Doubts cast on peak farm body's agricultural freight strategy call

VFF president Emma Germano made the call, while hitting out at a proposed "carbon tax" on inefficient trucks, entering the port of Melbourne.

She said the proposed new tax on truck movements at the port was a "blatant cash-grab' and urged the government to redirect its focus to rail and high-capacity freight to lower its goal to cut emissions.

"Rather than slapping trucks companies and farmers with a nonsense tax, the government must develop a fit-for-purpose agricultural freight strategy," Ms Germano said.

"We need a plan and an incentive to move freight onto rail and this can be achieved through greater investment in rail corridors, tracks capable of double-stacking, rail loops and shuttle trains to lower unit transport costs."

The strategy must focus on smarter and targeted infrastructure investment, improved supply chain efficiency, better planning, coordination and regulation and better freight location and performance data, she said.

But Rail Futures Institute president John Hearsch said a specific strategy might be "a too narrow remit".

"From a rail viewpoint, nowadays we look at most freight being either bulk or containerised," he said.

"While most - but not all - bulk rail freight in Victoria is grain, containerised freight can be almost anything ranging from grain or wine, other foodstuffs or timber or household consumables.

"From the rail operator's view, contents of containers are largely irrelevant, unless they are dangerous goods."

"So far as rail is concerned, a freight strategy should be directed at measures for making rail more efficient and more competitive for those commodities and freight hauls which are, or could be, contestable by rail," Mr Hearsch said.

"In turn, those benefits can then be shared with producers and end customers in terms of better service and more competitive pricing."

In the specific case of the Mildura corridor and Murray Basin generally, the single largest benefit would be completion of the Murray Basin Rail Project, with priority given to provision of standard gauge from south of Maryborough via Ballarat to Gheringhap, near Geelong, he said.

He said in In July 2018 Transport for Victoria issued a freight Plan - "Delivering the Goods; Creating Victorian Jobs; Victorian Freight Plan".

"In our view, now almost three years later again, not much more has been achieved with the important exception that, with additional funding, V/Line has done a good job at bringing some of its freight lines to a better standard, with a modest axle load increase in a few instances," he said.

"The standout exception is the poor state of the Maroona-Portland line, in this instance an Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) responsibility.

"We have written to both the state and commonwealth Minsters urging that the stalemate impeding this important line be fixed," Mr Hearsch said.

RFI proposed the commonwealth fund the maintenance backlog as soon as possible, that it share the cost of the line upgrade 50-50 with the state and the line then returned to V/Line.

Meanwhile, Mildura-based Country Labor Party representative Tony Alessi said he and other committee members recently met with rail and road freight representatives, to discuss their needs.

Country Labor represents regional Victorian residents, within the state branch of the ALP.

Mr Alessi said he was seeking a meeting with Freight Minister Melissa Horne to discuss the outcome of the meeting between the Country Labor executive and freight operators serving Merbein, Mildura and Ultima.

He said all the operators wanted greater support for broad gauge rail lines, "and making the most of what we have got".

Mr Alessi said all operators said one of the limiting factors in getting more freight onto rail was the condition of roads, leading to road-rail intermodals.

"The condition of the roads around Merbein and Ultima mean some freight has to be repacked, or repackaged, making it very inefficient," he said.

"If we can get the roads to a higher standard, we can get heavier trucks into the depots and there would be a more equal interface.

"It makes it a lot easier for freight to be shifted across to rail."

It would be helpful if roads were prioritised, in order of importance, to allow greater maintenance on the ones carrying heavier vehicles, Mr Alessi said.

In turn, that would allow road freight operators greater access to intermodal hubs.

"In South Australia, they have a funding mechanism called "Roads of Sgnificance" - councils can use that money on roads they decide, based on local needs."