KOOYONG Lawn Tennis Club in Melbourne’s inner east was the setting for the latest Shipping Australia state committee lunch and a fiery presentation from Roma Britnell, the state MP for South-West Coast opposition spokesperson for ports and freight.
While guests enjoyed some excellent cuisine, Ms Britnell, a former dairy farmer and nurse, tucked into the state government, lambasting what she considered it inaction over connectivity and getting more containers on to rail.
“The [Victorian] system isn’t the optimal it could be, in fact in a lot of places it is failing,” she said, noting funding commitments from the last coalition government to begin work on the Port Rail Shuttle Network.
“In anyone’s mind, how it is reasonable that the Port Rail Shuttle Network isn’t complete,” she said.
“It appears to me that serious leadership from government is needed.”
Ms Britnell cautioned that government plans for greater freight efficiency needed to go beyond sustainability, the latter point being a common mantra for governments around the world.
“It is about speed, reliability and cost effectiveness and without a clear roadmap for improving scheduling systems, data integration across supply chains and regulatory simplification, the plan is more aspirational than actionable,” she said.
Ms Britnell said the Sydney experienced showed getting more containers on to trains was viable and noted the need for dedicated rail to Webb Dock.
Webb Dock and a Bay West were examples of where government needed to step up, she argued.
After the formalities, a cheque presentation was delivered to Women in Shipping and Transport Association (WISTA) Australia.