Forklift News - Budget bonanza for road, rail and ports

Ports Australia executive director David Anderson

The supply chain sector has welcomed Treasurer Wayne Swan’s budget, especially the priority given to capital investment in infrastructure. Major players in road, rail and ports have responded well to the AUD20 billion bonanza to be invested in a new Building Australia Fund.

The fund will finance roads, rail, ports and broadband across Australia, with congestion at the country’s ports seen as one of the major factors constraining economic growth.

Swan said AUD75 million will be allocated for immediate feasibility studies on high-priority transport projects across Australia. This will begin the necessary planning work for key projects in advance of further deliberations by Infrastructure Australia, the independent body responsible for allocating expenditure from the fund.

Ports’ peak industry association, Ports Australia, has applauded the budget’s support for the development of critical economic infrastructure. The organisation represents the interests of government-owned and privately owned ports as well as marine regulatory authorities in Australia.

Executive director David Anderson says the budget strongly recognised that port infrastructure necessarily had to be "front and centre" in any consideration of national economic infrastructure requirements.

"It is now comprehensively documented that Australia’s ability to efficiently facilitate predicted growth in both our container and bulk trades is contingent on addressing key port infrastructure needs, including road and rail access," says Anderson.

Anderson notes that the government had, in the lead-up to the budget, taken some resolute actions to put in place the appropriate institutional settings to address supply chain efficiency, including the passage through the Parliament of legislation to establish Infrastructure Australia.

"Ports Australia’s members are now most pleased to see that this new organisation will have a substantial and assured source of funding to finance outcomes from its national infrastructure audit," says Anderson.

He further notes that the establishment of the new funding arrangements recognise that a program that went beyond Auslink was necessary to ensure that the development of infrastructure supporting trade and national economic development kept pace with growth.

Anderson adds that Ports Australia supports another important feature of the budget that encompasses an initiative by the federal government to partner the states in tackling city-based projects to improve the functioning of cities.

"The efficient functioning of our cities is indistinguishable from the efficient functioning and long-term viability of our city-based ports. The proposed measures will not only promote the safe and efficient movement of people and freight through built-up areas, it is also an important component in reducing traffic conflicts and promoting good relationships between ports and the communities with whom they coexist," says Anderson.

Australia’s largest rail freight company, QR Limited, has welcomed news of the fund.

"The investment program unveiled in this government’s budget not only looks to the future, but is also realistic in that it makes an immediate impact with funding for a feasibility study into high-priority transport projects, including rail," says QR chief executive Lance Hockridge.

"There’s clear acknowledgment that we’re living with the economic legacy of under-investment in national transport infrastructure. The creation of the Building Australia Fund, together with Infrastructure Australia, is very encouraging for national transport businesses like QR.

"The challenge now is for the government to continue to lead by providing an environment in which the private and public sectors have the incentive to jointly fund and develop this infrastructure with a minimum of bureaucratic red tape.

"We’ll be keenly watching how the vision for national infrastructure in the budget becomes a reality with increased spending on crucial transport projects especially the national rail network and key intermodal hubs.

"The importance of the task cannot be underestimated because the efficient movement of freight is vital to Australia’s future economic prosperity. As a leading transport and logistics company, QR has a strong interest in seeing our nation develop the comprehensive rail network we need.

"With the right infrastructure in place, companies like ours will have the incentive to invest in the rollingstock, facilities and workforce to ensure we contribute fully to the economic potential of the nation."

QR hauled 238 million tonnes of freight in 2006/07, more than any other company in Australia; it included coal, bulk minerals, grain, livestock and general freight.

Chairman of the Australian Trucking Association, Trevor Martyn, says the budget is good news for the trucking industry and would keep the industry’s costs down, as well as boosting its productivity and safety by fixing infrastructure bottlenecks.

"The trucking industry is delighted the government has retained the fuel tax credit scheme, which currently allows trucking operators to claim an 18.51 cents per litre rebate on their fuel tax," says Martyn.

"We carry 75% of Australia’s freight, including all the food and groceries delivered to Australian supermarkets. The fuel tax credit scheme has a vital role in keeping our costs down – and a vital role in keeping downward pressure on the grocery prices paid by working families."

Martyn says the budget shows the government will invest more than AUD3 billion in the road system in 2008-09, including an early start on AUD560 million worth of projects that weren’t due to get under way until next year.

"The Minister for Infrastructure, Anthony Albanese, has delivered the money that is needed to keep upgrading Australia’s transport system and to keep building our long-term future," says Martyn.

"The trucking industry believes the fund should have a strong focus on eliminating road transport bottlenecks, including the regulatory bottlenecks stopping use from using the existing roads more productively," he adds. "The trucking industry can carry Australia’s freight more safely and with fewer trucks, but the states and territories are standing in the way. We hope the government will use the fund to help persuade them to let us get on with the job."

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