Sell port ‘harder’, says MP

By Noel Murphy
CORIO Bay and Geelong’s port need to be higher on the mayoral agenda as critical to Geelong’s future, according to federal MP Richard Marles.
Geelong needed to sell the economic virtues and strategic importance of the port to the region and the state over the next decade, he said.
Mr Marles’ comments followed Patrick Stevedores closure of wharf operations at Hastings in the face of State Government plans to ramp up the deepwater port into as multi-billion-dollar container port.
Labor’s Member for Corio said Victoria’s ports needed to operate on a level playing field but since Geelong’s port was privately-run the city had to sell the transport freight advantages of Corio Bay.
“I’ve been saying for a decade it’s a vital part of the future for Geelong and its industry as a transport/logistics hub,” Mr Marles told the Independent.
“In the context of the mayoral election, it’s very important to see how they see it.
“The port of Geelong is a huge part of our past and a big part of future. It’s really important to the future of Geelong.”
Mr Marles cited the port’s potential integration with Avalon, the national railway, highway number one and land to Geelong’s north as crucial to the future.
“If you look at how ports in other major cities have gone, they tend to move out of the city, like, say, London. There’s every reason to see that playing out in Melbourne.
“The port of Geelong is in a very good strategic position but it’s not in an uncompetitive environment. Geelong has to put its best foot forward.”
A push in recent years to redevelop a defence armaments base at Point Wilson as a port facility went on the backburner after Canberra rejected claims the facility was surplus to its needs.
But a proposal to build Victoria’s second container port nearby, dubbed Bay West, has recently drawn attention amid reports that Victoria’s Department of Transport secretly pitched the plan to the Baillieu Government.
The department was reported to believe Bay West was superior to the Government’s preferred Hastings alternative, which faced logistic and environmental problems.