MUA national secretary Paddy Crumlin.

The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) has given the thumbs-up to last week's announcement by government to substantially reform Australia's shipping industry.

"The MUA welcomes shipping reform as one of the greatest policy developments in Australian shipping since the Navigation Act was introduced in 1912," says MUA national secretary Paddy Crumlin.

"The new policy restores fairness and transparency to the way shipping participates in the domestic freight market, while greatly increasing the potential for greenfield opportunities for Australian businesses to participate in international shipping.

He adds that shipping reform ties in well with the government's national ports strategy and national freight strategy.

"There can be no question that shipping and ports are two key pieces of infrastructure that underpin the nation's economic performance. Shipping is one of the vertebrae - together with road and rail - which forms the backbone of the nation's freight system."