The Australasian Railway Association and Australian Logistics Council say major parties must address key transport and freight infrastructure challenges ahead of the federal election on May 18.
With three weeks left until Australians head to the polls, the ARA on Tuesday released its election priorities document, entitled ‘Rail – Creating Vibrant Cities, Thriving Regions and a Connected Nation’.
“As our cities continue to grow and our freight task increases the pressure on our existing infrastructure network also increases,” ARA chief executive Danny Broad said. “Avoiding and reducing congestion is one of the biggest benefits that can be achieved by moving passengers and freight onto properly planned and funded rail solutions, integrated with other transport modes.”
The ARA’s five priorities are as follows.
1. Making cities liveable. The ARA says whichever party is voted into Government must continue to increase funding for urban passenger and freight rail projects, essential to reducing road congestion, improving quality of life and increasing productivity.
“With increasing support from both main political parties for passenger and freight rail projects, we look forward to this continuing and urge against stop start approaches to rail infrastructure funding,” Broad said.
2. Connecting our regions. The ARA urged that the winning party follow through with its commitment to progress faster rail projects to connect regions.
“Pleasingly, both major political parties now support the establishment of a national planning agency to underpin their respective visions for inter-city rail connectivity, examine funding options and acquire the sought-after corridors,” Broad noted.
3. Supporting employment. With Australia’s rail sector threatened by a growing shortage of skilled labour, the ARA says the Australian Government needs to formalise a high-level taskforce to lead reforms, build partnerships and implement expert recommendations to deliver fit-for-purpose education and training.
“If we are to reap the benefits of rail, industry and government need to make the necessary reforms together and increase investment in fit-for-purpose education and training,” Broad said.
4. Strengthening our economy. The ARA is calling for safer, more sustainable and efficient ways to move freight by rail.
To achieve this, it says the Australian Government needs to implement the national freight and supply chain strategy and incentivise jurisdictions to support its delivery. The ARA urges continued funding and political support of the Inland Rail project to ensure its timely delivery.
“The government also needs to level the playing field between road and rail,” Broad said. “We need independent price regulation of heavy vehicles and mode neutral policies. Freight rail operators, charged at full market rates to access infrastructure have endeavoured to compete with heavy vehicles that access publicly subsidised roads.”
5. National coordination to support industry. Despite its $26 billion contribution to the national economy, and its employment of thousands of Australians, the ARA says the rail industry’s efforts are dissipated by fragmented approaches to investment, procurement, construction and regulation across eight different jurisdictions.
“Strong industries don’t develop by chance,” Broad said.
“The Australian Government must lead the development of a national rail industry plan to achieve a coherent national approach to rail, covering procurement, local content, manufacturing, innovation and research, and harmonisation of standards.”
ALC focused on supply chain strategy
The Australian Logistics Council released an extensive, 39-item list of its priority actions ahead of the election, but the first addressed by chief executive Kirk Coningham was the National Freight and Supply Chain Strategy.
““With our industry having received a bipartisan commitment to finalise the National Freight and Supply Chain Strategy, the first priority for whichever party wins on 18 May must be to work with state and territory governments to finalise and implement action plans that will ensure the Strategy delivers for industry,” Coningham said.
“Enhanced supply chain performance is not a niche issue. Every individual Australian relies on freight every day, no matter where they live. If we are going to meet the challenges that arise from a growing population and changing consumer expectations around rapid delivery, it will be necessary to implement the sorts of reforms ALC has set out today.
“The priorities that ALC has identified touch on a range of issues, including a more consistent national approach to planning and investing in freight infrastructure, enhancing the productivity of our road and rail networks through regulatory reform and strengthening our export performance through enhanced freight infrastructure in Northern Australia.”