Australia's first ever National Ports Strategy has been released and has been broadly welcomed by business groups, unions and port authorities.
The strategy aims to improve the efficiency of port related freight movements across infrastructure networks, minimise externalities associated with such freight movements and influence policymaking in areas relevant to freight.
"With the volume of trade moving through Australia's biggest ports expected to triple over the next 20 years, the strategy will also be vital in the future design, planning and construction of the nation's port infrastructure," said the Department of Infrastructure and Transport in a statement.
"The strategy is about creating a coordinated approach from all levels of government to planning for ports and their road and rail links," said National Transport Commission Chief Executive, Nick Dimopoulos.
"Ports handle 25 percent of all freight movements in Australia, and the amount of freight moving through them continues to grow," said Mr Dimopoulos.
The strategy covers both bulk commodity ports and container ports, which face increasing pressure as trade levels are expected to continue to double every ten years.
It will also require the nation's port authorities to prevent residential encroachment on main transport corridors near ports and to streamline environmental management.
The state of Queensland, which oversees some of the country's biggest ports, gave more conditional support for the document, linking it to commonwealth infrastructure funding.
The state of Victoria, which has Australia's biggest container port, also wants to link the national strategy to plans to develop the Port of Hastings into a container port to alleviate pressure on Port of Melbourne. Rail would link the port to Lyndhurst and Dandenong, where cargo would be moved on to trucks.
Support for the national strategy was not unanimous. The Urban Taskforce Australia and Master Builders Australia expressed concern with additional red-tape due to federal government involvement.
"I think (the federal government) nominally having an oversight role on land-use planning around the ports has the potential to unnecessarily complicate processes and doesn't seem to add a great deal of new benefit," said Urban Taskforce Australia chief executive Aaron Gadiel.
The National Ports Strategy will be tabled for consideration by the Council of Australian Governments.
