The Commonwealth last week published a Review Report on the National Freight and Supply Chain Strategy summarising findings from the more than 70 submissions received from industry stakeholders (including the ARA).
The Review Report outlined the key findings and made six recommendations. Findings were well aligned with the rail freight sector’s contribution to the process. Overall, the Review Report explains that consultations found:
- The foundations of the existing 2019 Strategy remain strong, with goals still as relevant;
- There are clear emergent themes which require attention – chiefly decarbonisation, resilience, skills and workforce, land use planning, productivity, and interoperability;
- There was strong feedback on perceived performance and governance of the Strategy – showing there is a need for more accountability and stronger governance arrangements to better drive outcomes;
- Strategy should focus on nationally significant priorities supported by a small number of key performance indicators. However, there was little consensus on KPIs and many stakeholders suggested further industry/government collaboration to settle this issue.
The refreshed Strategy and new five-year National Action Plan are currently being developed in light of recommendations made in the Review Report and will be released in 2024.
For more information, contact ARA General Manager Freight and Heavy Haul, Georgia Nicholls.