Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2007 10:08 AM

Subject: IPART inquiry

Hi everyone,

This is probably our last inquiry on the Port and it is all about traffic management - road and rail - and efficiency of supply chains.  The document is short - around 60 pages - and easily browsed.  You can download it for telephone for a copy(details below).   You don't have to address all the questions just choose those that apply.  But I would  stress how important it is to make your voice heard.  There are few areas in the Botany Bay catchment that will be unaffected by the traffic generated by the port.  The current footprint can achieve 2.6million(Dept of Planning figures) to 4million + TEUS(stevedores figures).  If the footprint is increased we will be looking around 6million + TEUS (Corrigan was suggesting 7million at the Commission of Inquiry).

This inquiry and any publicity associated with it is the last hurrah.  In the coming months the Federal government will be making commitments to the inland Gladstone/Toowoomba to Melbourne rail line.  It will be our opportunity to argue that the billions to be spent in Sydney supporting an expansion of the port footprint is a very bad state planning decision that exacerbates congestion problems in Sydney while ignoring the opportunities presented along the inland line and elsewhere.

The Government wants a 3rd stevedore for the new terminal and this was the reason why the COI recommendation for(effectively) 2 smaller terminal expansions was overruled.  The 2 stevedores operating at present, DP world(ex P&O) and Toll(ex Patrick) do not want another stevedore.  The MUA does not want another stevedore - there is a threat of using chinese labourers on special visas.  The Queensland Government will be leasing 2 berths to a 3rd operator(HPH) in 2010/2011 and this was announced in April.  It could be that HPH is not interested in Sydney but it is very unlikely. 

The Government also wants 40% of TUES moved in and out of Port Botany to go by rail.  At present about 20% go by rail.  Experts in rail freight/supply chain say the 40% cannot be achieved.  The Government also wants to spread the hours of the trucking operators to  24/7.  Again experts say that it can't be done because most small operators(trucks and warehouses) cannot afford to do it.  The Brereton report recommends 'penalities' for truck operators moving during peak hours.  The stevedores, and you can read the details in the IPART paper, operate a scheduling system that the truck operators have complained about.  The government has a quarrel with both the stevedores and the truck operators.  The Truck operators have a quarrel with the stevedores.  So IPART is an opportunity for the government to 'bash' both parties by pitting them against each other. 

Nevertheless the terms of reference are broad enough for a full review of the supply chain and that is why it is so important for groups like us to be asking questions - individually and collectively.  We may not have the hard data but we can be assured that there have been no comprehensive studies done of the supply chain in Sydney.  The government(and Sydney Ports) have not been interested in planning beyond the big picture.  That picture includes large land releases in the south-west and north-west for residential and wharehousing (1million plus sq meters of wharehousing over the coming few years), major infill developments off the major arteries and around the port and inner west, and intermodals such as Moorebank, Enfield, Eastern Creek, Ingleburn, Menangle and Minto.  This is solid labour party planning to build up and increase labour electorates and perhaps channel rewards to supporting land developers.  We can ask questions about rail, about the effectiveness of developments based on assumptions that 24/7 can be achieved.  We can ask for hard evidence of how supply chains operate.  We can ask about the F6, ramps for the M1, the expansion of the M5, and the M4East.  The government may hold to a big picture but the devil is very much in the detail.

Please encourage everyone you know to read/scan the IPART document and respond.  At present the port moves 1.4million TEUS with 80% of those going by trucks.  Their long term vision includes larger trucks(super B doubles - on Prince Highway, Foreshore, King Georges, M5, December 2006) and treble the number - at least.  And it includes a trebling of freight trains, at least.  Don't be deceived by the 3.2million cap on TEUS.  In the IPART terms of reference they are already referring to 3.9million and given the evidence from the stevedores we should expect around 6million.  Sartor can lift the cap on TEUS with the stroke of a pen. The major competitor Port Melbourne is planning for 7million TEUS by 2035.

Any questions please email me at chairperson@botanybay.info

Regards,

Lynda Newnam

www.botanybay.info

Review of the interface between the land transport industries and the stevedores at Port Botany

Invitation for Submissions The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (the Tribunal) is assisting the NSW Government with a review of the interface between the land transport industries and the stevedores at Port Botany, under Section 9 of the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal Act 1992. The volume of containers handled at Port Botany is growing rapidly, and truck congestion and road transport efficiency are causing concern to industry participants. The Tribunal will examine charges and access arrangements relating to the road vehicle booking system, rail access arrangements and other services provided by the stevedores, and will make recommendations on how the efficiency of the land side logistics chain could be improved.  As part of the review, the Tribunal has released an Issues. Paper and invites submissions from stakeholders and the general public. Submissions may be sent via portbotany@ipart.nsw.gov.au.

The Issues Paper is available from the Tribunal’s website at www.ipart.nsw.gov.au or can be obtained by phoning Betty Carter on (02) 9290 8483. Submissions should be made by 8 June 2007. Information regarding the process for lodging submissions and the Tribunal’s privacy policy may be obtained from the Tribunal’s website www.ipart.nsw.gov.au.

Inquiries should be directed to Dennis Mahoney on (02) 92908494 or portbotany@ipart.nsw.gov.au James P Cox, Chief Executive Officer and Full Time Member Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal PO Box Q290, QVB Post Office NSW 1230