Victoria's freight system needs to be strategically reviewed, a freight expert believes
By Ruza Zivkusic | March 28, 2011
Victoria’s freight system needs to be strategically reviewed, including decentralising the freight task, a transport expert believes.
Victoria University supply chain and logistics advisor Dr Pieter Nagel hopes the Baillieu Government will review the state’s freight network and consider last year’s proposals submitted by key stakeholders to the Shipping Melbourne’s Freight Futures discussion paper.
The paper recommends a new intermodal approach to moving rapidly growing volumes of port-related freight around Melbourne.
In his proposal, Nagel suggests inland ports should operate across outer Melbourne in Werribee and Dandenong, with the Port of Melbourne becoming the transition port.
“The key thing that needs to happen is to get the freight distribution decentralised and to try and consolidate freight into logistics cities in the outer areas of the city,” Nagel says.
“By doing that we can stimulate economic activity in those areas and that’s really what I think needs to happen.”
Nagel says too much of Melbourne’s freight task is fragmented and that it can be better handled.
“One would hope that some of the significant work that has gone into the discussion paper will not get lost because of change of policies; one would hope that this remains a long-term focus,” he says.
“The question is whether that will form the base for the new government to work on.”