On 9 June 2023 the Infrastructure and Transport Ministers’ Meeting (ITMM) agreed to bring forward the review of the National Freight and Supply Chain Strategy (NFSCS) by 12 months to this calendar year (see here for the full communiqué).
The Government’s decision is welcome news to Australia’s supply chain, freight and logistics sector who, led by the ALC, have advocated to bring the review forward since the Strategy was released in 2019 because:
- COVID-19 brought supply chain vulnerabilities to centre stage
- Extreme and disruptive climate events continue to impact infrastructure nationally and are not expected to diminish in force or frequency
- Technology continues to transform business
- Geopolitical tensions exist
- Workforce issues loom large
- Urban planning issues continue
- ESG is fundamental to our future
The NFSC Strategy with its foundation document - the National Freight and Supply Chain Priorities Report – recognised the importance of protecting freight corridors and industrial land as well as extending the education of urban planners to include supply chain and freight logistics, but much more needs to be done in relation to these and many other issues.
The ALC celebrates this recent outcome and looks forward to facilitating industry feedback for the review and attending the next ITMM scheduled for December to provide further advice and recommendations.
Read more about the National Freight and Supply Chain Strategy.