Roads Australia
Sections of the media have speculated on a range of transport and funding initiatives said to be on the table at today’s meeting of Commonwealth and state transport ministers.
Melbourne’s Herald Sun said the ministers would consider a plan to fit digital tachographs – dubbed ‘back boxes’ by the paper – to heavy vehicles, while the Fin Review and The Australian reported on trucking industry warnings of increased prices to consumers if the ministers adopted increases to heavy vehicle charges. The Herald Sun also speculated on how $17 billion in national road funding to the states would be carved up by the Rudd Government.
In other news, the Herald Sun and the Courier Mail today reported that Caltex was advocating a carbon tax on drivers as part of the country’s overall greenhouse reduction strategy – a suggestion the Federal Government had rejected, according to both papers.
Meantime a report in The Australian this week quoting Monash University energy experts said that car travel would need to be cut by 80 per cent to meet emissions standards recommended by Professor Ross Garnaut.
The West Australian reported this week that local government was unhappy with the level of infrastructure spending in Perth while the State’s regional road network required $1.75 billion for repairs.
The West Australian also reported on Federal Bureau of Transport and Regional Services predictions of a 40 per cent increase in Perth traffic by 2020.
And in Sydney, the SMH reported this week on an NRMA study that found a serious shortage of car parking spaces at suburban rail stations was forcing more vehicles onto the road, adding to the city’s traffic congestion.
The ARF and other industry groups have welcomed the appointment of Sir Rod Eddington to chair the Federal Government’s new Infrastructure Australia body.
The announcement was made this week by Infrastructure and Transport Minister, Anthony Albanese.
ARF President, Ray Fisher, says the choice of Sir Rod is encouraging given his vast experience in transport and planning, while Australian Logistics Council Chief Executive, Hal Morris, says Sir Rod brings global perspective and experience to this vital new role.
Announcing the appointment, Minister Albanese said Sir Rod would bring strong leadership and formidable experience to the position, with a career in domestic and international transport and aviation stretching almost three decades.
“As a West Australian with connections across the country, and indeed across the globe, he personifies the importance Infrastructure Australia will play in the Rudd Labor Government's fresh approach to national economic management,” Mr Alabense said.
Sir Rod’s credentials include a five-year stint as head of British Airways, and authorship of a major study for the British Government on the long-term links between transport and economic growth.
Most recently, he has led the Victorian Government’s study of options for Melbourne's east-west transport link - a project he will complete before taking up the chair of Infrastructure Australia.
The Rudd Government is yet to announce the full membership of the 12-member Infrastructure Australia advisory council, which will include representatives from both the public and private sectors.
The Federal Government’s new Infrastructure Australia body needs to address the uneven flow of projects in the national infrastructure pipeline as one of its first priorities, according to the ARF.
ARF President Ray Fisher says the road industry wants Infrastructure Australia to play a lead role in getting the states and Commonwealth to better coordinate with the private sector on the planning and delivery of major infrastructure projects.
“One of the ways of addressing the national skills shortage, which is impacting heavily on the road construction business, is to better coordinate the flow of projects into the marketplace,” Mr Fisher said this week.
“As one major project finishes we should have another ready to go so that resources can be moved around seamlessly.
“At present we can have two or three major projects happening in one place at any one time, then a three or four-year drought.”
ARF's policy priorities in this area were set out by Leighton Holdings Chief Executive and ARF member, Wal King, in his address to the ARF's annual lunch last December. At the lunch, Mr King told ARF members one of the major constraints to infrastructure delivery was the lack of government coordination.
“For example, at one stage in Sydney we had three mega projects at once - the Cross City Tunnel, the M7 and the Epping to Chatswood railway. Now there is not one major project in Sydney,” Mr King said at the lunch.
Mr Fisher said the challenge for governments was to coordinate the flow of projects ‘across state boundaries’, and at the same time provide longer-term planning and funding pipelines with firm commencement dates.
“The project pipeline needs to be longer and more transparent,” he said.
“The road construction industry can’t marshal resources overnight, nor can it adequately meet skill demands across-the-board when all the work falls in its lap at the one time.”
The ARF conducted its own survey of road industry skills last October, and found an alarming lack of confidence in the industry’s ability to adequately resource projects in the medium term.
Four out of five survey respondents said the current skills shortage would seriously impact on the road industry’s ability to deliver major Commonwealth and state road programs, on time and budget, over the next two to five years.
The survey identified serious shortages in all major skill categories, including engineers, field supervisors and road construction workers.
“The skills crisis is very real in the road industry, but one way we can overcome it is to make more effective use of the resources we currently have,” Mr Fisher said.
“Our organisation looks forward to working with Infrastructure Australia to ensure this happens.”
Construction has commenced on the $45 million upgrade of the Nerang South (Nielsens Road) interchange on the Gold Coast, signalling the start of the upgrade of the Pacific Motorway between Nerang and Tugun.
Contractor Seymour White will undertake the upgrade, which includes widening the overpass across the M1 from two lanes to eight lanes. The interchange is due for completion by mid-2009.
Qld Main Roads Minister, Warren Pitt, said last week the staged approach to upgrading the M1 demonstrated the State Government's commitment to tackling pressing congestion and safety concerns on one of Queensland's busiest roads.
The stretch of the M1 between Nerang and Tugun carries more than 100,000 vehicles each day.
"By rolling out the Pacific Motorway upgrade in stages, Main Roads can identify and target the most pressing needs," Mr Pitt said.
"On top of the $423 million Queensland has invested in constructing the Tugun Bypass, nearly $400 million in combined state and federal funds are available to upgrade the M1 between Nerang and Varsity Lakes.
"The Nerang South upgrade is just the start of this."
The South Australian Government will convene a high-level taskforce to address the urgent need for a sustainable future supply of truck drivers across the State.
Announcing the initiative, SA Transport Minister Patrick Conlon said the Future of SA Freight Taskforce would develop strategies to entice and retain drivers into and within the industry.
“We are on the cusp of the largest mining boom in the State’s history but we are also conscious of other growth sectors, such as timber in the South East,” Mr Conlon said.
“There already is an ever-increasing need for truck drivers in all areas of the State and I believe Government needs to play a strong role in ensuring we are prepared.”
The Future of SA Freight Taskforce will be co-ordinated by Trudi Meakins, the Executive Director of Policy and Planning in the Department of Transport, Energy and Infrastructure.
It will involve the SA Police, SafeWork SA, Department of Further Education, Employment, Skills and Training (DFEEST) and the Department of Trade and Economic Development (DTED), in close consultation with SARTA, the SA Freight Council, the Transport Workers’ Union and the Skills Board Transport Distribution Training SA.
“Government is exploring the promotion of our employment opportunities and we are also keen to work with Migration and Immigration authorities to entice skilled migrants to SA,” Mr Conlon said.
The Minister has also announced that the Government will soon formalise a roundtable group of SA industry leaders to develop priorities for Commonwealth Auslink funding.
The Australian Automobile Association (AAA) has called on the Federal Government to conduct a comprehensive examination of Australia's transport networks with a 20-year horizon, to ensure better connectivity between road, rail and public transport.
AAA, in its formal Budget submission released this week, also proposes replacing existing state and federal road taxes with a road user charge, increasing funds for AusLink 2 to $25 billion, and calls for funding promised during the election campaign for a driver education program, keys2drive.
AAA Executive Director, Mike Harris, said in releasing the Budget submission that the government's new body, Infrastructure Australia, would be well-placed to handle the proposed reform agenda.
"While funds are being made available to develop improved road and rail infrastructure for the Australian community and economy, there is a need for a long-term commitment to better utilise this investment," Mr Harris said.
"We need a longer-term commitment to an integrated land transport network, with a 15 to 20 year horizon to make sure the increased investment is properly allocated.
"AAA and the clubs believe such an examination should look at the interconnectivity of road, rail and public transport, reducing congestion across all cities and increasing AusLink funds to ensure our national highways have at least a 4-star rating.
"We also strongly believe the government should develop a fairer and more efficient system of charging road users – one which replaces the current state and federal road taxes with a road user charge. This road user charge should reflect the costs of actually using the road.
"We welcomed the government's commitment during the election to supporting keys2drive – which will provide a free professional driving lesson to learners where their supervising driver also takes part in the lesson – and look forward to seeing a commitment in the Budget of $17 million over four years.
AAA's 2008 Federal Budget submission can be downloaded at www.aaa.asn.au
Australia’s transport ministers have voted unanimously to approve a national rail reform package that includes joint audits of level crossing safety risks by road and rail-track owners and operators.
The new laws, developed by the by the National Transport Commission (NTC), require rail operators, rail infrastructure managers, road authorities and the owners/managers of private roads to jointly identify, assess and manage safety risks at level crossings and other road-rail interfaces.
The initiative complements existing government programs to improve level crossing protection and educate road users.
“With about 100 crashes a year between trains and road vehicles, level crossing safety remains a major public safety issue,” NTC Chief Executive Nick Dimopoulos said.
“This approach is about bringing the right parties together to work cooperatively on plans to reduce the risk of a major accident.”
Australia has 9,400 public railway level crossings, of which 2,650 (30%) have 'active' protection such as barriers. Additionally, there are numerous private industry railway level crossings.
States and Territories are expected to implement the amended laws by mid-2008 – the revised target date for commencement of national rail safety laws. A three- year transitional period (after commencement of the legislation) will apply, with priority on high risk/high incidence level crossings.
ARRB is hosting a series of free, two-hour road management information sessions at locations across Victoria in March.
The sessions are aimed at road managers involved with local and state roads, mine and haul roads, forestry, national parks and defence roads.
The sessions will cover:
For more information, including dates and locations, go the ARRB website
Submitted by Mark Bowmer on Friday February 29th 2008 1:19pm
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