The Claim
“Gave permission to a shipping company operating only in Australian waters to sack their Australian crew and hire foreigners for $2 an hour.”
Original Sources Provided
✅ FACTUAL VERIFICATION
The SMH article from February 5, 2016 documents a real incident where Australian crew members were removed from the bulk alumina carrier CSL Melbourne (chartered by Pacific Aluminium, a Rio Tinto subsidiary) and replaced with foreign crew [1]. This occurred on February 5, 2016, when "about 18 police came on board and ordered us to leave," according to crew member Jason Donnellan [1]. This was the second such incident in a month - the MV Portland (operated by Alcoa) had similar crew replacements on January 13, 2016 [1].
The claim that foreign crews were paid "$2 an hour" reflects union estimates. The Maritime Union of Australia stated they were "paid as little as $2 an hour," and this figure appears in multiple sources referencing this controversy [1]. However, expert fact-checking indicates this $2 figure typically refers to US$2 per hour and reflects foreign minimum wages in countries like the Philippines or India, not wages actually paid in Australian waters under Australian law [2].
Critically, the claim states the Coalition government "gave permission" to sack these crews. According to Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss in the SMH article, the "temporary coastal licences" that permitted these crew replacements "were part of Labor's shipping rules introduced in 2012" [1]. Truss explicitly stated: "The special licences could be issued in the event that no Australian operators were seeking to carry the cargo, 'and that's exactly what happened in this situation'" [1].
The SMH article notes: "Both Alcoa and Pacific Aluminium have recently gained 'temporary coastal licences' from the Federal Government, allowing them to replace their ships with foreign-flagged vessels and foreign crews" [1]. While the Coalition government did issue these temporary coastal licences to these companies in 2015-2016, the legal framework enabling them originated under Labor's 2012 shipping reforms [1].
Missing Context
The claim presents this as a Coalition initiative, but the legislative foundation was established by the Labor government. The SMH article includes Truss's statement that "the temporary coastal licences that permit the use of foreign-crewed ships for domestic voyages were part of Labor's shipping rules introduced in 2012" [1]. This is a critical omission from the claim.
Additionally, the Senate had specifically rejected Coalition legislation in late 2015 that would have further deregulated Australia's coastal shipping routes [1]. The temporary coastal licences were issued under existing Labor-era legislation that allowed such exceptions when "no Australian operators were seeking to carry the cargo" [1]. The alumina companies (Rio Tinto's Pacific Aluminium and Alcoa) were moving these operations internationally because Australian shipping was uncompetitive - a problem the Coalition attributed to the decline of the industry under Labor [1].
The claim omits that Australian crew members were actually engaged in unlawful industrial action. The CSL company spokesman stated the crew "was removed after refusing to comply with orders made by the Fair Work Commission and the Federal Court this week for each worker to end the unlawful industrial action" [1]. Crew members were not simply dismissed without legal process - they had been ordered by courts to cease their action.
Context about the wage disparity is also missing: foreign seafarers earning $2 an hour represents their home country wages, not what they were actually paid while working in Australian waters. Australian employment law would apply different requirements [2].
Source Credibility Assessment
The original source is the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH), a mainstream Australian newspaper with a center-left editorial position. The SMH article is factually accurate in documenting the actual incidents - police removal, crew replacement, and the role of temporary coastal licences. However, the article frames this as a government-enabled action that displaced Australian workers, with union quotes emphasizing the negative aspects [1].
Critically, the SMH article itself includes Truss's rebuttal stating that the temporary coastal licences were "part of Labor's shipping rules introduced in 2012" [1]. The original source actually contains the context that undermines the claim's framing.
The Maritime Union of Australia, quoted extensively in coverage, is the union representing affected workers and has an obvious vested interest in opposing crew replacements [1]. Union claims about "$2 an hour" wages, while widely reported, conflate overseas wage costs with actual Australian conditions.
Balanced Perspective
The criticism is valid but incomplete:
The Coalition government did issue temporary coastal licences to Alcoa and Pacific Aluminium that enabled crew replacements with lower-wage foreign workers. This was done in early 2016, and the practical effect was exactly as stated - Australian crews were removed and foreign crews replaced them [1]. The use of police to remove protesting workers was dramatic and controversial [1].
However, the government's position was that:
- The temporary coastal licence framework came from Labor's 2012 legislation, not Coalition creation [1]
- The licences were only available when "no Australian operators were seeking to carry the cargo" [1]
- The companies were making legitimate economic decisions in the face of uncompetitive Australian shipping costs
- This reflected an existing industry problem - Australian shipping was already in decline, making these companies unable to competitively operate ships with Australian crews on domestic routes [1]
The Coalition had actually proposed more comprehensive deregulation of coastal shipping in 2015, but the Senate rejected this [1]. The temporary licences were a more limited approach operating under Labor's existing framework.
The underlying issue is structural: Australian shipping became uncompetitive globally, making it impossible for companies to profitably operate with Australian crews on domestic routes. Both major parties struggled with this problem. The Coalition's Deputy PM's framing was that Labor had "left Australian shipping uncompetitive," but this was a long-term industry decline, not solely attributable to either government [1].
Key context: The claim presents this as a Coalition decision to "give permission," but it was more accurately the Coalition exercising existing Labor-era powers to issue temporary exceptions when no Australian operators were viable. The real issue - uncompetitive Australian shipping - was a pre-existing problem inherited from earlier years.
PARTIALLY TRUE
6.0
out of 10
The core facts are accurate: the Coalition government did issue temporary coastal licences that allowed these companies to replace Australian crew with foreign workers. However, the claim misleadingly attributes this to Coalition policy when the legal framework originated with Labor's 2012 shipping reforms [1]. The claim omits that these licences were only available when no Australian operators were available, and that the underlying problem was the decline of Australian maritime competitiveness that predated the Coalition's term [1]. While the Coalition did issue the licences, presenting this as evidence of deliberate policy to "give permission" for crew replacement obscures that this was an application of pre-existing Labor legislation to a structural industry problem.
Final Score
6.0
OUT OF 10
PARTIALLY TRUE
The core facts are accurate: the Coalition government did issue temporary coastal licences that allowed these companies to replace Australian crew with foreign workers. However, the claim misleadingly attributes this to Coalition policy when the legal framework originated with Labor's 2012 shipping reforms [1]. The claim omits that these licences were only available when no Australian operators were available, and that the underlying problem was the decline of Australian maritime competitiveness that predated the Coalition's term [1]. While the Coalition did issue the licences, presenting this as evidence of deliberate policy to "give permission" for crew replacement obscures that this was an application of pre-existing Labor legislation to a structural industry problem.
📚 SOURCES & CITATIONS (2)
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1
Armed police remove ship's Australian crew, escort replacements aboard
For the second time in a month local seamen have been forcibly taken off ships operated by aluminium companies, and replaced by low-paid, foreign seafarers.
The Sydney Morning Herald -
2
FactCheck Q&A: can foreign seafarers be paid $2 an hour to work in Australian waters under laws passed by Labor?
On Q&A, an unemployed merchant seafarer said Australian seafarers could replaced by foreign seafarers working on 457 visas, working for as little as $2 an hour. We check the facts.
The Conversation
Rating Scale Methodology
1-3: FALSE
Factually incorrect or malicious fabrication.
4-6: PARTIAL
Some truth but context is missing or skewed.
7-9: MOSTLY TRUE
Minor technicalities or phrasing issues.
10: ACCURATE
Perfectly verified and contextually fair.
Methodology: Ratings are determined through cross-referencing official government records, independent fact-checking organizations, and primary source documents.