On any given day, up to 7000 containers are shipped out of Australia’s largest port – the Port of Melbourne.
A constant flotilla of ships sail through the port each day, their cargo generating billions of dollars for Victoria each year.
More often than not, they’re laden with tonnes of agricultural goods – cereal grains, dairy products, paper or timber – trucked to the port from the furthest reaches of regional Victoria.
So, it is only right that country Victorians should see their fair share of the $9.7 billion profit flowing from the Port of Melbourne lease.
A 10 per cent share of the proceeds – more than $970 million – will go to regional transport infrastructure, while an additional $200 million is earmarked for an Agriculture Infrastructure and Jobs Fund.
I hope to see some of this money used to rebuild our crumbling country roads and improve regional Victoria’s neglected passenger rail network.
It is vital these funds promote new investment and are not absorbed into existing transport programs, like the funded $58 million port-rail connection which would take 3500 trucks a day off the road, but was shelved by the Andrews Labor Government until the port was leased.
The lease has provided a $1.2 billion bonus for regional Victoria – but it wasn’t an easy road to get here.
The original deal proposed by the Andrews Labor Government neglected to recognise regional Victoria’s role in building the port into the asset it is today.
In fact, if Labor’s original deal was successful, the entire proceeds generated by the sale would have been spent in Melbourne.
That’s despite the fact the port has been built off the back of regional industries, like food exports.
The Nationals fought for months to wrestle a fair return for regional and rural Victoria, securing a 10 per cent fund quarantined for regional transport infrastructure.
Shamefully, country Victorians were forced to wait until the day after the sale was finalised for Labor to confirm we were worthy of two separate funds.
Until then, Labor refused to commit to the $200 million Fund on top of the 10 per cent for regional transport infrastructure. It would appear they were unwilling to risk the actual port proceeds failing to cover their Melbourne crossing removal program as well as passing on a fair share to regional Victoria.
The Liberal-Nationals also fought for amendments that ensure this port lease has a positive impact for all Victorians.
We abolished the arbitrary 20-year extension, limiting the lease to 50 years, to ensure the port will provide profits for future generations. We also ensured a second container port can be built when it is needed, without leaving the state open to a hefty compensation bill. A new port would take 10 to 15 years to build, so the 15 year cap – down from up to 70 years – means taxpayers will never have to pay compensation.
The Andrews Labor Government claimed these amendments would “devalue” the port and “compromise the interests and wellbeing of the freight and logistics industry” – the windfall $9.7 billion price tag would suggest otherwise.
I am immensely proud of the work of The Nationals that went towards securing a nearly $1.2 billion bonus to rural and regional areas – country Victoria deserves every cent.
