Welcome to the latest Transport & Logistics Newsletter.
In this issue, we report on the Abolition of Australian Workplace Agreements and the key transport and infrastructure highlights from the Victorian State Budget 2008/2009. We also provide you with some suggestions on how to minimise your "Chain of Responsibility" exposure and the latest news from the Port of Melbourne.

If you would like further information on any of these or any other Transport & Logistics issues, please do not hesitate to contact Elizabeth Guerra-Stolfa, Partner, on +61 3 9608 2144 or e.guerra@cornwalls.com.au

OPERATOR/ MANAGER/ SCHEDULER

• Ensure rosters for drivers take into account:
  • a safe, legislated speed on each route;
    
  • proper rest breaks in accordance with driving hour laws;
    
  • mass and dimension limits.
    
    
• Record and store documents in relation to consignments, log book pages, mass and dimension limits.
  
  
• Create and continually update your company’s carrier procedures regarding consignments, log book pages, mass and dimension limits.

CONSIGNOR/ RECEIVER

• Never demand or ask a driver, either verbally or in writing to:
  • exceed driving hours;
    
  • exceed the speed limit;
    
  • carry goods that exceed vehicle dimension limits or mass limits.
    
    
• Sign the consignment paperwork after checking it is correct and records that not unreasonable demands have been placed on the carrier and/or the driver to demonstrate you have reasonably acted to prevent a breach under the Chain of Responsibility Laws.

LOADER/ PACKER

• Ensure you are trained in understanding the mass limits for all vehicles you load and the ramifications of not complying with relevant regulations that affect you, your company and the vehicle you are loading.
  
  
• Make sure the goods are loaded in a safe manner with the correct equipment to ensure the load is loaded the most efficient and effective manner possible.
  
  
• Use on-board weighing equipment as you load to ensure the vehicle is not overloaded to prevent unloading/ reloading if axle weights are exceeded.

DRIVER

• Ensure your vehicle is roadworthy prior to departing on your trip. Report any defects immediately to your supervisor or write it on the trip report to be handed in to your depot once the trip is complete.
  
  
• Ensure the equipment you need to restrain your load is adequate and in good condition. If you drive a fleet vehicle, ensure these items are included with your unit prior to departure.
  
  
• Ensure all loads are properly restrained.
  
  
• If your load is loaded by someone else, ensure your consignment paperwork is signed off by that person prior to departure with the Gross Vehicle Mass and Gross Combined Mass written down on your consignment documents.
  
  
• Do not speed - use cruise control when safe to do so.
  
  
• Do not tamper with the electronic speed limiter and/or other electronic devices fitted to your vehicle.
  Note your departure time so you can plan your required rest breaks around the facilities you may need on your journey.

The Rudd Federal Government has now handed down its budget for 2008/9 and the following are the key highlights of most relevance to you and your business:

• A new Building Australia Fund is to be established to finance major transport and communications infrastructure unable to be financed by the States or the private sector. This Fund is to receive an initial allocation of $20 billion to deliver roads, rail, ports and broadband imperatives. Financing is not to commence until 2009/10.
  
  
• It is expected that the Federal Government will increasingly deploy Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) and other risk-sharing models.
  
  
• $75 million of funding is to go to the States for feasibility studies on high priority transport projects including those covered in the recent Eddington Report. The States will also contribute $57 million to this program and it will be overseen by a new policy advisory body, Infrastructure Australia, to be chaired by Sir Rod Eddington.
  
  
• $3.2 billion will be spent on road and rail transport projects in 2008/09 focusing on NSW ($905m), Victoria ($497m) and Queensland ($826m).
  

• $51 million of spending will be brought forward to begin eight major Victorian road projects in 2008/09, including:

  • $25 million to strengthen and improve the capacity of Melbourne’s West Gate Bridge;
    
  • $6.5 million to extend the Geelong Ring Road to Anglesea; and
    
  • smaller allocations of $5 million towards planning major AusLink projects such as duplicating the Western Highway from Ballarat to Stawell and planning the Nagambie Bypass on the Goulburn Valley Highway.
    
    

• The Hon Anthony Albanese Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government announced the Government would spend $277 million on Victorian road construction and maintenance in 2008/09 and eliminate 55 black spots on the State’s roads at a cost of $11.4 million.
  
  

• Another key transport spending initiative, includes $70 million to:
  

  • establish a heavy vehicle safety and productivity program;
    
  • fund trials of technologies aimed at curbing driver speed and fatigue problems;
    
  • fund the construction of parking areas; and
    
  • rest stops on highways and fund upgrades to freight routes.

Cornelis Zanen dredging in Yarra River
Since it began in early February, the project has been undertaken well within all environmental limits with turbidity readings well below the levels set out in the project’s comprehensive Environmental Management Plan.

In May, the vessel Cornelis Zanen began work in the Yarra River while the Goomai vessel began work south of the West Gate Bridge.

The Queen of the Netherlands continues to work at the entrance to Port Phillip Bay as part of this critical project to ensure the sea highway to Melbourne can accommodate deeper draught vessels over the next 30 years.
Visit www.channelproject.com for project updates.

Record exports drive port container growth A record month of containerised exports has boosted total trade throughout in April, Port of Melbourne Corporation (PoMC) announced last night at its annual stakeholder event.

Heading for its seventeenth consecutive year of trade growth, all cargo types recorded strong results in April with total port trade increasing by 12.7% over the same month last year and up 6.9% for the year to date.

Led by full containerised exports which increased 15.3% to a record 65,654 TEU1 for the month, total container throughput for April recorded significant growth of 12.6% on last year. This occurred whilst drought conditions still prevail in Victoria indicating the current strength of the Victorian economy, Full container imports increased 10.9% over April last year.
Having set a new milestone last year as the first port in Australia to handle 2 million TEU in a twelve month period, the total number of containers handled by the Port in the twelve months to the end of April is now over 2.23 million TEU.

Addressing guests including local council representatives, shipping lines, port service providers and community members at PoMC’s stakeholder event, CEO Stephen Bradford said:

"The Port of Melbourne is one of Victoria’s great economic assets and the strong trade result is good for our exporters.
We intend to build on this success through the Channel Deepening Project which will deliver greater efficiency in handling the increased volume of trade for a growing population."

1. TEU = Twenty-foot equivalent unit, the standard international measure for container volumes.
   
   
2. The Port of Melbourne is the largest container and general cargo port in Australia, handling around 37% of the nation’s container trade.
   
   
3. The Port of Melbourne handles around $90 million of exports on average each day.

*Source: Port of Melbourne Corporation, Media Release - 30 May 2008 (Images also supplied by the Port of Melbourne Corporation)

For further information on any of the articles that appear in this Newsletter please contact Elizabeth Guerra-Stolfa, Partner, on +61 3 9608 2144, Louise Houlihan, Partner, on 61 3 9608 2273 or l.houlihan@cornwalls.com.au or Michael Gough, Partner, on +61 3 9608 2232 or m.gough@cornwalls.com.au