Locals jump in as big freight bails from rural Queensland
With the imminent closure of key freight hubs in Queensland, one local mayor wants to ensure nearby freight companies are ready to pick up the slack.
The push is the result of an announcement by large-scale freight operator Aurizon, which is planning to close truck depots in most of the major North Burnett towns, Murgon, Bundaberg, Hervey Bay and Gympie. Aurizon’s decision reportedly came after an internal assessment of operations combined with increased market pressures and changes to its contracts with the State Government.
Aurizon is the current trading name of the company that was once the Queensland government's state-owned rail provider. It had been known as QR National after it was privatised, switching to Aurizon late last year.
North Burnett Mayor Don Waugh has concerns it will lead to job losses and increase costs for all kinds of services in the remote region; “my concern really is the possibility of it leaving a gap there, and possibility of maybe an increase in freight charges as a result, and that's certainly not what I want,” he said.
Some large freight operators running in the state have said they will prepare to respond to the closures. A plucky local group says they are reading to roll right now. Carl Price from Kingaroy Freight Express says the company has been doing daily runs from Brisbane to Monto for decades, and can easily make more if needed; “We will allocate extra trucks if necessary to accommodate for anything or anybody out there,” he said.