Setting the ‘bigger picture’ for the national freight task – Part Two

By Jennifer Perry

To read Part One click here

Infrastructure Australia (IA) is well into assessing its second round of infrastructure submissions, however the government’s Building Australia Fund (BAF) is empty and IA has started to focus on other areas including a National Freight Strategy.
IA chief executive Michael Deegan was emphatic that the strategy will be focussed on the big picture rather than “poorly perceived” individual projects and will consider all modes of transport rather than “protecting or defending or attacking one or other mode” – a view also advocated by the ARA.
“We fully support IA’s approach of looking at this issue from an integrated perspective – it’s not just rail and it’s not just road – it’s about finding the right mix and the most efficient ways of delivering the nation’s freight,” ARA director government relations Phil Sochon told Rail Express.
“It’s very important we take a holistic view of, and a multimodal approach to freight transport,” Sochon said.
“This needs to go well beyond what might have been round in the past – inefficiencies in the system caused by isolated and individualistic planning by states and governments – in order to create the kinds of reform and decisions around infrastructure that will facilitate rail doing what it does best and heavy vehicles doing what they do best.”
In saying this, Sochon pointed out that rail should play a central role in the strategy.
“Rail is the most cost effective mode of land transport. It’s 10 times more efficient than road, however, a real lack of investment, integrated planning and particularly market price distortions, have all created obstacles for realising rail’s potential,” he said.
He added that rail should compete with road transport but “on a level playing field”.
“It’s not about blaming, it’s a matter of saying let’s take a fair dinkum approach to fixing this for the long term.”
The Australian Logistics Council (ALC), which was involved in IA’s initial consultation process, also wants to see the strategy improve upon Australia’s freight regulatory arrangements.
“The problem with Australia’s regulatory environment is simple. The Australian transport and logistics industry is a national industry that doesn’t recognise state borders, yet to a great extent, it is regulated at a state and territory level. What we’re looking for is some national consistency and regulatory frameworks that recognise our national supply chains,” ALC chief executive Michael Kilgariff told Rail Express.
Specifically, the ALC wants the strategy to address the role and impact of competition policy in a seamless supply chain and information flows across supply chains, an issue on which Kilgariff feels other stakeholders may not be focussed.
“Other important issues include the need to secure freight corridors within and through major cities, as well as the role of inland ports in driving efficient supply chains,” he said.
Deegan, Sochon and Kilgariff all recognise the need for the strategy to address Australia’s current problematic freight connections and the need for strategically placed intermodal facilities.
“The strategy will certainly address intermodal facilities and the pairing of terminals,” Deegan said.
“Moving from Melbourne-Sydney or Brisbane-Sydney, the long-term issues associated with and opportunities around Darwin, the connection of moving freight to and out of places like Mt Isa and the Pilbara – again all focussed on our national productivity in a global economy.”
The Freight Network Strategy’s time horizon is not entirely clear. Deegan said that IA hopes to present something to government later this year, and the ALC anticipates a draft discussion paper will be circulated to stakeholders in the near future.
Deegan would not comment on whether the strategy would have funds allocated to it.
IA’s work on the Freight Network Strategy is being developed alongside its National Ports Strategy, in consultation with the National Transport Commission (NTC).
IA’s Major Cities Unit is also currently preparing a draft National Urban Policy that Deegan hopes will be ready for consideration by the Commonwealth later this year.
Work on both strategies comes at a time when Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has recognised Australia’s freight-related needs as “truly staggering”, and recently announced that the transport priority for the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) for 2010 will be freight transport.