Mr Albanese has told a shipping industry gathering the former government forgot the role that shipping can play and there needs to be a more integrated approach to bring it in line with road, rail and aviation.

 

He says the profile of the industry needs to be lifted and fixing the country's ports is a top priority for the Government.

 

"The capacity constraints that are there in the ports are in my view, the most stark example of a failure of infrastructure coordination that exists around the nation," he said.