The NSW Freight and Ports Plan 2018-2023 will deliver safer, faster, more efficient and sustainable freight movement to boost a growing NSW economy.

More than $5 billion will be invested across the sector to support the growing freight task while managing growth and congestion across road and rail.

Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight, Melinda Pavey, said more than three million households and businesses across the state tap in to the freight network every day, relying on the timely and efficient movement of good to markets nationally and globally.

“The amount of freight moved through NSW is set to grow by 28 percent to more than 618 million tonnes by 2036. To support this, the NSW Freight and Ports Plan 2018-2023 provides more than 70 initiatives for increasing capacity on the existing network, including building new infrastructure,” Ms Pavey said.

“From big businesses to farmers, retailers to consumers – we all rely on our goods getting to us in a safe and efficient manner. For this reason the NSW Government has set firm targets to achieve faster, more efficient and higher capacity networks to remain competitive, support jobs and deliver economic growth across NSW.

“With freight and logistics contributing more than $180 million to the NSW economy every day, an increasing population and consumer preferences changing, the freight network will face increased future demand.

“This, compounded by a desire to have same day delivery for online goods, requires government and industry to have the freight network capable of working at full throttle.”

Chief Executive of Ports Australia, Mike Gallacher, said that it is promising that the plan acknowledges the Ports contribution to the NSW economy, and the requirement to protect and incorporate opportunities to grow.

“As a national association representing all the Ports in the country and NSW it is pleasing to see all of NSW’s Ports considered in this plan and the contribution they make to the state’s economy.

“Coastal shipping is a key initiative identified by the plan to achieve its five goals of economic growth, efficiency, connectivity and access, capacity, safety and sustainability.

“In stark contrast the Federal Government’s Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport and Cities tabled its report on the development of cities last week which seeks to achieve the same goals but ignores the critical role of Ports and coastal shipping in achieving them.

“We encourage all governments, especially the Federal Government, to begin exploring various ways to accommodate our growing population and freight task including using our blue highway to its potential.

“We need to start having this discussion while we still have time to make sensible well-planned decisions rather than playing catch up with a doubling freight task.

“The state freight plans will feed into the Federal Government’s National Freight and Supply Chain Strategy and we would expect that Minister McCormack’s strategy would approach Australia’s freight network holistically leveraging the connectivity of rail, flexibility of road and capacity of shipping on our blue highway.

“The NSW Government freight plan recognises that it will require engagement between state and local governments in collective planning to build efficient and effective supply chains.”

Significantly, the plan brings together policy makers, producers, operators, regulators and government allowing for more coordinated and better freight planning.

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