REGIONAL CITIES NSW BACKS MOVE TO INCREASE PORT COMPETITIVENESS FOR REGIONAL PRODUCERS

Regional Cities New South Wales (RCNSW) has today welcomed news that the New South Wales (NSW) Parliament will debate the removal of the existing penalties applied to the Port of Newcastle in a bid to make exporting from regional NSW more competitive.

RCNSW Deputy Chair and Mayor of Tamworth Cr Russell Webb said it was the regional alliance's position that the state’s export capabilities should be increased with more competitive arrangements available for producers accessing international markets.

“RCNSW believes that the Port of Newcastle should be developed as a priority port for regional New South Wales and the current compensation arrangements removed so that regional businesses can operate on a fair playing field” Deputy Chair of RCNSW and Mayor of Tamworth Cr Russell Webb said.

“Regional New South Wales is the engine room of our state’s economy, but to be competitive we need to have cost-effective and efficient supply chains” Cr Webb explained.

RCNSW has called for the development of the Port of Newcastle as the strategic solution for regional New South Wales, particularly given the ongoing issues with congestion, reliability, access and interaction with the passenger rail network that continue to plague Port Botany’s current capacity and Port Kembla’s future capacity.

“The time to act on this issue is now - investment in the Port of Newcastle offers a strategic opportunity to help coal communities transition to new industries, boost regional New South Wales’ export capabilities and to grow regional economies” Cr Webb concluded.