Why is it that freight logistics tends not to be part of the transport portfolio at the State level with the same sense of prioirity as passenger logistics? What is it about freight that leaves government cold? Surely it's not as simple as the voting patterns of commuters?
It could be argued that ports (sea, air and inland) are of great interest because they are obvious and large pieces of dedicated infrastructure. Roads and rail tend to be multi purpose and ubiquitous in our urban landscape. They blend in, and the freight task is obvious only to other road users. Although even that is changing as B-Doubles become more common in the suburbs.
Freight demographics are wrapped around small businesses, low margins, scattered organisations, little common ground for lobbying and advocacy at the State level, and "freight don't vote". Doctors, lawyers and accountants have more profile and clout at the State level than the freight industry, even though there are many more truckies than dentists. Truckies are just not that well organised - in spite of the efforts of the ATA and the TWU.
I was surprised the other day when I was speaking with a State member of parliament about an integrated transport authority as a good poilicy move and wondering where the freight task fitted into the scheme of things. The answer was 'it doesn't". We have pubilc transport (trains, trams, buses, taxis, airplanes), and then we have freight. That was seen to be outside transport as a policy area. It fitted uneasily into a State development area - along with private investment, small business, industry policy and the rest.
Yet how can one have an integrated transport strategy with freight off to one side? Trucks share the roads with buses, freight trains share with passenger trains, airports are multi modal and the growthy of intermodal terminals will bring all these modes together in the middle of the suburbs. An integrated freight logistics strategy must necessarily be part of an integrated State transport strategy, City logistics (the movement of freight in urban areas) is key to quailty of life, effecient last mile delivery along the supply chains, and general design of communities.
Hopefully the fact that "freight don't vote" will not continue to blindside political parties and governments tot he urgent need for better integration of ALL transport modes across our nation. Our productivity depends on it.