New shipping laws will give the mining, manufacturing and farming sectors a boost, the federal government says.
Transport Minister Warren Truss on Wednesday outlined the coalition's plan to amend the previous Labor government's shipping laws.
Labor and unions say the law changes - due to be introduced in parliament's winter session - will undermine pay and conditions and amount to "Work Choices on water".
Mr Truss said the high cost of shipping, made worse by Labor's shipping laws, was damaging Australian industry.
"It's cheaper to bring sugar from Thailand to Melbourne than it is from Mackay to Melbourne," he said.
"It is cheaper to bring cement in from overseas than to move the product around the Australian shore and manufacture it here."
Under the government's plan, Australian and foreign ships carrying goods and passengers will require a single streamlined, 12-month permit.
Ships trading for more than 183 days in a permit period must meet Australian wages and conditions.
Under Labor, the Australian award applied more broadly to foreign ships that did more than two yearly trips on the domestic route.
Mr Truss said the reforms would lower freight costs for manufacturers and farmers, reduce road and rail congestion and create more jobs.
"If we could better utilise just a fraction of the capacity on the foreign ships that visit our shores, it could make a major difference," he said.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said it amounted to "Work Choices on water".
"What this government hopes is that because ships are beyond the breakers and that people can't see every employment condition in a ship, they can get away with seeing Third World conditions employed on ships," he said.
Opposition transport spokesman Anthony Albanese said if an Australian company sought to move freight, maritime workers should be paid in accordance with Australian standards.
"The government's proposals would decimate the industry, the existence of which serves Australia's economic, environmental and national security interests," he said.
Maritime Union national secretary Paddy Crumlin, who led a protest outside the Sydney venue where Mr Truss spoke, said the law changes would damage Australia's shipping industry.
"He's basically removing a part of Australian industry and replacing it with an industry that comes from Liberia or Panama - no regulation, tax avoidance, low labour standards," Mr Crumlin said.
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