The future of Melbourne as Australia’s gateway for container shipping will be secured under a plan announced today by the Victorian Labor Opposition.

Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews said Labor supported a second container port in the Bay West area as the best option to ensure economic growth and jobs into the
future.

“A comprehensive and transparent cost benefit analysis would be undertaken to test
how Bay West stands up against other possible sites, including Hastings,
but there are many factors that support Bay West as the appropriate site for Melbourne’s second port,” Mr Andrews said. 

The advantages of a Bay West location, near Avalon, include: 

• unlimited potential berth capacity
• availability of back-up land
• access to a  standard gauge national freight link
• close proximity to import and export warehouses
• connections to major arterial roads

Mr Andrews said while Labor supported expansion of Webb Dock at the Port of Melbourne subject to community consultation, a second container port was essential for job creation and  economic growth.

“Container shipping and port activity makes a vital contribution to the Victorian economy,
providing jobs and a number of local industries butMelbourne’s facilities need expanding.

“A number of reports have supported locating a new port between Little River and
Point Wilson on the basis of cost as well as for the advantages it has over Hastings which for example does not link to freight rail.” 

“Ernst and Young estimated the cost of a port at Bay West was approximately half of
that required to expand the Port  of Hastings and environmental impact assessments have been conducted in recent years regarding sites in the Bay West area. 

“Yet the Baillieu Government refuses to consider an alternative to Hastings and instead Victorians’ could end up with a costly and less effective second port,” Mr Andrews said.

“It is clear that Bay West requires significant further investigation and Mr Baillieu’s failure to canvas this option would be selling Victorians short.” 

Today’s announcement is part of Labor’s Jobs and Investment Plan, The Way Forward, which sets out a clear path for economic growth and job creation.

“Labor is getting on with the job of planning for the state’s future while the Baillieu Government is dragging the state’s fortunes backwards.”