A senate committee says the federal government should set up an independent body to monitor the progress of Labor's shipping reforms.
The committee, which examined a suite of bills aimed at revitalising Australia's shipping industry, said a proposed review in five years' time was insufficient.
Instead, it said a monitoring unit should be set up within the Productivity Commission, the federal transport department, or the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics.
"The unit should report regularly, at a minimum annually, to government," the committee said in its report released on Friday.
However, it also said the package of bills, which have already passed the lower house, should be approved by the Senate.
Coalition senators on the committee published a dissenting report, saying the bills shouldn't be passed.
They believe industry concerns have not been adequately addressed and the changes will not stem the decline of Australian shipping.
Source: AAP