‘Port sector review too narrow’

WELLINGTON’S Centreport has hit back at general criticism that the country has too many ports and the sector is over-invested.

Commenting on a Productivity Commission draft report on international freight, the port said any assessment of the sector had to be viewed through a wider lens than just cargo movements and returns.

In particular, the report had failed to highlight a dramatic surge in freight over the past 20 years without any notable failure.

‘‘Hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested in port infrastructure to support that growth and the increase in the number of container ports can be seen as a positive market response to a critical need.’’

Centreport chief executive Blair O’keeffe acknowledged the commission’s efforts to make sense of the transport sector, saying ‘‘This is no easy task’’. But he believed the report should have highlighted its limited scope, given the complexity of the sector.

Good outcomes were not just about fast turnaround and returns, but competition, speed to market, multiple entry and exit points close to consumers or producers, and a variety of shipping prices and freight options for exporters and importers.

O’keeffe also suggested the report could have looked closer at the port system’s capacity to accommodate both growth and shocks, such as earthquakes, vessel groundings and industrial action. ‘‘Any report on the sector needs a section on risk and supply chain security and how we mitigate it as a nation. Productivity and cost count for little if you cannot get your product to market.’’

The report had focused very much on the present, but it was also important to consider the potential impact of such risks and to take a longer view of investments, some of which had yet to bear fruit.

‘‘More pertinent to our success is what is needed in order to be productive in 20 years’ time. Suggesting that assets are inefficiently deployed as at today is only accurate if the forward view supports that contention.’’

The Productivity Commission is expected to present its final freight report to Parliament on April 1.

A report resulting from its other major inquiry, a review of housing affordability, is due next week.