Wednesday 23 October 2013

Queensland Transport and Infrastructure Conference Michael Kilgariff, Managing Director, Australian Logistics Council ‘Time to deliver to improve supply chain efficiency’

Time to Deliver

• Time to Deliver on major infrastructure projects and long term freight plans

• Time to Deliver to improve productivity, efficiency and safety in the freight logistics industry

Topics for Today

• Delivery on the Queensland Freight Strategy

• The impact of new and proposed port and rail developments

• Privatisation of logistics infrastructure

• Encouraging private sector operators to help stimulate the economy

In Queensland, Freight is Big Business

• According to the Queensland ‘Moving Freight’ Strategy…

o Queensland’s freight volumes are anticipated to grow by more than 70 per cent by 2021

o Volumes expected to increase from 881 million tonnes in 2010 to 1550 million tonnes in 2021.

Queensland Moving Freight Strategy

• ALC encouraged by push to get more freight onto rail

• Efforts to segregate the passenger and freight networks in the metropolitan network welcomed

• Intermodal terminals, such as Acacia Ridge, are critical to meeting future freight growth

• Greater focus required on protecting key freight

corridors

• Assistant Minister for Freight in Queensland?

Delivery on inland rail

• Benefits of an inland rail line linking Melbourne Port and Brisbane Port are enormous

• Having a dedicated freight line will help to boost rail’s share on the north south corridor

• Port of Brisbane investigating a range of options to address future growth and capacity constraints

Queensland Ports Strategy

• Foundation of the Queensland Ports Strategy is the National Ports Strategy which aims to ensure our ports are well positioned in the future to cater for future growth.

• Central to the Queensland Ports Strategy is the concept of Priority Port Development Areas.

• The PPDA concept is a sensible step forward that acknowledges the critical link these major ports play support the efficiency of our national supply chains.

Facilitating Greater Private Sector Involvement in Infrastructure

• ‘Recycling of Infrastructure Assets’ can unlock billions of dollars from the private sector. But money needs to be hypothecated and go back to infrastructure

• Issues / challenges to overcome to attract investment… o Inconsistent bidding processes o Lack of incentives/tax mechanisms to encourage greenfield infrastructure

investment o A long term infrastructure pipeline o Greater support for unsolicited bids

• Proposed Funding and Finance Advisory Unit in IA is a positive step towards

attracting more private sector investment

Conclusion

• ‘Time to Deliver’ on:

1. Infrastructure

2. Regulatory reform

3. Red tape

…to ensure Australia is well prepared to meet rising freight growth in the future.

ALC Forum 2014