THE VICTORIAN government said it is “working side by side with industry and freight operators to ensure essential supply chains can continue to operate through areas of the state impacted by floods”.
Victorian minister for ports and freight Melissa Horne said the government was prioritising relief and recovery, collaborating with the Australian Defence Force to assist flood-affected communities, including liaising with agencies to ensure major supermarkets can deliver food supplies to regional cities and towns.
“In the tough times we’re seeing the spirit of collaboration thrive – this has been no more evident than in the dairy and livestock sectors which have been particularly hard hit by the floods,” Ms Horne said.
“We’ll continue to support industry and freight operators to ensure essential goods get to where they need to go.”
In partnership with the dairy industry, regional emergency management officers and incident control centres, the government said it had co-ordinated access for milk-tankers as dairy competitors joined forces to share storage facilities which prevented milk from going bad.
The Department of Transport is also working closely with the State Control Centre to ensure heavy vehicle maps remain up to date with the latest road opening and closing information – appropriate detours are mapped as soon as they are declared safe.
On the rail-freight network, V/Line crews repaired a flood-affected section of track between Dunolly and Inglewood to ensure a freight train was able to travel safely south from Ultima in north-west Victoria to the Port of Melbourne and avoid being stranded.
