Supply chain forgotten in insulation fiasco
Supply chain services firms have been left out of pocket having borne the brunt of the Federal Government's swift cancellation of its insulation scheme.
Abrupt cancellation: Supply chain businesses hit hard by end to insulation scheme
Quay Shipping director Darren Dumbledon said his firm faced heavy losses.
Mr Dumbledon expressed fears for small forwarders now saddled with huge debts and unable to claim under the Federal Government's $10m support scheme.
Trade and transport lawyer Andrew Hudson, a partner at law firm Hunt & Hunt, said his firm was acting for a number of parties in the supply chain in seeking financial compensation from the Federal Government.
Mr Dumbledon and Mr Hudson, pointed out that, while the Federal Government had been quick to allow for installer compensation, those in the supply chain had been forgotten.
"We've been left holding the pig," Mr Dumbledon said.
The abrupt cancellation of the scheme has meant that many importers, who had purchased products to sell to installers, now do not want the product and have walked away from their contractual commitments.
"This leaves large numbers of containers filled with insulation being held under Customs’ control, together with other 'cleared' containers full of insulation being held in storage facilities around the country," Mr Hudson said.
"In the overwhelming majority of cases, those providing services in the supply chain (including shippers, freight forwarders and licensed customs brokers) find themselves facing issues such as dealing with those goods trying to get clearance of those goods and payment for those goods from their importer clients."
In a further complication, service providers were now forced to clear goods from Customs’ control by paying GST and customs duty to mitigate losses by moving goods to cheaper storage premises.
Quay had recently re-exported 12 containers that had been sitting in a DP World terminal since November, Mr Dumbledon said.
Actions against importers may take many months and, in many cases, those importers will not have the financial ability to pay any awards made against them.
