Fox takes cudgel to Melbourne channel deepening again

<p>Channel deepening was a short-term fix that would cause more problems than it solved, trucking magnate Lindsay Fox told <em>Sky News</em> yesterday (Monday, January 21).</p> <p>Reiterating a position he made public 18 months ago, Mr Fox said: "It’s a Bandaid &#8211 there is no long-term gain out of dredging the bay, there is a short-term gain until we can open up in a deep water port.</p> <p>"Dredging the bay and still having all of the traffic running in and out of the city is stupid.</p> <p>&#8220Most other countries come into a deepwater port and then use rail to move the containers to hub and spoke distribution centres.&#8221</p> <p>Mr Fox said dredging would do nothing to counter increasing traffic congestion around the port and the city’s major roads</p> <p>"When you start shipping everything into the centre of Melbourne, the congestion on the freeway system [and&#93 the Westgate Bridge will be totally out of control," Mr Fox said. </p> <p>"Thirty years from today you won’t be able to move."</p> <p>Mr Fox pointed to Hastings as the better port option, saying even after dredging, Melbourne would still be unable to handle large tankers.</p> <br />