Australian Financial Review

Letter to the Editor

There has been extensive public debate over the proposed Moorebank Intermodal Terminal project in Sydney's south-west ("Corrigan's freight hub makes sense", Editorial, AFR, April 27).
This project is crucial to the long-term productivity of Sydney's freight network and the capacity of Port Botany.
The government approached the Intermodal Terminal project at Moorebank from first principles: which site will deliver the greatest productivity benefits to Sydney, and the country, over the coming decades?
Under the government's proposal, 220 hectares of government-owned land, which was first identified in 2004, would be made available to the private sector to establish a new freight terminal and warehousing facilities in Moorebank, linked to Port Botany. Its size and location means it will have greater freight capacity, take more trucks off the road and deliver greater productivity benefits than any alternative site being proposed.
Having determined the best site, the government announced last week that it will run an open, transparent and competitive tender process for the private sector to fund, design, build and operate the terminal.
The decision to proceed with the project is supported by an extensive feasibility study, including a detailed business case, prepared over the last two years, both of which have been publicly released. These have been independently assessed and verified by corporate advisory firm Greenhill Caliburn and confirm that the site selected by the government would yield significant productivity returns, in the long and short term, given its location and proximity to key road and rail networks and ability to expand to include an interstate freight terminal.
The government has undertaken wide consultation with industry, which has indicated a strong appetite for participation in the project, and we expect a competitive tender process that will bring out the best results in both commercial and public policy terms.
The Moorebank site is one of the few remaining opportunities we have to get Sydney's freight logistics system right, not just for the next five years but for the next five decades. The private sector is expected to fund a significant proportion of the costs.
The government's role will be to establish a government business enterprise to oversee the tender process, to act as landlord for the site and relocate defence facilities based there.
We have also written to the NSW government seeking their cooperation to establish a joint federal-state working group.
So let's be clear, governments have a responsibility to get the long term planning and investment framework for the intermodal terminal right, but it is the private sector that will drive the development of this project.
The Gillard government is keen for all interested players to have access to this opportunity through a competitive process. This approach will deliver the best long term outcome for all logistics providers, taxpayers, Sydney and the national economy.