Submission to the Standing Committee on Transport and Regional Services
Submission to the Standing Committee on Transport and Regional Services May 2005 Version 1 SEATS Submission to the Standing Committee on Transport and Regional Services EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Councils of Gippsland, Gippsland Area Consultative Committee (GACC), and South East Australian Transport Strategy Inc (SEATS) are delighted to provide this submission to the Inquiry into the Integration of Regional Rail and Road Freight Transport and their Interface with Ports. Gippsland is located in eastern Victoria and extends from the Great Dividing Range in the north, through rich and productive timber and agricultural grazing land, to the Bass Strait coastline in the south and from the New South Wales border in the east to the Latrobe Region and Phillip Island in the west and south-west. The Region comprises the LGAs of Bass Coast, East Gippsland, Latrobe, South Gippsland, Wellington and Baw Baw Shire The Region covers an area of almost 40,000 sq kms, or 17.5% of the total area of Victoria. The major urban centres are Bairnsdale, Leongatha, Moe, Morwell, Sale, Traralgon, Warragul and Wonthaggi. Gippsland’s major industries include dairy, timber and forest products, energy production, other agriculture, cement and sand extraction, and tourism. These industries are described below. Figure 2 provides an overview of the transport network in the Gippsland Region. The region is serviced by road, rail, air and sea infrastructure. FIGURE 1 GIPPSLAND REGION MAJOR TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE Submission to the Standing Committee on Transport and Regional Services Key Issues Raised in this Submission A. Land Transport Access to Ports A.1. Rail Gauge Incompatibility The long term retention of broad gauge is a significant problem for the region of Gippsland and the competitiveness of its economy.
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