Freight Rail

Freight supply chain strategy central to congestion-busting: Logistics Council

Aurizon freight train. Photo: Aurizon

The Australian Logistics Council (ALC) has said that freight and supply chain planning needs to be addressed in the development of strategies to reduce road congestion.

The ALC said it considered this week’s speech by cities and urban infrastructure minister Alan Tudge as a good step forward for infrastructure planning.

In a speech to the Menzies Research Centre in Melbourne on October 10, Tudge asserted it was “a fact of life that as cities become larger they get more congested”.

The government’s plan to address growing congestion includes a $75 billion, ten-year spending program on road and rail projects in major cities.

ALC chair Philip Davies said that the minister’s statements were consistent with ALC’s long-held view that the Commonwealth government needs to be more active in long-term planning for infrastructure as Australia’s population grows.

“It is evident that road congestion is having an increasingly detrimental impact on the quality of life in Australia’s cities,” Davies said.
“It is just as important that policy makers recognise the impact that congestion has on the efficiency and safe movement of freight through our supply chains. Ultimately, the rising costs incurred as a result of congestion are paid by Australian consumers.”
Davies encouraged the government to implement a comprehensive supply chain strategy to foster greater national consistency in planning outcomes, particularly around corridor protection and land-use planning.
“Only by improving Australia’s approach on these key issues can we be confident of creating truly liveable cities into the future, while also ensuring freight logistics operators have the 24/7 operational flexibility they need to meet consumer expectations, and support continued export growth,” he said.
“The minister’s remarks today are an encouraging start, and ALC looks forward to seeing further details of the government’s population policy in the coming weeks.”