A long-awaited report on NSW freight policy was publicly released recently, titled: “Delivering freight policy reform in New South Wales”. The report was created a panel comprising Dr Kerry Schott AO, Lucio Di Bartolomeo, and Dr Hermione Parsons.
The report mostly focused on land-side matters. A non-exhaustive list of recommendations in the report were as follows:
Information & data
- Develop industry-wide data standards for freight movement tracking to ensure consistency in data and interoperability in anticipation of data sharing agreements across the NSW freight supply chain
- Finalise and implement data sharing agreements with key industry participants within the NSW freight supply chain, including the ARTC, to provide comprehensive supply chain data for industry and government
- Identify existing sources of data and identify gaps in that data for government policy development, for planning and investment by both government and industry and use in network management
- Note the owners of that identified data and where arrangements can be made to improve the sharing of relevant information for government and industry
- Identify data about the movement of goods, including modes, origin and destination, time of travel and end to end journey
- The NSW Government to engage with the Australian Government and collaborate with industry to develop a (or support a national) data repository (potentially open data source) that will collect and hold data about the movement of goods, including modes, origin and destination
- Investigate the possibility of removing the current broad constraints in contracts and agreements that prevent the use of key data for policy and planning purposes
Strategic planning and land
- Establish and maintain a prioritised list of strategic infrastructure projects that will support improved freight networks across NSW
- Consider the proposal to rezone land at Glebe Island and White Bay for housing developments, noting that the co-existence of freight activities and residential development is typically not sustainable and that port infrastructure of this kind is irreplaceable
Skills & workforce
- Develop a program, in partnership with industry bodies, to promote recruitment and training programs focused on attracting new entrants to the maritime, road freight and rail freight workforce from under-represented backgrounds, particularly women
- Develop a targeted skills and workforce attraction program for the freight sector aimed at addressing roles with the most acute shortages (such as heavy vehicle drivers, train drivers and seafarers) and from under-represented backgrounds
Decarbonisation
- Investigate the Port Botany container task and the regional grain task to maximise modal shift to rail including potential for zero emission rail
- Continue to work with the Australian Government and jurisdictions to deliver a harmonised approach to freight decarbonisation
Resilience
- Embed freight outcomes in resilience planning, including development of freight resilience metrics to inform monitoring and evaluation of actions
- Work with the Australian Government on measures that can be taken to improve resilience in the interstate freight logistics chains and to the ports in NSW
Ports & rail
- Confirm the port policy position is to encourage competition between the ports and specifically it is not for government to determine the location for a second container port in NSW. Recognise that Port Botany remains the key container port for NSW
- Finalise necessary planning and confirm funding to deliver upgrades to Port Botany access roads
- Adopt the recommendations from the Port Botany Landside Improvement Strategy Independent Review
- Stevedores should consider simplifying their charging structure
- The National Transport Commission should review the National Voluntary Guidelines for stevedore charges and consider the updates made to the Victorian Government Voluntary Pricing Protocol
- The Australian Government should consider the Productivity Commission Maritime Supply Chain Inquiry finding about stevedore charges and the recommendation to develop a national mandatory code for stevedore charges, to determine whether action in this area is required
- Amend the regulation of container stevedore rail servicing at Port Botany to apply annual CPI price increases, backdated from its introduction in 2011 and ongoing. Reconsider this in 64 the five year review of PBLIS changes with a view to removal of the regulation
- Work with industry to identify options within the MRN for breaking down longer trains to 600 metre lengths dedicated to particular stevedores
- Work to enable the provision of saleable, end-to-end rail access – a cycle that includes a timetable path from an IMT to the port, a window at the port and a timetabled path from the port back to an [intermodal terminal]
- Investigate adding additional capacity to the rail network in the longer term, by increasing the provision of dedicated freight lines… including upgrades to the connections of regional lines to the Hunter Valley network to enable more regional freight to move via the Port of Newcastle
Governance
- Identify where there are opportunities for better harmonisation between the Australian and NSW governments and industry and prioritise how to address these matters
- Communicate with the Australian Government about near-term NSW requirements that require funding contributions and/or expertise from the Australian Government
- Within Transport, review the existing structure to ensure freight functions are coordinated at a departmental level. This may include appointing a Deputy Secretary to take this responsibility or by placing all the freight functions within one division
- Support the establishment of an industry-led port supply chain coordination body, to be chaired by an independent expert, to identify opportunities to develop a collaborative approach to the port rail task
- Liaise with the Australian Government about the national regulation of stevedore charges
- Commence open development of alternative mandated models of operations for the port rail, potentially market redesign, to be introduced within a reasonable period if required, should industry efforts stall
- Involve the Australian Government in strategic planning that identifies new longer-term infrastructure requirements that are relevant at both a state and national level
Incidentally, Shipping Australia notes that mention is made in the report of port charges being applied to vessels by port operators such as NSW Ports, Port of Newcastle and the Port Authority for services such as navigation and wharfage. It acknowledges that charges are subject to “light touch price monitoring regulation under the Ports and Maritime Administration Act (PAMA) 1995”. However, the report makes no analysis or comments on the appropriateness of this price monitoring mechanism of port charges.
Shipping Australia believes that there or ought to be, a link between waterfront pricing and productivity. It is worth noting that Australia’s ports are ranked quite lowly on the World Bank Container Port Performance Index. It would seem appropriate to Shipping Australia – given that our ports are our vital gateways to international trade – that there should be a correlation between waterfront productivity and pricing so that any investment in ports and / or an increase in pricing for ships in port ought to be linked to increased marine-side productivity.
