The Australian Government has released a refreshed National Freight and Supply Chain Strategy and new National Action Plan.
Since the strategy was first released in 2019, Australia’s supply and freight networks have experienced a number of setbacks including COVID-19, geopolitical shifts, extreme weather events and worker shortages.
According to Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Catherine King, these setbacks, along with Australia’s freight task being expected to grow by 26 per cent between 2020 and 2050, make support for the strategy critical.
“Without a viable and reliable freight network, Australia stops,” she said.
“The journey of goods from farm-gate, factory or port to the shopping aisle or building largely goes unnoticed, except in those rare instances where something in the supply chain goes wrong.”
A review of the existing strategy found that its foundations remained strong, but recommended it be refreshed with a small number of nationally significant actions.
This updated strategy underscores the importance of the sector for the national economy and the refreshed strategic freight priorities.
The Australian Government claims that the updated strategy also sets the agenda for a collaborative approach to deliver actions by governments and industry across different freight mores.
Furthermore, it outlines four priority areas – productivity, resilience, decarbonisation and data.
“As industry and consumer demand grows, it’s vital our roads, rails and ports can accommodate increasing freight movements with resilience, efficiency and emissions-reduction front of mind,” King said.
The new National Action Plan accompanying the strategy outlines a set of actions which the Government will work with industry to deliver.
These key actions include:
- developing a National Freight Resilience Plan to ensure a consistent and coordinated response to significant supply chain disruptions;
- developing a Freight Infrastructure Investment Framework to guide infrastructure investment decisions in freight networks across Australia;
- conducting safety research on batteries and zero emission power technologies for freight vehicles and locomotives as well as promoting the uptake of safety and productivity boosting technology; and
- modelling the current and future freight and supply chain network, to consider what is needed to support its efficiency and effectiveness into the future.
The Victorian Transport Association (VTA) has welcomed the release of the National Freight Strategy and is applauding the proactive steps being taken to strengthen Australia’s supply chain resilience.
VTA CEO, Peter Anderson, said the strategy’s four key actions are timely and necessary measures to ensure the long-term efficiency and reliability of Australia’s national freight system.
“These initiatives reflect a growing recognition of the freight and logistics industry’s vital role in supporting Australia’s economy and communities,” he said.
“We particularly welcome the focus on coordinated infrastructure planning and the integration of new technologies to improve safety and productivity.”
In other news, a complete closure of the West Gate Freeway outbound has been announced.
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