Port of Melbourne CEO, Brendan Bourke joined local producers and port customers at an event in Griffith yesterday evening, to celebrate the strong partnerships established in the Riverina, and to reaffirm the port’s ongoing commitment to the region.

As part of the visit, marking 15 years of Port of Melbourne’s office in the Riverina, Mr Bourke and PoM executives today met with local industry representatives at the Western Riverina Intermodal Freight Terminal.

Since the business established an office in Wagga Wagga in 2002, the region has grown steadily in terms of trade volumes and connections to the Port of Melbourne. Annually, 135,000 containers are sent from southern New South Wales to the Port of Melbourne.

Mr Bourke said the sustained support of producers and port users over the past 15 years, and the close connections forged in the region, have been central to achieving these results.

“The prosperity of this region and the sustainability and success of the Port of Melbourne are intrinsically linked,” Mr Bourke said.

“By understanding local concerns and issues, we give ourselves the best prospects for achieving positive results. We all do better when everyone succeeds.”

Now operating as a private business under a 50-year lease, the Port of Melbourne is well placed to deliver on future freight needs in the Riverina, at a time when important major projects like Inland Rail are coming online. While the Port of Melbourne actively collaborates with decision makers on these nationally important projects, it can also act as an advocate for the local supply chain, pushing for productivity gains and better local linkages and freight efficiency.

“We look forward to taking a lead role across the supply chain in the future, offering long term certainty and a willingness to invest,” Mr Bourke said.

“This is especially important as major infrastructure projects are being planned that will benefit the port logistics system as a whole, including regional areas.

“The future is bright in the Riverina and the Port of Melbourne looks forward to playing a role for a long time to come,” Mr Bourke said.

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