"AUSTRALIAN governments should deregulate port and rail infrastructure, BHP Billiton CEO Marius Kloppers said today.
Current regimes are crimping export expansions, losing big amounts of revenue and adding to costs, said the chief executive of BHP (ASX: BHP: quote).
Addressing a Melbourne Mining Club lunch today, Mr Kloppers said producers need to invest in infrastructure development to reap the benefits of the current China-driven resources boom.
If governments want to encourage this, he said, “continuing with overly regulated infrastructure, or having a hovering threat of regulator-mandated third-party access to existing private infrastructure, is clearly not the way to go”.
“The key role they (Australian governments) can play in achieving a more efficient and effective use of infrastructure is in active deregulation,” the head of the world’s biggest miner said.
The BHP chief singled out the regulated Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal in Queensland as an example of constraints.
Mr Kloppers referred to a study that said underperformance of the Goonyella coal-supply chain, of which Dalrymple Bay and Queensland Rail are critical components, resulted in lost revenue of $900 million over an 11-month period."
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