MHD FROM ALC
More than 70 per cent of Australia’s agricultural produce is exported.
STATES WILL SHAPE STRATEGY’S SUCCESS
T
he release of the National Freight and Supply Chain Strategy by Ministers attending the Transport and Infrastructure Council (TIC) meeting in Adelaide on 2 August was an important moment for Australia. For the first time, Australia now has a clear set of actions for improving supply chain efficiency which all governments nation-wide have committed to pursue. However, although we have agreement, we still need action to make certain that the Strategy becomes what ALC has always said it must be – a dynamic blueprint that delivers tangible results for Australia’s logistics operators. The TIC meeting also resolved to have all governments return to the next meeting scheduled for November with implementation plans, setting out the infrastructure investments and regulatory reforms they will pursue to give effect to the National Action Plan released in conjunction with the Strategy. In ALC’s view, these implementation plans must clearly spell out how, when and by whom actions will be delivered, so that progress can be measured and all jurisdictions can be held to account for the delivery of their undertakings.
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THE NEED FOR ACTION IS CLEAR It is impossible to understate how central the successful implementation of this Strategy will be to sustaining our standard of living in Australia. The price we pay for consumer goods, our international competitiveness, continued growth in exports and the liveability of our communities are all inextricably linked to our ability to move freight efficiently, safely and cost effectively. Achieving this is already a challenge that logistics operators face every day – and the challenge is only going to grow. Research undertaken to support the development of the Strategy shows that the size of Australia’s freight task will increase by 35 per cent between now and 2040. This is partly due to growth in Australia’s population, but also to changing consumer behavior and expectations. The growth in e-Commerce is a particularly notable factor, with the number of purchases growing by 20.2 per cent in just one year, between 2017 and 2018. The relative decline of local manufacturing means we are bringing in more goods to meet the day-today needs of domestic consumers and businesses. Some of Australia’s largest
KIRK CONINGHAM ALC CEO
imports by value are motor vehicles, computers and household appliances, refined petroleum and medications. At the same time, growing markets for Australian goods, particularly in the Asian region, are driving demand for our exports – and placing pressure on our freight networks as producers seek to get goods from point of origin to overseas markets as efficiently as possible. At present, 77 per cent of Australia’s
