Shortages drag on after rail line flooding

Empty supermarket shelves and product shortages for businesses are continuing to impact consumers more than one month after the interstate rail was flooded.

The prolonged product delays come after the Trans-Australian railway was cut off for three weeks due to flooding, causing delays for freight coming into WA from the east coast.

In response to the latest closure, Western Roads Federation put a 19-point plan forward to stakeholders to address national supply chain disruptions.

That plan included increasing warehousing in vulnerable regions, building of large rest areas on major highways, basics caches in remote locales, and better messaging to stop panic buying.

Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said the major supermarket chains were improving their WA warehousing capacity.

“We had a similar experience about two years ago, where the rail line was out for a bit longer and the supply issues were far greater,” she said.

“The major retailers are stocking more supply in their local distribution centres.

We urge them to continue to work to… secure more storage and supply in case of these events.

Ms Saffioti said she was lobbying the federal government to improve resilience of the Trans-Australian railway.

WA Liberal leader Libby Mettam said a taskforce set up to address supply chain issues had failed to make a difference.

Ms Mettam said the disruption was adding to cost of living pressures.

“(The state government) knew this was an issue two years ago, they announced a half-baked taskforce, and have delivered nothing,” she said.

“We need to see more resilience in our road network, we need to see more resilience in our rail network, and we need to see more resilience in our supply chain.

“I have spoken to many across industry who feel frustrated about what this taskforce actually has delivered.”

Ms Mettam was unable to give a clear answer on what a WA Liberal government would do to fix supply chain problems beyond further consultation and making the issue a priority.