I attended a well-attended community meeting organised by the Correct Planning and Consultation for Mayfield group today, to express community concerns about the proposed concept plan for a container terminal at the old BHP steelworks site in Mayfield.
The main concern of community representatives is that the proposal will generate about a million more trucks a year on to the streets of Mayfield and surrounding areas.
The Port Corporation spokesperson confirmed that 80% of the container throughput would be handled by trucks, with only 20% being taken by rail.
Residents also wanted more time to prepare submissions.
The Port Corporation argues that the current proposal is merely a concept plan, and that further details can be negotiated and included in subsequent stages of the development approval process. However, residents are understandably concerned that unless key concerns are addressed now, it will be difficult to do this later on.
The Greens have supported the community campaign on all these matters.
A key issue that arose for me was the Port Corporation representative's comment that the ability to carry more freight by rail is seriously constrained by the capacity of current rail infrastructure, which is primarily taken up with coal.
It's an interesting and very practical illustration of the extent to which our reliance on coal exports is actually inhibiting the diversification of our local economy.
