Opposition wants a container port at Bay West instead of Port of Hastings, prompting government accusations of "flip-flopping" and "dithering"
Ruza Zivkusic-Aftasi | June 13, 2012
Victorian Ports Minister Denis Napthine has hit back at former roads minister Tim Pallas over the Port of Hastings, saying Labor has lost all credibility on Victorian ports.
Napthine has slammed Pallas who last week in Parliament called on the government to consider locating a secondary metropolitan container port at Bay West instead of at Port of Hastings, as he believes the move will increase reliance on the West Gate corridor.
Napthine has described the call as “double back flip”, saying Pallas has walked away from the development that he originally supported.
“Despite clearly stating in the Port of Hastings Land Use and Transport Strategy that he was ‘particularly excited by the proposition to develop the Port of Hastings’, Pallas has walked away from this important development that will secure Victoria’s economic future,” Napthine says.
“Flip-flopping and dithering when it comes to planning for Victoria’s freight capacity is par for the course for Mr Pallas and the previous Labor government.
“Despite container trade through the Port of Melbourne growing steadily at a rate of 6 to 8 percent for 17 years, Labor did nothing to address Victoria’s port requirements, instead allowing our ports to become more and more congested.”
Pallas believes Bay West is a better option as it is closer to rail and road connections.
“Given that the Port of Melbourne is going to reach capacity within the next 15 years, 50 years is a long time to wait before proper consideration is given to what might be the right option for Victoria,” Pallas says.
“Given that the 15-year time frame and the $12.5 billion budget that would be needed to get this right, an alternative needs to be established for a cost-benefit analysis and Bay West is the obvious one.”
Pallas says delaying or avoiding the project will mean more Victorians will have to contend with extra freight on already crowded highways and the West Gate Bridge.
LeadWest, which is a regional organisation for Melbourne’s western suburbs and is made of local government councils, is echoing Pallas’s call. It says a Bay West port will secure the state’s future as the national freight hub.
“LeadWest is calling on the government to look at possible port in Melbourne’s west as an option alongside the proposed Port of Hastings expansion,” the organisation says.
“Given the $15 billion price tag associated with any future port development, LeadWest welcomes the Victorian Government’s decision to undertake a comprehensive evaluation of possible alternate options to the Port of Hastings expansion.”
