THE Bracks Government will support City of Maribyrnong initiatives to cut container truck numbers in the inner-West – if it is re-elected.
Premier Steve Bracks said he supported Maribyrnong councillor Michael Clarke’s recently launched campaign “Containers Out”.
“Cr Clarke is suggesting a sensible and workable way to address around 30 per cent of truck traffic in the area,” he said.
Cr Clarke, deputy mayor and member of the Yarraville branch of the Labor Party, called on the council to review its Industrial Land Use Strategy to stop new container yards being established in the municipality.
Cr Clarke also aims to organise incentives to encourage container companies to move out of the area.
Mr Bracks said that, if the council decided to “go through the process of amending its industrial strategy to ensure that new container yard operators are no longer allowed, the Government, if re-elected will fully support implementing such a strategy.
“The Department of Sustainability and Environment will work with council to review and implement its industrial strategy,” he said.
“And I will strongly support any funding application that the council may make in order to carry the process out.”
Mayor Janet Rice said it was not up to council but the State Government to change government planning policy to restrict the number of container yards in the municipality.
“Under current State Government planning policy for container yards, council can’t say no to containers on industrial land as long as the land is on a main road and has appropriate landscaping,” she said.
“So under current state planning controls the only way that reviewing our industrial land strategy would help would be through rezoning land away from an industrial zoning.
“In most cases we don’t want to do that – we want to keep employment in the municipality.
“If what the Premier is saying is, that he is committing an incoming government to a review of the container guidelines so we can say no to container yards but keep the industrial land for higher value employment purposes then that’s to be welcomed.
“However, removing some container yards would only go part way to reducing truck traffic in the municipality.
“We would also ask the Premier to support council’s requests made over the last two years to ban trucks from central Footscray, and to consider extending the truck curfew hours on Somerville Rd and Francis St and implementing curfews on Buckley St.
“There are many through trucks on these roads which could and should be on the Westgate Freeway and Citylink.”
Mr Bracks said it was important to keep in mind that legitimate businesses operating legally in the area could not “simply be kicked out”.
“However, what we can do and will do is work with these operators and the wider transport, as well as local councils, to provide assistance to relocate container yards to more appropriate sites where possible.”
He said that, if re-elected, the government would begin discussions with all local stakeholders with the aim of establishing a container yard relocation program.
Cr Clarke said he was particularly interested in relocating container parks that were presently adjacent to residential developments.
He said he was discussing the campaign with fellow councillors and expected to table a motion on the issue in early 2007 at a Maribyrnong council meeting.
However, Maribyrnong Truck Action Group president Peter Knight expressed scepticism about the campaign.
“They can’t kick legitimate businesses out, they can stop new ones from starting, but how is that going to remove 30 per cent of trucks from our streets?” he asked.
“It can stop container traffic from increasing but it can’t get trucks off our streets.”
Mr Knight said support for the campaign was an attempt to “contain political damage”.
“Residents are upset about trucks, they want something done but the Bracks Government is not prepared to grasp the nettle on this so they are giving us bogus measures.”
Mr Knight said the only measure that would get trucks off streets quickly was a government commitment to daytime curfews on Francis St, Somerville Rd and Buckley St.
“These can be implemented tomorrow and it wouldn’t affect trucks with legitimate business.
“That would get 30 to 40 per cent of trucks off our streets,” Mr Knight said.
“If Mr Bracks is committed to that figure (of 30 per cent truck reduction) then he should implement the curfews on Monday.”
