Newcastle Port Corporation

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The Hunter River, with Queens Wharf in the foreground.

The Newcastle Port Corporation is a corporation owned by the Government of New South Wales providing wharf and other maritime facilities at the Port of Newcastle.

The port is crucial to the economic life of Newcastle and the Hunter Region. Over 70 million tonnes of coal is shipped through the facility each year - making it the largest coal exporting port in the world.

The corporation claims that the Port of Newcastle is Australia's first port. Coal was first exported from the harbour in 1799, 11 years after the start of European settlement in Australia.

[edit] The corporation

The Port of Newcastle is core to the city's economy and a vital part of Australia's coal industry. The Newcastle Port Corporation employs 99 people and is required under the State Owned Corporations Act 1989 and the Ports Corporatisation and Waterways Management Act 1995 to:

be a successful business
exhibit a sense of social responsibility towards the local community
comply with its obligations under environmental legislation
support regional development and decentralisation
promote and facilitate trade through Newcastle
ensure that its port safety functions are carried out properly.

The Port of Newcastle welcomes almost 1500 ships a year. In 2004-05, trade through the port totalled 83.5 million tonnes, with a value of some $7 billion. The Port of Newcastle remains the world's largest coal export port by volume, with 77.72 million tonnes passing through the facility in 2004-05.

In the 2004-05 financial year, the corporation's revenues were $42.6 million. Its after-tax profit was just under $8 million.

The corporation falls within the portfolio of the Minister for Ports and Waterways, Joe Tripodi. It reports to its two shareholders, the Treasurer, Michael Costa and Finance Minister John Watkins.