Peak body Road Freight NSW (RFNSW) has welcomed the release of the final report into the Port Botany Landside Improvement Strategy (PBLIS), with a key recommendation that it remains in public hands.
RFNSW says the decision was a “big win” for RFNSW and its members, who had lobbied the NSW government against any moves to privatise PBLIS.
“RFNSW has long maintained that PBLIS has delivered the most productive port in Australia and that any sale or administration of PBLIS by a third party, such as the private port operator, would undermine the solid productivity gains delivered by PBLIS across the supply chain,” RFNSW CEO Simon O’Hara says.
“We fully support the finding that current arrangements, where Transport for NSW (TfNSW) administers the regulation, is appropriate at this time.
From our perspective, there’s a real benefit in keeping the PBLIS under the watch of TfNSW, not only for the good of trucking operators, but for the wider community.”
O’Hara says RFNSW is pleased that the NSW government listened to its concerns about privatising PBLIS, which formed a key part of RFNSW’s 2023 election priorities to the state government.
“While we support some of the report, we need clarification on a number of the PBLIS recommendations, such as recommendation six – ‘removing the power for regulating stevedore charges’ – given that trucking operators are already struggling to cope with stevedores’ ever-increasing terminal access fees,” O’Hara says.
O’Hara also wants clarification on recommendation 10 for the removal of A and B carriers and recommendation 17 for certification requirement for container transport road operators.
“RFNSW also looks forward to engaging with the NSW government as part of the review into the state’s freight industry,” O’Hara says.
The policy reform will identify short, medium and long-term actions and deliver a comprehensive strategic reform agenda for the government to support the ongoing improvement of freight transport across NSW.”