Port plans should come under scrutiny

Recent claims in the Age that key stevedore Asciano has made a submission that the Victorian government decommission the Port of Melbourne by 2040 - while moving container trade to Geelong and Hastings - to expand Melbourne's container capacity has already created controversy. The benefits of the move would include more residential land in Melbourne, a regional development bonus for Geelong and Hastings, and allegedly less congestion for Melbourne.

However it is not as clear-cut as it sounds. Relocating the port would involve channel widening in Corio Bay as well as more truck traffic in the Geelong and Hastings regions.  With Australian ports to be shifting 8 million containers by 2030, up from 2.2 million now, underpinned by 40 shipping lines and 3500 ship movements. There would be more trucks travelling through suburban Melbourne to get to Geelong and Hastings, leading to more truck movements, not fewer, not to mention the harmful impact on Melbourne's air quality.

There are also serious questions as to whether the national rail freight hub could be moved from the Dynon rail yards. Most industry thinking is that the Port of Melbourne should remain where it is, with Geelong continuing to specialise as a bulk port, Webb Dock taking up excess container capacity at Melbourne around 2015, and Hastings coming on stream as a supplementary container port around 2030.

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