DESPITE a massive backlog of freight jamming air and sea terminals, Customs Minister Chris Ellison has refused to dump the $250 million computer system that caused the crisis.

Defying furious freight forwarders and Customs brokers, Senator Ellison has announced Customs will persevere with the Integrated Cargo System.

With the busy Christmas trading period about to begin, Senator Ellison admitted yesterday that Customs knew there would be teething problems with thesystem but he was forcing ports to stick with the software.

“As a result of amendments made by Customs overnight, we’ll continue to implement the new system,” he said. “We always knew there would be problems, and we’re working to overcome those problems.”

Senator Ellison said extra Customs staff would be available at freight terminals and at a help desk for system users, and changes would help make the software simpler to use.

The Government has also agreed to consider compensation for importers facing extra storage costs. Senator Ellison has denied claims that at least 13 ships faced being turned away from Sydney over the next few days.

But importers and freight forwarders are not convinced by the Government’s assurances.

Australian Federation of International Freight Forwarders chief executive Brian Lovell said the industry was extremely disappointed at the Government’s failure to act. “This is affecting every airport freight terminal and every sea port in Australia, and is already having a disastrous effect on the smooth flow of import trade,” he said.

Opposition Leader Kim Beazley called on Senator Ellison to resign while Opposition Customs spokesman Joe Ludwig warned that the situation would only get worse.