In order to ensure vital supply chains can continue to run through flood-affected parts of the state, the Victorian Government is working with industry and freight operators to protect cattle and deliver essential goods to communities.
Victorian Minister for Ports and Freight, Melissa Horne, said the Victorian Government is prioritising relief and recovery, collaborating with the Australian Defence Force to assist flood-affected communities, including liaising with agencies to ensure major supermarkets can deliver food supplies to regional cities and towns.
“In the tough times we’re seeing the spirit of collaboration thrive – this has been no more evident than in the dairy and livestock sectors which have been particularly hard hit by the floods,” Ms Horne said.
“We’ll continue to support industry and freight operators to ensure essential goods get to where they need to go.’’
The Department of Transport and the Livestock and Rural Transporters Association have moved quickly to accommodate the safe movement of 300 cows and 300 calves in northern Victoria to ensure they remained “mothered-up’’, to reduce the risk of losing more cattle.
In partnership with the dairy industry, regional emergency management officers and Incident Control Centres, the Victorian Government has coordinated access for milk-tankers as dairy competitors joined forces to share storage facilities which prevented milk from going bad.
The Department of Transport is also working closely with the State Control Centre to ensure heavy vehicle maps remain up to date with the latest road opening and closing information – appropriate detours are mapped as soon as they are declared safe.
In a further boost for the dairy industry, three new B-Triple maps have been released with four new AB-Triple maps to follow – these approved networks will allow for the movement of up to twice as much milk than a standard 26-metre-long B-Double combination.
On the rail-freight network, V/Line crews acted swiftly to repair a flood-affected section of track between Dunolly and Inglewood to ensure a freight train was able to travel safely south from Ultima in north-west Victoria to the Port of Melbourne and avoid being stranded.
The Victorian Government will continue to work with agencies and industry to ensure that critical supplies are safely delivered to affected communities.
For the latest updates on road conditions, visit the VicTraffic website here.
