Infrastructure and road control promises seen as helping
The NSW Liberals and Nationals’ commitment to upgrade regional roads and bridges has received a positive reception from tow national freight bodies.
Such a move would improve safety and reduce costs for consumers and exporters, according to Australian Trucking Association (ATA) CEO Ben Maguire, while Australian Logistics Council CEO Kirk Coningham believes says the announcement that the NSW Government intends to transfer up to 15,000km of council-owned roads back to the state will provide greater certainty for freight logistics operators using NSW roads.
NSW deputy premier John Barilaro and roads, maritime and freight minister Melinda Pavey, announced today that the NSW Liberals and Nationals would, if re-elected on March 23, commit $500 million to fix local roads and $500 million to replace the worst timber bridges in regional and rural communities.
“The condition and design of the road network is a key safety issue,” Maguire says.
“Every road project makes the roads safer, particularly when the road is upgraded to modern standards at the same time.
“The ATA particularly welcomes the NSW Liberals and Nationals’ commitment to fix the state’s deteriorating timber bridges.
“The poor state of these bridges often prevents trucking businesses from using longer, safer truck combinations.
“Using more productive trucks would reduce the growth in the number of trucks on the road and reduce costs for consumers and exporters.”
Maguire adds that it is essential that the road and bridge upgrades under the program be accompanied by improved access conditions.
“As a condition of funding, councils should be required to classify their roads and bridges for an appropriately higher level of truck access, or at the very least be required to approve truck access permits in a timely way,” he says.
“It’s also essential that councils be required to consult with local trucking businesses as part of the grant process.”
Read about the NSW freight and ports plan, here
The proposed move on council-owned roads is seen as promising at the ALC.
“This policy announcement is very welcome, because it will help to eliminate some of the inconsistencies, cost-shifting and administrative delays that arise by having different sections of the one road owned by multiple local councils,” said ALC CEO Kirk Coningham.
“Smaller councils in regional areas often do not have the revenue base or the personnel required to maintain road infrastructure to the standard freight logistics operators require to support the safe and efficient movement of goods through the supply chain.”
“Additionally, as the national freight task grows, Australia must find ways to further enhance supply chain efficiency.
“This includes the use of high productivity vehicles (HPVs) with larger payloads in order to meet business and consumer expectations around rapid deliveries. We must ensure that road infrastructure is maintained to a standard that supports their use.
“We also need to make certain that decisions around road access can be made promptly and applied consistently, so that freight movement is not delayed by administrative holdups.
The ALC believes freight logistics industry involvement in conversations around the road asset transfer process is crucial, so that its needs are clearly taken into account.
“Transferring the road assets on which the NSW freight network heavily depends from regional councils back to the state government and clearing the council roads maintenance backlog will help deliver on these objectives, and reduce uncertainty around future road infrastructure investment and maintenance,” Coningham says.
“Ultimately, this will bring about greater efficiency in the end-to-end supply chain – which is good news for producers and consumers alike.”