National Ports Strategy is a well-founded approach
The release today, Friday 7 January, of the National Ports Strategy has been welcomed by Engineers Australia as the fundamental move to counter growing restrictions on the crucial capacity of Australia’s ports infrastructure.
The Chief Executive of Engineers Australia, Peter Taylor, said, “Ensuring that Australia’s ports can expand in line with the economic opportunities and be seamlessly integrated into the transport chain is at the core of Australia-wide interests.
“While Australia continues to benefit from a wide variety of economic opportunities, expanding the capacities and efficiencies of our ports needs integrated, long-term planning that is underpinned by a bi-partisan, national mind-set and actions.
“The National Ports Strategy is well-founded by packaging long-term planning, the balance between communities and industry needs and improving environmental approval processes, and then progressively checking overall outcomes against world benchmarks.”
In November 2010, Engineers Australia released its latest Australian Infrastructure Report Card and that assessment included an overall B minus for Ports. However, that rating was in relation to the now and medium-term; actions are needed now to resolve the longer-term realities around ports infrastructure.
“Australia’s geography means that our ports and a web of efficient transport corridors and intermodal facilities must be integrated to maximise the benefits of our current and future growth.
“Our national dependence on major ports naturally attracts population and urban development to be close to the economic stimulus of such infrastructure.
“However, the big issue for our future is keeping the national interest pathways to and from our ports open and catering for the future, rather than being inevitably strangled by expedient and unplanned or poorly planned urban development.
“For a start, land use decisions must give priority to infrastructure like ports that are nationally significant, and a key to that outcome will be the collective commitment that the Council of Australian Governments must deliver,” Peter Taylor concluded.
Media Contact: John Bright - 0407 234 490 / jbright@engineersaustralia.org.au
Engineers Australia is the common name of The Institution of Engineers Australia with over 93,000 members
