The Federal Government has stressed infrastructure and regulatory reform as key to a deeper economic engagement with Asia
By Sean Muir |
October 29, 2012
The Federal Government has outlined infrastructure and regulatory reform as key to a deeper economic engagement with Asia.
The ‘Australia in the Asian Century’ white paper, released by Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Sunday, highlights infrastructure investment as crucial to supporting Australia’s growing trade and investment in Asia.
The Australian Logistics Council (ALC) Managing Director Michael Kilgariff today expressed support for plans outlined in the paper to improve movement of goods domestically and internationally.
“The government’s White Paper Australia in the Asian Century rightly
identifies infrastructure and regulatory reform as two important pillars to support future productivity growth in Australia, and a deeper economic engagement with Asia,” Kilgariff says.
“ALC agrees with this assessment, particularly in the context of Australia’s important role in global supply chains, especially in the Asian region.
“More specifically, ALC notes one of the paper’s high level objectives is for the development of a ‘systematic national framework for developing, financing and maintaining nationally significant infrastructure that will assist governments and the private sector to plan and prioritize infrastructure needs at least 20 years ahead’.
“ALC presumes the government is referring to the National Land Freight Strategy, the update of which was
recently released.
“If this is correct, ALC eagerly anticipates the document’s finalization as a way of unlocking many of the much needed productivity benefits the freight logistics industry desperately requires, such as improved access to key freight routes.”
The paper goes on to highlight the need for Australian businesses expanding into Asia to not rely on strategies developed for the domestic market.
“Building a successful business inAsia requires an ability to establish and adapt relationships with regional partners and customers,” the paper says.
The paper also uses Linfox as an example of a business successfully leveraging opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region.
“The Linfox model demonstrates that applying best international practice along with deep regional knowledge can deliver a competitive advantage in business,” the papers says.
The paper has faced public criticism about its lack of detail.