ALC boss wants July 1 start along with Victorian Government moves on freight plan issues
September 13, 2013
The Australian Logistics Council (ALC) has called for the Hume Highway high productivity vehicle (HPV) trial to start on July 1.
In a speech to the Victorian Transport and Infrastructure Summit, ALC Managing Director Michael Kilgariff says that while the Victorian Government’s Freight and Logistics Plan was an important step and included developing a business plan to permit the trial of HPVs, what comes after would be crucial.
“Ideally, we want the trial to lead to the development of what is the ‘economically efficient’ price – that is the most efficient price that allows HPV access without wasting taxpayers – and operator – dollars,” he says.
Kilgariff also used the speech to amplify the ALC’s issues with areas of the Victorian plan that it believes need strengthening, especially given that it “recognises that the logistics industry will be dealing with more imported goods rather than those manufactured locally, which is consistent with trends elsewhere in Australia”
Planning at the city or regional level has to take account of national transport and logistic needs,” he adds.
“ALC is therefore concerned that the Freight and Logistics Plan is expressed as being ‘co-ordinated with’ or read ‘in conjunction’ with the Metropolitan Planning Strategy and regional growth plans.
“ALC has always been concerned that the interests of freight are the ‘poor cousin’ of planning, with the needs to move goods secondary to other interests, such as urban development.
“We believe urban and freight plans should be contained in the one integrated document so that both the planning and transport bureaucracies are fully involved in the development of planning needs.”
Kilgariff welcomed the Coalition’s intention to conduct a review of the Road Safety Remuneration Act.
“We would like to see the review to examine whether there is any duplication between Road Safety Remuneration Orders and the Heavy Vehicle National Law and workplace-health-and-safety laws,” he says.
He also expressed disappointment that various state government plans to meet commitments under the National Ports Strategy and National Land Freight Strategy “fail to deal with funding and finance”.
