DCN October Edition 2019

WORD FROM THE MINISTER
Victoria delivering the goods
The new ‘freight’ portfolio in Victoria brings with it a range of challenges
and exciting opportunities to bring about change
WHEN THE ANDREWS LABOR
government announced last year the new
portfolio of ‘Freight’, it was in recognition
that a thriving freight industry is vital to
growing our economy and to creating jobs
for Victorians.
Victoria is growing faster than any other
state in Australia, with the population
the size of the City of Greater Bendigo
effectively moving to Melbourne every
year. And with population growth like this,
comes the need for an unprecedented focus
on moving goods around our state and to
and from our ports.
As our first minister for freight, and
with an electorate next to our largest port,
there’s not a day where I do not directly see
the need for better freight connections to
drive the success of our businesses, primary
producers and the entire supply chain that
supports our economy.
Victoria accounts for almost a third of
Australia’s total food and fibre exports,
and our state’s reliance on both food and
fibre and manufacturing means exports
are collected from thousands of farms and
factory gates right across the state.
The key to achieving better freight
connections and sustained economic
growth, is the Labor government’s
comprehensive blueprint for freight –
Delivering the Goods, which sets out a
clear direction.
Delivering the Goods is focused on five
key areas; planning and protecting current
and future freight corridors, reducing
the impact of congestion on supply chain
costs, using our rail freight assets better,
planning for Victoria’s future port capacity
and staying ahead of the technology curve.
Our freight plan is supported by our
massive pipeline of infrastructure projects.
These projects will not only boost Victoria’s
freight industry’s efficiency but reinforce
our status as the nation’s fright and
logistics capital.
The West Gate Tunnel will deliver a
vital alternative to the West Gate Bridge
and provide direct heavy vehicle access
to the Port of Melbourne and the North
East Link will connect the southeast
of Melbourne with the city’s northern
industrial areas, the airport and the
interstate road network.
But given increasing volumes of freight,
we can’t simply rely on freight being
moved by road. Since taking on the role as
minister for freight, it has become clear
to me that we need to move more freight
by rail, and our strategy has a number of
elements in achieving this goal which will
also have the added benefit of reducing
trucks from suburban roads in and around
the Port of Melbourne.
Firstly, there is the investment in
port rail shuttles, which will establish a
metropolitan market for rail freight. It will
offer Victorian businesses that despatch
or receive international containers a
competitive and cost-efficient alternative to
road transport.
It has become clear to me that we need to move
more freight by rail, and our strategy has a number
of elements in achieving this goal
We have partnered with the operators
of intermodal terminals at Altona and
Somerton to deliver upgrades to their
infrastructure. A $16.2m investment will
connect Austrak’s facility at Somerton
and $9.5m will connect the SCT Logistics
facility at Altona to the port rail shuttle
network. This investment will see an
additional $46m in private-sector funded
upgrades, meaning that there’ll be nearly
$2 of private investment for every $1 of
public money.
Secondly, the Port of Melbourne is
Melissa Horne, Victorian minister for ports,
freight and public transport
complementing this investment through
their proposal to deliver a full on-dock
rail solution by integrating the stevedore
and rail terminals at Swanson Dock, and
Freight Victoria is currently assessing
their proposal.
In recognition that we need to change
behaviour and provide incentives to
shift more of the freight task onto rail,
the government funded the Mode Shift
Incentive Scheme for a further $4m in the
Victorian Budget 2019/20.
The MSIS is a program that for more
than a decade has made rail more attractive
than road for regional exporters to move
their produce and goods to port.
Victoria needs to move more for less.
We need to eliminate or reduce the
costs associated with delays, congestion,
excessive regulation and infrastructure that
is not fit-for-purpose.
Through the Labor government’s
freight plan and our investment in
infrastructure, we’re building better
freight connections, which are essential
to the success of Victorian businesses and
primary producers and – ultimately – to
the creation of jobs across our state – in all
parts of our economy.
Office of Melissa Horne
8 October 2019
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