Port of Newcastle chair Roy Green accused of bias in previous role as competition regulator

Professor Green was required to give evidence in the Supreme Court judicial review after Queensland’s major coal rail haulier, Aurizon, objected to a draft ruling late last year by the competition authority that effectively cut almost $1 billion, or 25 per cent of its earnings, from Queensland coal over four years. 

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The competition authority made the Aurizon decision at about the time that Professor Green was negotiating to take on his current role as chair of the Port of Newcastle – a job he initially believed he could do at the same time as his Queensland role.

But Aurizon has gone to the courts seeking to have the draft ruling overturned, and has raised the potential for “apprehended bias” on Professor Green’s behalf as a part of its case, saying the decision he was part of making in Queensland could work to the benefit of the Port of Newcastle.

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The competition authority and Professor Green dispute Aurizon’s claims, and after giving evidence in Brisbane on Tuesday, Professor Green said he was confident of being vindicated.

“My role in this case is to defend the integrity of decision-making at the authority against a rail network provider that is seeking a higher rate of return for its business,” Professor Green said.

“Aurizon’s claim that my move to the Port of Newcastle affects decisions at the QCA is nonsense: firstly because the authority consistently applies its own well-established regulatory principles in such cases, and secondly because the Central Queensland and Hunter Valley coal markets are entirely separate and distinct.”

Although the proposed Adani mine is not part of Aurizon’s rail network and was mentioned only twice in the contested 550-page regulator’s decision, lawyers for Adani spent time in the court case quizzing Professor Green about his communications on the subject with the Port of Newcastle at the time he was involved with the Aurizon decision.

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There were fears at the time that Adani might flood the market with cheap steaming coal, threatening exports from Newcastle.

But Professor Green said yesterday that Adani, if it went ahead, would have more impact on Indonesian coal exports than those through Newcastle.

The case before Justice David Jackson concluded on Tuesday, with Justice Jackson reserving his decision. The competition authority had not moved to a final decision on the Aurizon access undertaking, pending the outcome of this judicial review.