Key Points

• The plan incorporates coastal shipping as a means to achieve its five goals of economic growth, efficiency, connectivity and access, capacity, safety and sustainability.
• Land use planning and protection will save the state and private enterprise money, allowing for effective business planning and business growth while mitigating conflict with local communities.
• Recognises that government cooperation across all levels is required to build efficient and effective supply chains.

Ports Australia today welcomed the New South Wales (NSW) Government’s NSW Freight and Ports Plan 2018-2023. The plan is a strong step in holistically considering issues for business and the community within NSW’s supply chain.

Chief executive of Ports Australia, Mike Gallacher, said that it is promising that the plan acknowledges the Ports contribution to the NSW economy, and the requirement to protect and incorporate opportunities to grow.

“Ports Australia would like to congratulate the NSW Government and the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Andrew Constance on a progressive plan for the state’s future and for recognising the importance of coastal shipping.

“As a national association representing all the Ports in the country and NSW it is pleasing to see all of NSW’s Ports considered in this plan and the contribution they make to the state’s economy.

“The NSW government, through their support for an investigation into a national coastal shipping frame work, has recognised in this plan that there are various ways to achieve their growth goals.

“Coastal shipping is a key initiative identified by the plan to achieve its five goals of economic growth, efficiency, connectivity and access, capacity, safety and sustainability.

In stark contrast the Federal Government’s Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport and Cities tabled its report on the development of cities last week which seeks to achieve the same goals but ignores the critical role of Ports and coastal shipping in achieving them.

“We encourage all governments, especially the Federal Government, to begin exploring various ways to accommodate our growing population and freight task including using our blue highway to its potential.

“We need to start having this discussion while we still have time to make sensible well-planned decisions rather than playing catch up with a doubling freight task.

“The state freight plans will feed into the Federal Government’s National Freight and Supply Chain Strategy and we would expect that Minister McCormack’s strategy would approach Australia’s freight network holistically leveraging the connectivity of rail, flexibility of road and capacity of shipping on our blue highway,” Mike Gallacher said.

Ports Australia also recognises the confidence this plan will provide to businesses in NSW when considering their own planning and investment.

Mike Gallacher said, “The plan recognises how vital it is to plan and protect industrial land around the state’s Ports to account for future development in line with the booming freight task. Effective land use planning will save the state and private enterprise money, allowing for effective business planning and business growth while mitigating conflict with local communities.

“The NSW Government freight plan recognises that it will require engagement between state and local governments in collective planning to build efficient and effective supply chains,” Mike Gallacher concluded.

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