Bid lead comment May 2025: Our window of opportunity to make a difference
It has been a busy and fruitful time growing the Future Freight CRC bid partner base and developing the scope of work over the last few months.
Partners have been very forthcoming with their ideas around the many freight challenges and opportunities to increase resilience, safety and efficiency. What has become particularly apparent is the window of opportunity that we have in front of us over the next decade to make some definitive progress towards freight decarbonisation.
We hear from some quarters that we don’t need ‘research’, we just need to ‘get on with it’. This is a valid perspective, however the fact that we haven’t been able to do this suggests that there is more at play here.
The discussions over the last 18 months have revealed a consistent theme which I am sure will resonate with most of you.
The fact is that we are faced with such uncertainty about the best way forward that there is widespread reluctance to make the ‘wrong’ move. How to break the impasse?
Well, we can find ways to increase knowledge, decrease uncertainty and mitigate the risks that businesses are facing. Attempting to do this across our entire nation is daunting given the scale and diversity of Australia.
What is emerging though is an interest in developing precincts with freight as a core element that bring together the necessary players to make initiatives work on a local level. This is an on the ground proof of concept which can later be scaled up and/or replicated elsewhere.
This approach addresses many of the topics we have been hearing about in our workshops:
- A need for freight ‘ecosystems” where the elements are supporting each other – government, business, transport, infrastructure, energy etc.
- Increased resilience, especially with climate change impact
- Adapting to fundamental changes to business models as transport technology evolves (think transport and energy)
- Ramping up collaborative efforts between all freight stakeholders
- Supporting skills development, transitions and new talent
Using a precinct approach adapted to the needs of that region is a powerful way to work together to address these elements and share the risk as we do so.
CRCs use government funding and industry-led R&D collaborations to solve big Australian challenges and drive industry development. This can mean a broad spectrum of activities, some of which fall at the very applied end of the scale such as trials and testing.
The precinct concept falls into this category. Precincts would form flagship collaborations within the Future Freight CRC research program, complemented by a wider program of work supporting the desired outcomes of all its partners and the sector as a whole.
It’s an exciting thought and one that is gaining significant traction amongst our supporters. We are keen to bring more businesses into the conversations and invite you to contact us about this, or any other freight related initiative you have in mind.
Please reach out at any time.
Lee-Ann
