The Western Roads Federation (WRF) has announced that multiple freight routes connecting Western Australia to other states have been closed in recent weeks, with weather events disrupting the state’s freight network.
After numerous warnings from the WRF to safeguard critical freight routes against potential weather events, such as floods, storms and bushfires, these routes have been closed or isolated.
“Western Australia is isolated yet again by all road and rail access,” WRF CEO Cam Dumesny told ATN.
Dumesny says the Eyre Highway closed at 4PM yesterday between Eucla and Norseman, which is a distance only slightly shorter than from Melbourne to Sydney, due to flooding.
The Great Central Road is also closed, while the Victoria Highway connecting WA to the Northern Territory remains closed due to flooding.
Originally, the Stuart Highway was at risk of closure due to flooding, but Dumesny says that the highway has now been closed.
With more rain expected over the Nullarbor in coming days, Dumesny says it’s on track to receive its annual rainfall in just a few days.
“Three weeks ago, the Eyre Highway was closed due to bushfires,” Dumesny says.
“There have been two major closures of the Eyre Highway to bushfires, costing the economy millions of dollars.
“Yet the local government, through which 700km of the highway runs through its jurisdiction, was given just $23,000 to help reduce bushfire risks.
“That is well under half of what one federal minister spent on a four day junket to the USA, or a small percentage of the cost of a road side public artwork installed on the Hume Highway.”
Dumesny says federal ministers are missing in action on this issue, as he asks how many more freight disruptions need to happen between WA and the NT before the federal government takes freight resilience seriously.
He says a key issue is the national freight and supply chain strategy, which he says is “failing”.
“These disruptions impact our respective economies and most importantly impact transport companies and drivers, yet there’s no action at all,” Dumesny says.
“The short answer is that the strategy has done nothing and has failed to deliver on resilience, productivity and skills shortages.
“We need a strategy, but we need one that is delivering results, not glossy reports and further reviews.”