The VTA is pleased to announce that a state ports and freight minister will formally open the annual conference in Phillip Island this March
The Victorian Transport Association (VTA) says a state minister for ports and freight will officially open the VTA State Conference 2023.
The conference will be held on March 20 at Phillip Island on Victoria’s southeast coast.
The VTA says it was delighted to announce that Melissa Horne will formally open the proceedings.
“Minister Horne has been a fervent supporter of the VTA and the freight and logistics sector since she was first elected to parliament at the 2018 Victorian election and immediately was appointed to cabinet alongside the ports and freight portfolio,” VTA CEO Peter Anderson says.
“Over her first term as minister she worked hard to understand the challenges facing our sector, taking every opportunity to meet with the VTA and our membership.”
Anderson says Horne’s re-election to the seat of Williamstown last November saw her allocated the Roads & Road Safety portfolios, in addition to Ports & Freight, making her office something of a one-stop-shop for the freight industry.
“This means there are tremendous opportunities to align and get real reform on the issues that matter most to operators, particularly from an infrastructure, safety, licencing, and regulatory perspective. We look forward to hearing from Minister Horne about the transport priorities of the returned Victorian government at the conference,” Anderson says.
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The VTA State Conference 2023 is being held from Sunday 19 to Tuesday March 21 at Silverwater Resort, Phillip Island under the theme of People First – Managing Transport’s Greatest Asset.
“With recent years punctuated by labour, skills, and training shortages due to the pandemic and the aging worker profile challenges our industry has experienced for many years, the theme is intended to draw a focus on practical solutions to how we can improve the skills of our people and attract new and younger people to the transport industry,” Anderson says.
“The conference is being finalised around this pillar and I look forward to sharing our provisional program, which will feature presentations and panel discussions from government, regulators, operators and suppliers on issues including transport infrastructure, technology, equipment and industrial relations.”
Information on the conference packages and price-points the VTA is offering can be viewed here, and to register online please follow this link.
State Conference 2023 is proudly sponsored by TWUSUPER, whose support the VTA and freight industry has gratefully enjoyed for many years as the industry super fund for transport workers.