and Toll Dnata.
“A by-product of this initiative has been to ease traffic choke points at Sydney Airport with freight forwarders taking delivery of consolidated cargo at off-airport locations in a model that is not too dissimilar to the intermodal terminal concept being promoted in the sea cargo environment,” said the submission.
Noting that the short-term leases on these facilities could be affected by the need for passenger terminal expansion, AFIF said it was “essential that the NSW government and Sydney Airport closely engage with federal statutory authorities, CTOs and freight forwarders as a part of any long term planning to take into account commercial interests, fundamental operational requirements and to co-ordinate overall road management issues.”
SYD okay until 2045? However, responding to the much-publicised Commonwealth Bank report on Sydney Airport capacity, the airport company claimed it was based on flawed assumptions and that the airport had ample capacity to meet forecast demand until at least 2045.
“In particular, the report assumes no changes to the current configuration of the airport, ignoring the fact that Sydney Airport is constantly investing in additional capacity – in excess of A$2 billion has been spent in the last 10 years - and we are consulting with stakeholders on the new vision concept plan, announced in December 2011, that would unlock additional capacity and drive greater efficiency.”
It pointed to increased efficiencies generated by trends in international aviation, with Sydney having become one of the busiest A380 airports in the world.
“We agree that due to outdated regulations, Sydney Airport is under-utilised compared to other international airports. Australia and Sydney would benefit from a fresh look at policies that better reflect the growth in larger, greener and quieter aircraft to replace the existing regulatory settings that were made close to 20 years ago and haven’t kept pace with these changes.”
This year’s annual conference of the Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association of NZ (CBAFF) has a theme of growing international relevance and interest: Supply chain collaboration – the way of the future?
Ensuring that this theme is addressed in some depth, the conference organisers have lined up an impressive array of speakers from New Zealand and Australia.
The program also allows plenty of time for discussion on the question posed in the event’s theme as well as the usual networking and socialising.
The conference will be held at Trinity Wharf, Tauranga, from May 8-10.
CBAFF has departed a little from traditional formats, working with potential delegates, speakers and sponsors to develop a program which they describe as “more inclusive of mutual needs and desired outcomes”. It also features initiatives intended to encourage more participation by younger staff members.
Feedback from recent conferences also indicated the need to align with areas of interest incorporating social media integration, new technology and building business value, strength and capacity.
Consequently, the conference has been divided into sub-themes which include globalisation and the changing world, environmental sustainability, the NZ supply chain, supply chain visibility, supply chain flexibility and supply chain security and risk.
Keynote speaker will be Melbourne-based Dr Hermione Parsons, director of the Institute for Supply Chain and Logistics who has more than 20 years’ public and private sector experience in the management of logistics and supply chains.
Other speakers include Doug Meuross of High-Tech Solutions Australia and Singapore, Paul Campbell from Customs, Roger Smith of the Ministry for Primary Industries, Air NZ Cargo’s Stephen McKeefry, Tony Ponder from Southern Produce, CBAFF president Willie van Heusden, Jane Smith from B2BE, James Lowe of SAP, Peter Stevens of GS1 NZ and Graeme Norton from the 3R Group.
Customs and Border Protection has reacted defensively to a Fairfax Media investigation that claimed CBP personnel have stolen and possibly sold goods that had been seized and which were earmarked for destruction. The investigation also detailed several other alleged internal failings in CBP.
The Fairfax investigation reports suggested that this “exposed extremely haphazard governance within the agency charged with protecting Australia’s borders”.
CBP issued an immediate statement saying it knew all about the allegations, having released the information to Fairfax under the Freedom of Information Act.
Fairfax said it had taken a “two year battle” to get the information from CBP.
“The documents reveal an agency overwhelmed by the threat of organised crime, but they also expose several serious management failures in the organisation’s senior ranks,” said Fairfax, calling for an overhaul of CBP’s internal affairs monitoring and investigations, as well as financial controls as part of an overall review of what has been going on.
The documents detail that from 2007-08 to 2009-10 there were 724 complaints, allegations, issues of concern or incidents reported to and from within CBP, relating to agency staff. But, said Customs, they don’t take into account the “significant improvements” made to CBP’s “defences against corruption and serious misconduct” since 2010.
And said CBP chief executive Mike Pezzullo, he was already planning a management review of the internal professional standards function. This is being discussed with the newly-appointed Customs Reform Board in a bid to establish best practice in this area, he noted.
It was vital the service had a robust and effective integrity framework which was beyond reproach, he agreed. It needed to have the resources and ability to manage disciplinary matters with accountability, better case and records management, stringent checks and balances, enhanced leadership and improved technical skills and vocational standards.
“There is no place in the service for corruption, serious misconduct or fraud. The vast majority of Customs and Border Protection officers are committed to protecting Australia’s borders and our community and are diligent, honest and hard-working.
“I know they, like me, are committed to the highest levels of professionalism and integrity while carrying out our vital role in protecting the country.”
According to the Fairfax investigation, there is a lot of work to be done.
It pointed to one case where an officer was caught in June 2009 removing cigarettes marked for destruction from a detained goods facility. He was fined A$1500, but the whistleblower had told investigators “others may be involved and quantities could be much higher”.
The internal affairs unit identified the problem as a “systemic issue”.
In Queensland at about the same time, said the Fairfax reports, an audit of one of CBP’s Detained Goods Management (DGM) stores revealed a stock shortage of 1200 sticks of tobacco.
A number of CBP officers working in the cargo group were identified by the investigation, with the internal affairs team saying that procedures at the DGM were “extremely haphazard’, characterised by poor supervision and “fraudulent records”.
At one stage CBP investigators were concerned that ammunition and “a variety of associated equipment” might be missing, but this was later attributed to poor management and major accounting errors.
CBP said that the documents released to Fairfax covered a wide range of matters, not solely allegations of criminal or fraudulent conduct. “In many cases they relate to internal disciplinary matters.”
In many of the cases no evidence was found to substantiate the allegation of corruption or serious misconduct, CBP claimed. Other allegations which the investigation described as “substantiated” related to cases where there was no evidence, or insufficient evidence, found of criminal conduct by an officer.
“These matters were referred to the service’s internal human resources area, which at the time had responsibly for managing disciplinary matters including breaches of the Australian Public Service Code of Conduct.”
The results of some internal disciplinary measures cannot now be determined due to subsequent changes in record-keeping methodology and systems.
In 39 cases, officers were found to be in breach of the APS code and were subject to administrative action, including loss of salary. Another five cases resulted in prosecution action. CBP stresses that it should be kept in mind that in many cases the report of concern was generated from within the agency, which it construed as “evidence of a strong reporting culture”.
In January 2011, CBP came under the jurisdiction of the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity (ACLEI). All allegations of corruption or serious conduct are now notified to ACLEI for consideration and possible investigation.
This has already resulted in the arrest of four officers for alleged serious offences related to their work at Sydney Airport, while others are facing serious internal disciplinary action. And CBP pointed to the new legislation introduced late last year which gave the service additional powers to strengthen its integrity framework.
