Federal Government must muscle in on port argy bargy

The head of a 29-month inquiry into the interface between Australia’s road, rail and port networks, said he hoped the comprehensiveness of the report, tabled yesterday (Monday, August 13), would encourage action on infrastructure investment and not lead to the commissioning of another report. The chair of the Transport and Regional Services committee, Paul Neville, said inter-government &#8220argy bargy&#8221 and a long list of ignored reports had done little to fix billions of dollars of urgent investment in port-related infrastructure. &#8220Transport has been inquired into endlessly,&#8221 Mr Neville told Lloyd’s List DCN . &#8220There have been two reports on the inland rail, plus numerous freight studies and we know where the right rail routes are. &#8220What has got to happen is that we’ve got to have the will to do it.&#8221 The 371-page report lists 43 projects in need of immediate funding, including dredging of Port Phillip Bay, crucial rail connections for Queensland’s coal networks and significant spending needed for road infrastructure. Mr Neville, who is a Nationals MP in the electorate of Hinkler, in the major coal region of Gladstone, said the onus was on the Federal Government to take a leadership role. &#8220If what we’re doing with the Murray Darling is valid, then it’s equally important in transport,&#8221 Mr Neville said. &#8220It’s inescapable that the Commonwealth has to take the leadership role.&#8221 Mr Neville said the Federal Government ought to intervene in cases where two state governments were unable to solve cross-border responsibility issues. &#8220If after a reasonable amount of time, two states don’t cooperate with the Commonwealth on this cross-border stuff, the Commonwealth then should be exempt from all future responsibilities,&#8221 Mr Neville said. &#8220This endless argy bargy, with no commitment to efficiency, speed of operation, pride in infrastructure &#8211 I think it’s regrettable.&#8221 He said the inquiry had found that most ports in Australia needed about $70m of investment to bring them up to an acceptable standard. More than $6.5bn was needed to lift Australia’s port infrastructure to be globally competitive, the report found. Third party access disputes, such as the battle for access to the Pilbara’s iron ore infrastructure, needed to be addressed. &#8220This idea that it’s our port and we’re going to lock it up &#8211 that’s got to stop,&#8221 Mr Neville said. &#8220If we’re not prepared to do that, then there would need to be a complete re-think over the next five to 10 years of how systems are going to work.&#8221 The report also recommends the establishment of a $3bn &#8220Critical Port Infrastructure Fund&#8221, separated from but in addition to the $22.3bn AusLink program, that would be capable of contributing $150m towards crucial infrastructure projects. The fund would require the Federal Government to inject $600m a year for five years, and would be on the basis of a split participation with state governments or private companies. A commissioning body would be needed to oversee funding allocations, the report recommends.

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