Alliance And Transport Forum Come Together

In December the Alliance of Councils for Rail Freight Development and the Metropolitan Transport Forum met to discuss the current transport needs in Victoria.

Cr Geoff White, Acting Chair of the Alliance of Councils for Rail Freight Development stated that this was an historic day for transport advocacy in Victoria. 42 of the 79 Councils in Victoria are represented by these two groups.

Cr Tom Melican, President of the Metropolitan Transport Forum described the December Meeting of the two groups as a “mature approach from Local Government to Transport advocacy in Victoria.”

Both groups want to see more freight on rail. “Governments need to have a strong bias towards rail, the success of intermodal, port facilities and the investment made to the road network cannot be fully realised unless the rail network becomes part of the solution”, Cr White said.

The Victoria Government two key documents, The Freight State and Plan Melbourne, were high on the agenda for discussion. Both groups agree that Victoria needs an implementation strategy for these plans. “There needs to be a funded Transport Plan for Victoria, Cr Melican said.   Successive governments have been very “project focused”, the current documents do identify future transport needs for Victoria, however without an investment strategy and these needs will be at the whim of successive government budgets.”

The two groups intend to continue discuss transport needs in Victoria and advocate for improved transport outcomes for their members and all Victorians. Cr White said, “There will always be competing interests for any government, the financial commitment to transport in this state is vital, failure to act will impact on the financial viability of this state and future generations of Victorians.  The Alliance of Councils for Rail Freight Development and the Metropolitan Transport Forum will continue work together with State and Federal Governments.”