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The number of containers handled by Australian seaports has quadrupled over the past two decades. This has posed major difficulties for community and businesses. Knowing the projected demand, the need for disruption-free and reliable land corridors is of emerging importance. This paper first aims to establish a transparent image of the role of rail in the Australian port-based container flows and, second, to empirically identify the key impediments to the competitiveness of rail in this market. To achieve the second objective, a survey was distributed among Australian ports and key container stevedores. This paper identifies that despite the significant growth in the container volumes, rail’s share in the land-based movement of this traffic was small, principally due to lower service levels. The analysis indicated that inadequacy of intermodal infrastructure is a key impediment for the use of rail, followed by poor interoperability and shortage of below-rail infrastructure. This paper concludes with important recommendation for government and industry to make informed infrastructure planning and investment decision. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines the infrastructure charges of seaports and port pricing policies in Australia and New Zealand. Its analysis covers 40 seaports and takes into account their administrative roles as well as geographical factors. An analysis of the effectiveness of port pricing policies and their relationship with port reforms is also conducted. The paper finds the existence of disparities in the growth rates of port infrastructure tariffs across ports in both countries. Port infrastructure tariffs have grown considerably over the study period, but at different rates. Port pricing policies also vary substantially across the states and between the two countries, notwithstanding the fact that the ports have different traffic volumes. Infrastructure pricing practice is affected by port reform and administrative regime. While corporatised ports appear to have high growth rates of their infrastructure charges, commercialised and privatised ports tend to maintain lower growth rates of infrastructure tariffs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Asset ownership is a significant cost to Fremantle Ports and developing a best practice strategic asset management (SAM) framework that provides a simple, logical and innovative approach for optimising the whole of life cycle cost of asset delivery in meeting the agreed levels of service and risk exposure has been a corporate priority over the past years. With the development and implementation of the SAM framework well underway, Fremantle Ports now focuses on the integration of asset management practices across the business, from operational through to tactical and strategic planning. A pilot project has been proposed to assess and improve asset management practices across one of Fremantle Ports' most critical asset classes, the wharves and jetties. This paper reviews the findings and challenges of this project and the various tools that were developed, including a life cycle cost model. This model is based on asset condition and related deterioration curves that allow for the estimation of remaining life. In addition, the model enables the selection of most cost effective rehabilitation strategies while considering risk profile and available funding, assisting Fremantle Ports in optimising the decision making process by providing an actual and an optimised life cycle cost plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the performance of two alkali-activated concretes (AACs) subjected to marine exposure for 2 years. The AACs were synthesized from a low-calcium Class F fly ash (FA) and a blast-furnace slag. Concrete specimens were exposed in a marine environment in a port facility in southern Australia for 2 years. The specimens were subject to a range of nondestructive testing (NDT) techniques, including resistivity, Schmidt hammer, and ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) tests. In addition, chloride diffusion coefficients were calculated from concrete cores taken from specimens exposed in the marine environment. Microscopy analysis was undertaken using Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and comparative data were taken on laboratory specimens at 28 days. Furthermore, the chloride diffusion coefficients were compared with the results of standard laboratory tests undertaken on the control samples at 28 days, including rapid chloride permeability testing (RCPT) using a 10-V driving voltage, an NT Build 492 test, and a bulk diffusion test, to determine the relationship between the 28-day laboratory tests results and the site performance. The data showed good correlation between the predicted performance based on the 28 day laboratory tests and the 2-year site data. The chloride diffusion of the ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) concrete agreed very accurately with the predicted value from the modified RCPT test, whereas the performance of FA concrete was superior to that predicted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Free-roaming cats in urban areas frequently cause complaints. In Australia, cats are classed as domestic or feral depending on how and where they live, with cat management practices varying depending on the cats' classification. Cats classified as feral can be managed, when considered appropriate by authorities, by shooting them. In 2020, this approach was employed to manage urban cats being fed daily by cat caregivers. This qualitative study aimed to document the lived experience of these cat caregivers to understand their motivations for caregiving and their relationships with these cats. A secondary aim was to explore caregiver perceptions of the lethal management approach and if psychological impacts were experienced. Several main themes arose from interviews with caregivers. The results demonstrate strong relationships between the caregivers and the cats, and negative impacts on caregiver mental health and quality of life associated with this lethal cat management practice. It is recommended that a care-centred approach be taken, whereby authorities identify and assist caregivers to implement neutering and, if possible, adoption. This would improve cat welfare, minimize public complaints, and reduce psychological hazards to caregivers. Legislative amendments should be prioritized to facilitate these recommendations and a revision of the classification between domestic and feral cats should be actioned. In urban and peri-urban areas of the world, free-roaming cats often pose management challenges for authorities. Most are wandering owned or semi-owned cats (fed by people who do not perceive ownership). Some are lost or abandoned, or unowned cats who obtain food from humans unintentionally. Unidentified cats are classified as "stray" in shelter data, and by government agencies as "stray" or "feral" based on their behaviour. However, legally feral cats are usually considered to live and reproduce in the wild with no support from humans. Cats classified as feral in Australia can be managed using lethal methods, including shooting, poisoning, trapping, and blunt trauma. The impact of killing animals on shelter staff is well documented. However, no previous research has investigated psychological impacts of lethal cat management on citizens who care for free-roaming cats. Using semi-structured interviews, this study explored the lived experience of six cat caregivers affected by lethal management of cats by shooting, instigated by the Port of Newcastle in 2020. Results demonstrated strong relationships between the caregivers and cats, and negative impacts on caregiver psychological health and quality of life associated with lethal management. It is recommended that a care-centred approach to cat management be prioritized in future, whereby authorities aid neutering and, if possible, adoption, to improve cat welfare, minimize cat nuisance complaints, and reduce psychological hazards to caregivers. Further, a revision of relevant legislation used to distinguish between domestic and feral cats in Australia should be actioned to prevent unnecessary killing of domestic cats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The native budworm, Helicoverpa punctigera (Wallengren), is an important economic insect pest of cotton and other crops. It is widely distributed in Australia and has been recorded on a range of host plants including native, non-crop hosts in inland regions. To date, there are few records of its occurrence on plants with the C4 photosynthetic pathway. Here, we assessed the oviposition preferences of H. punctigera for naturally occurring C3 and C4 plants under glasshouse conditions, to establish their potential as hosts. We conducted bioassays on two C4 plants, saltbushes Atriplex nummularia Lindl. and Atriplex vesicaria Heward ex Benth.; and two C3 plants, legumes Medicago polymorpha L. (burr medic) and Cullen cinereum (Lindl.) J.W.Grimes (annual verbine). The two C4 plants attract egg laying in the field; however, C3 plants are the preferred hosts. Ovipositing females showed a preference for the C3 over the C4 plants but oviposition occurred on both. Of the C4 plants, females preferred to oviposit on A. nummularia (77%) over A. vesicaria (24%) in both a multi- and two-choice test. In addition, ovipositing females preferred the upper leaf surface of A. nummularia (68%) and the under leaf surface of A. vesicaria (64%) as their oviposition site. Our findings suggest that under field conditions, when C4 plants such as saltbushes grow near C3 plants, as occurs in inland regions, the C4 plants could receive eggs along with the C3 plants, enabling the initial stages of larval recruitment to occur in C3 plants. The native budworm (Helicoverpa punctigera) is an important economic polyphagous insect pest and widely distributed in Australia; however, there are few records of its occurrence on plants with the C4 photosynthetic pathway. We assessed the capacity of H. punctigera to oviposit on saltbushes (a group of C4 plants) to establish their potential as hosts. Our findings suggest that saltbushes can support populations of H. punctigera , indicating its potential as a pest of saltbushes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Report cards are increasingly popular tools communicating the condition of coastal and riverine environments to environmental managers, stakeholders and the public, and synthesising complex data drawn from a range of indicators. Mud crabs have not previously been included in ecosystem health report cards in Australia or elsewhere but have been suggested as environmental indicators for tropical coastal marine environments in Australia. Mud crabs support commercial, recreational and Indigenous fisheries and their biology is relatively well known. For these reasons and due to their local relevance, mud crabs (Scylla serrata) were selected for long-term monitoring and inclusion in a report card for Gladstone Harbour, Australia. Three mud crab measures were identified to reflect the variety of pressures across Gladstone Harbour: abundance, prevalence of rust lesions and sex ratio. A standardised field monitoring program was developed to allow for ongoing scoring and reporting of the multi-metric indicator. An indicator scoring (distance from benchmark) and grading methodology was applied to the indicator and refined over the two years of monitoring. This article provides a novel framework for monitoring and scoring mud crabs for management purposes or for use in report cards, and outlines the process of developing an indicator for an iconic crustacean species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional ports, as infrastructure in regions, influence transport and regional development policies and planning. The interaction and involvement of regional ports with their stakeholders in the region are pivotal. The conundrum on what constitutes a regional port and thus its region has further complicated this limited researched area. In the extant literature, port and region relationship mainly centres on major metropolitan ports, and pays little heed to regional ports. In this context, this study investigates on how the Australian regional ports can be better involved in regional development. The study adopts a qualitative methodology to explore the Australian regional port stakeholders’ perceptions on port’s role in regional development through 38 semi-structured telephone interviews. Thematic analysis of data assisted by a mixture of NVivo software and manual techniques proposes a conceptual model that may assist policy-making. The key findings suggest that symbiotic growths of ports and concerned regions accelerate regional development. To contribute to regional development, the Australian regional ports can be proactive in building collaboration with regional organisations. The findings have major implications for port managers and port policy-makers for developing a region-oriented long-term port planning and for creating environment for Australian regional ports for regional resource configuration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines Australian responses to the imposition of stringent national origins quotas in the United States during the 1920s. Following the introduction of the American quota system, many Australians worried that large numbers of undesirable southern and eastern European migrants would make their way toward Australian ports. Widespread calls for preemptive restrictions forced the Australian government to finally implement a range of measures designed to limit immigration from Italy, Greece, Albania, Yugoslavia, and Malta. More broadly, this article argues that American quotas often inadvertently engendered a wide range of indirect and unintentional consequences around the world that scholars of migration and American foreign relations might explore in greater depth. It concludes by suggesting some opportunities for individual and collaborative research into the international effects of the United States’ notorious national origins quota system. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A detailed geochemical analysis of sediment samples from the heavily industrialised Port Kembla Harbour, 70 km south of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia, has delineated areas that are heavily contaminated with trace element pollutants. Local creek delta sand accumulations, basin mud deposits, reclamation deposits and exposed bedrock on the present harbour floor are consistent with the twentieth century Port Kembla industrial land and harbour development history, as well as known maritime shipping practices. The closed electrolytic copper refinery, one of the two major pollutant sources, has provided a very clear signature in the harbour opposite the main drain that discharged from these works. Copper pollution (up to 6070 mg/kg) is strongly correlated with high concentrations of gold, selenium, antimony, arsenic, lead and zinc. These pollutants appear to occur as silt- and sand-sized particulate matter, as well as pollutants that are probably chemically bound to clay, pyrite and organic matter. The second main pollutant source is the BlueScope steelworks that has been responsible for high concentrations of iron (and minor associated cobalt), kish, pyrolytic carbon and fly ash. The steelworks, along with other industrial, urban and automobile sources, supply additional quantities of copper, lead and zinc to the aquatic environment. Coal and coke dust also form important pollutants. The pollutants are currently fairly stable under the prevailing alkaline reducing conditions within the sediment. The proposed future reclamation and dredging within the harbour needs to consider the implications of moving highly contaminated sediment, without altering its alkalinity or oxidation potential, to prevent release of contaminants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]