Public support from the powerful Victorian Freight and Logistics Council for the Truck Action Plan is both timely and important, says Member for Williamstown, Wade Noonan MP.

Speaking at the recent Moving Maribyrnong: Transport in the West function hosted by the Maribyrnong City Council, Rose Elphick, CEO of the Victorian Freight and Logistics Council, indicated that her organisation had recently written to the Baillieu Government urging them not to walk away from a number of key projects under the Victorian Transport Plan, including the Truck Action Plan and Westlink.

“This is a significant move from a peak body that is jointly funded by the Baillieu Government, and has on its Council thirty of the most senior and influential industry and government representatives, all hand-picked and appointed by the State Government,” Mr Noonan said.

“The Council exists to raise strategic issues with government which impact on the efficiency and future of the freight and logistics sector.”

“The Victorian Freight and Logistics Council includes the who’s who of the industry. Members include the Port of Melbourne Corporation, VECCI, Linfox, ANL, VicRoads, Victorian Farmers Federation, Victoria University, MAV, and three majors Unions. We are talking about some serious heavy-hitters here.”

In highlighting the need for the Truck Action Plan, the Victorian Freight and Logistics Council now joins a growing chorus of stakeholders including the Maribyrnong City Council, Transport Workers Union, Leadwest, MTAG, the Less Trucks for Moore Street Group, the Yarraville Community Centre, local schools and childcare centres in their support of an infrastructure project that would redirect one million trucks away from local roads in and around the Footscray/Yarraville area.

“This support highlights that the Truck Action Plan is not just about improving community amenity, it’s also about moving freight more efficiently around our city,” Mr Noonan said.

“The previous State Labor Government had a firm and well supported solution to removing truck traffic from residential streets and even allocated $40 million to commence the first of three stages of the truck bypass route.”

“The Baillieu Government may not care about local residents in Melbourne’s west, but will they turn their back on the freight industry?”

“Almost a year in Government and Ted Baillieu appears no closer to determining the future of this critical project.”

The following list shows the current members of the Victorian Freight and Logistics Council (as listed on their website).

Victorian Freight and Logistics Council members:

Chair: John Begley Begley, Hobba Manton Pty Ltd 

Mr Stephen Bradford	Port of Melbourne Corporation
Ms Nola Bransgrove	Branstrans Pty Ltd
Mr Jim Cooper	Port of Portland
Mr Trevor Dobbyn	Rail, Tram and Bus Union
Mr Peter Fox	Fox Group Holdings Pty Ltd
Mr Terry Garwood	Department of Transport
Mr Chris James	VECCI
Mr Tim Kennedy	National Union of Workers
Mr Gary Liddle	VicRoads
Mr Phil Lovel AM	Victorian Transport Association
Mr Wayne Mader	Transport Workers Union
Mr David Marchant
Mr Wes McDiarmid	Future Force Training & Recruitment
Mr David Munro	ANL Container Line Pty Ltd
Mrs Maria Palazzolo	GS1 Australia
Dr Hermione Parsons	Institute for Supply Chain and Logistics, Victoria Unviersity
Ms Sue Perry	Murray Goulburn Cooperative Ltd
Mr Richard Pierse	Future Force Training and Recruitment
Mr Robert O'Brien	Department of Business and Innovation
Mr Geoff Smith	SCT Logistics
Mr Rob Spence	Municipal Association of Australia
Mr Peter Tuohey	Victorian Farmers Federation
Mr Lil Valente	Melbourne Airport
Mr Ken Wakefield	Wakefield Transport/Ironhorse Intermodal
Mr Graeme Walker	DHL Global Forwarding
Mr Lindsay Ward	Victorian Regional Channels Authority (VRCA)
OBSERVERS
Mr Patrick Clancy	Senior Advisor to Minister Dr Denis Napthine, Minister for Ports, Regional Cities, Racing and Major Projects
Mr Phil Connole	Chief of Staff and Ports Advisor to Minister Dr Denis Napthine, Minister for Ports, Regional Cities, Racing and Major Projects
Mr Angelo Demertzis	Australian Rail Track Corporation
Mr Brian Fitzpatrick	Advisor to Minister Gordon Rich-Phillips, Minister for Technology, Minister responsible for the Aviation Industry
Mr John Ginivan	Observer for Minister Matthew Guy, Minister for Planning
Ms Sarah Smith	Advisor to Minister Richard Dalla-Riva, Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations and Manufacturing, Exports and Trade