Article: The proof of ports strategy lies in convincing COAG

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The proof of ports strategy lies in convincing COAG

The proof of ports strategy lies in convincing COAG

    * From: The Australian
    * January 10, 2011 12:00AM

Nation needs action, not another layer of bureaucracy

THERE were some ironies in the decision by Julia Gillard and Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese to launch the national ports strategy in Perth last week. The strategy is dependent on reaching agreement between the states and the commonwealth yet Western Australia is making an artform of spurning Canberra these days. The good news is that the federal government is not attempting a takeover, having learnt from the problems former prime minister John Howard encountered when he tried to bring the ports under Canberra's control. But the document's limited approach and lack of detail only serve to underline the challenges Canberra faces in trying to effect change in an area dominated by state and territory administrations.

Mr Albanese correctly argues productivity is being "severely hindered" by bottlenecks but the minister's ability to execute the long-term infrastructure planning and development needed to lock in Australia's global competitiveness rests in large part on convincing the states to play their part in the national project. That co-ordination must be achieved with state governments that can be relied upon to use the strategy to extract funds from the commonwealth.

Indeed, Queensland has already made that funding link ahead of next month's meeting of the Council of Australian Governments that will discuss the strategy. COAG will examine 42 proposals, including requiring 15- to 30-year "master" plans from port operators -- both government and private; streamlined environmental processes; and benchmarking against global ports. Most contentious is a plan that would require state and local planning authorities to develop "buffer" zones to prevent residential developments and major shopping centres from taking land that could be needed for port expansion or transport links down the track. The master plans are supposed to outline how operators will cope with the tripling of trade through our 42 ports in the next 20 years, but the strategy is light on any clear plans to expand port capacity. This lack of detail has been noted by some critics who have welcomed, in broad terms, Canberra's involvement in ports planning.

The document backs the use of freight charges to encourage the use of rail rather than road for the transport of goods to and from the nation's ports. Further details are expected in the draft national freight strategy to be released at the end of the month and there is room for more efficient use of rail where appropriate. NSW has a long-term target of transporting 40 per cent of all freight from ports using rail, yet rail's share is less than 20 per cent.

For many years, The Australian has encouraged the government to address the infrastructure bottlenecks at our ports that have long been identified by the Reserve Bank as inhibiting Australia's productivity. The Gillard government gets a tick for starting the process but the potential for the strategy to descend into little more than another layer of bureaucracy is a worrying aspect of a plan touted as an answer to the nation's chronic transport and logistical problems. Labor will need to show more reform will than it has in the past to turn this strategy into concrete action.