Roads Australia
The public debate on road pricing has heated up in the first few weeks of 2010, ahead of the expected release of the Henry Tax review findings.
On Tuesday this week the Australian Financial Review ran a page-one article reporting industry calls for the revenue from any form of road-user charge to go directly into roads and public transport.
The report speculated that the Henry review would recommend congestion and distance-based charging.
Earlier this month the media set its sights on fuel excise.
Sydney’s Sun Herald led the charge on the back of the horrific Christmas road toll, calling for more funding to fix the national highway system. Under a front-page headline of ‘Highway Robbery’, the paper reported claims that only about a quarter of the fuel excise collected by the Commonwealth went back into roads.
RA Chief Executive, Ian Webb, was quoted in the article calling for an independent review of how tax revenue was raised and who got to spend it. Ian also spoke to television channels 7 and 9 on the issue.
Roads Australia’s case for a comprehensive review of road funding management - beyond single issues like fuel excise and congestion taxes - was outlined in a media release issued last month. As a follow-up, the Fin Review published a letter on the issue by RA President, Ray Fisher, in December.
RA members Transurban and the TWU have also been reported on the road pricing debate over recent weeks.
Click here to read RA’s recent media release outlining its position.
Southern Way has been awarded the contract to build and deliver the $759 million toll-free Peninsula Link project, Victorian Roads and Ports Minister, Tim Pallas, announced today.
Mr Pallas said the Southern Way consortium, comprising Abigroup, Bilfinger Berger and the Royal Bank of Scotland, submitted an outstanding proposal for the project that would deliver enormous benefits to the community, including 4000 direct new jobs.
Key features of the Peninsula Link project include:
The project is scheduled for completion in 2013.
Mr Pallas paid tribute to unsuccessful consortia, Connect 11 Partnership and ConnectSouth, for their high quality bids and professionalism during the bidding process.
He also thanked the Linking Melbourne Authority for managing the bid assessment and for continuing to oversee the project delivery through to its completion in early 2013.
Southern Way will finance and build Peninsula Link, as well as operate the roadway for 25 years with the Victorian Government to make quarterly payments under an Availability PPP. It is expected Southern Way will commence preparing for detailed design and construction of Peninsula Link immediately, with financial close on the contract scheduled for mid-February.
Construction work started on the first Peninsula Link bridge in Carrum Downs earlier this year and is expected to be completed by BMD Constructions in early 2011.
Australia's tragically high road fatality rate needs concerted national action to develop achievable solutions which can realistically bring down deaths and reduce road trauma, says the Australian Automobile Association (AAA).
The Association said the 2009 road death and trauma statistics presented a challenge to governments, the newly-established National Road Safety Council, motoring groups and the broader community.
AAA Technical Director, Craig Newland, said the 2009 figures – more than 1,500 fatalities compared to the 2008 figure of 1,464, according to media reports - presented the whole of Australia with an immediate challenge to find ways to bring down the road toll and reduce the economic costs of road trauma, valued at some $17 billion annually.
Mr Newland said the Australian Transport Council needed to move quickly to develop the next 10-year National Road Safety Strategy - the current NRSS ends this year and has fallen short of its original target of reducing road fatalities by 40 per cent.
"The sharp increase in the 2009 road toll is a tragedy which really shows the need for some leadership in recognising the scale of the problem and bringing targeted road safety solutions to reality," he said.
"But with five people dying every day on Australian roads and 75 hospitalised, the entire community must understand the fact everyone has to contribute to get the fatality rate down."
Mr Newland said the National Road Safety Council has been tasked with providing advice to the Australian Transport Council, comprising Australia's Transport Ministers, and facilitating the timely and effective implementation of road safety measures set out in the next National Road Safety Strategy through to 2020.
"Now is the time to pull together the necessary resources to bring about a serious reduction in road fatality and trauma – safer road infrastructure, increased vehicle safety, and safer driver behaviour.
"The United Nations has before it a 10-year global road safety action plan, Make Roads Safe, to operate from 2011 to 2020, and it is increasingly important Australia has such a blueprint to tackle this major killer of Australians."
In 2010, the Roads Australia policy chapters will build on last year's considerable success.
In particular, the Sustainability Chapter aims to deliver solid outcomes with the support of committed chapter members. New Chairman of the Sustainability Chapter, General Manager-Major Projects at Abigroup, Peter Walton, says he is looking forward to the challenge of leading the group.
"We aim to ensure sustainability is a top of mind issue for the industry. I hope my broad industry experience, along with the sustainability credentials of the new Deputy Chair, Jay Stricker, Technical Director at AECOM, will assist the Chapter to make an impact on policy in this area," he says.
Associate Director-General of Queensland Transport and Main Roads, Alan Tesch, has taken over the mantle as Chair of the Congestion Chapter from VicRoads Chief, Gary Liddle, who joins the RA Board in his capacity as Chairman of Austroads. Deputy Chairman of the Congestion Chapter is Philip Davies, Industry Director - Planning & Advisory at AECOM.
Alan Tesch says the most recently available estimate of the social cost of congestion in Australia - expected to be over $20 billion a year by 2020 - may now well be conservative.
Alan said the Congestion Chapter and Funding and Financing Chapter were working in close co-operation to maximise the policy positions and outcomes that Roads Australia will take to the country's key policymakers.
"The RA Congestion Chapter has an important role to play in working with both industry and government to ensure we get better outcomes from our road system," he says.
Capacity Chapter Chairman David Stuart-Watt, Regional Director (NSW & ACT) at Parsons Brinckerhoff, says the Chapter was extremely successful in 2009 in delivering results.
"But in 2010, we must continue to achieve our outcomes. Already this year, RA has facilitated a meeting between road agencies to move forward on publishing an ongoing program of work for eastern Australia."
The fourth RA Policy Chapter, led by SKM Chief Operating Officer, Tim Boyle, has commissioned Dr Max Lay to review road funding and financing in Australia. The review is expected to be released early this year and will kickstart a debate on how roads are funded in this country.
Transurban's Group General Manager of Strategy and Development, Andrew Head, has joined the Chapter as Deputy Chair.
2010 programs for each chapter will be released shortly. Contact RA's Policy Director, Christine Keyes, for more information on the Policy Chapters, at christine@roads.org.au or phone +61 405 249425.
Fulton Hogan has been selected to undertake the second construction package at the southern end of the Bruce Highway (Cooroy to Curra), Section B upgrade, with this work getting underway within weeks.
Federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister, Anthony Albanese, said this week excellent progress was being made on the jointly funded $613 million project, with major works having been underway since last September.
“Since we first announced funding, a little over seven months ago, two of the three major construction contracts have been awarded. Tenders for the third package of works are expected to be called in the middle of this year,” said Mr Albanese.
Queensland Main Roads Minister, Craig Wallace, said the second package of work was critical to fast-tracking the project while minimising disruption for motorists.
“This package of work will build a two-kilometre southern deviation off the Bruce Highway near Federal, between Sankeys Road and Middle Creek Road, allowing for construction of the new bridges over Skyring Creek,” Mr Wallace said.
“This work is not a temporary measure but will form part of the overall 12-kilometre alignment. Weather permitting, duplication of the entire 12-kilometre Section B is expected to be completed in 2012.”
The new section of highway has been designed as a superior, four-lane divided road, which will be out of the Mary River floodplain and above a one-in-100 year flood level.
Registration is now open for the 2010 RA Road Summit and John Shaw Medal Dinner, to be held in Sydney on April 22 and 23. Participants who book before February 28 can save 20 per cent on a combined Summit/Dinner registration.
The venue this year is WatersEdge at Pier One, Walsh Bay, overlooking Sydney Harbour.
The Summit is the peak annual gathering of Australia’s road industry leaders and in 2010 promises to again be a stellar industry event.
The program, which will shortly be available at the RA website, will comprise a mix of plenary sessions and workshops aligned with RA’s policy agenda.
The prestigious 2010 John Shaw Award and Dinner will be held on the first night of the Summit.
For information and registration of a Delegate’s Seat (Summit and Dinner combined), click here. To book for the John Shaw Medal Dinner only, including corporate tables, click here.
Fulton Hogan announced in December it had acquired the remaining 50 per cent shareholding of Pioneer Road Services Pty Ltd (PRS) from Shell Australia Limited. It purchased the initial 50 per cent shareholding of PRS from Hanson Construction Materials in May last year.
The acquisition increases Fulton Hogan’s turnover and Australian employee numbers by approximately 60 per cent and sees the addition of 35 asphalt plants – positioning the company as a leader in the Australasian asphalt and surfacing market.
Fulton Hogan Managing Director, Dave Faulkner, said last month the acquisition was the largest in the company's 76 year history and represented an opportunity to become one of Australasia’s leading and most capable asphalt and surfacing companies.
“The total acquisition of PRS allows Fulton Hogan to service a broader range of customers across regional Australia,” he said.
“Fulton Hogan’s unique vertically integrated business model of quarrying, surfacing, civil construction and maintenance allows us to grow our geographic footprint across Australasia. We will be able to provide a broader range of construction and maintenance services from these 35 additional facilities.”
Fulton Hogan has a long association with PRS through its ten year joint venture arrangement in Western Australia, RoadCare Pty Ltd, which is delivering the Southern Roads Services Alliance. Over the coming months PRS will be fully integrated into the Fulton Hogan brand, processes and systems, the company says.
Submitted by Mark Bowmer on Friday January 15th 2010 3:06pm
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