Industry News

The South Australian Environment Minister Bill Marmion has appointed Dr Roy Green to investigate more than 200 appeals received regarding the Environmental Protection Authority’s report on the Browse Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Precinct at James Price Point. 

Dr Green has considerable experience in government and the petroleum industry, including chairing an expert panel for quarantine management at the Gorgon LNG Project on Barrow Island Nature Reserve. 

“Dr Green is appointed as an appeals committee and will investigate all appeals received,” Mr Marmion said.

“He has previously been the chief executive of the CSIRO and deputy chairman of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), and as such, is considered to have an eminent standing to undertake the committee role.”

The process of investigating the appeals will include consultation with the EPA, appellants and the proponent.  Once the committee has completed its investigations, a report is presented to the Minister, who will determine the appeals having regard to the committee’s advice. 

Appeals against the EPA’s report closed on Monday July 30, 2012.  

The Queensland Government has announced a restructure of the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads and TransLink, involving  a targeted staff reduction of 18 per cent or 1,970 FTE corporate and support roles from the Department and TransLink, saving $287 million over the next four years.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Scott Emerson said the new structure would deliver major reforms in the transport industry.

“Under the restructure, all Queensland Government transport services will be integrated for the first time under the TransLink banner.

Under the restructure, TransLink will no longer operate as a statutory authority confined to the state’s south east. Instead it will become part of the Department and will oversee the qconnect bus network, TravelTrain services and school bus services, along with subsidised regional airline, coach and ferry services.

The TransLink board will be removed and the Department will remain in five divisions with the number of senior executives slashed by almost half from 37 to 21.

“This streamlined structure will deliver improved outcomes for Queenslanders, whether it’s a business tendering for work, someone travelling across the State or an individual using any of the hundreds of services offered by the Department.

The Queensland Government has proposed a $100 million, four year Floodplain Security Scheme (FSS) and called on the Federal Government to match State spending in the program which would aim to flood-proof large parts of Queensland.

Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney has written to the Federal Minister for Emergency Management Nicola Roxon seeking Federal support for an overall approach to flood risk management and mitigation efforts.

Mr Seeney said Queensland would commit $40 million over the next four years to deliver a comprehensive planned program of flood mitigation, but believed Federal and local government involvement could create a $100 million flood mitigation fund.

“It is the Queensland Government’s view that the FSS, part of the Royalties for Regions program, should be funded on a 2:2:1 basis with the Commonwealth and State Governments providing $2 million for every $1 million provided by local government,” Mr Seeney said.


“A matching $40 million commitment from the Federal Government would provide significant and vital investment in reducing the flood risk for Queensland communities and would reduce the financial exposure of all levels of government to future disaster events.”

Mr Seeney said the recent Charleville flood where levees prevented flooding in the town and saved tens of millions of dollars in disaster and insurance payouts showed the benefits of effective proactive mitigation work.

“Upfront investment can provide long term savings to all levels of government and the community and provide increased confidence to the insurance sector.”

RATCH-Australia, a company jointly owned by Thai power generation company, Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding PCL and Transfield Services Limited, is proposing a $350 million wind farm in the Southern Tablelands of NSW.

 RATCH Australia hopes to build 68 turbines near Collector south west of Goulburn in a project it took over from Transfield Services last July.

A revised application has been lodged with the Department of Planning and an environmental assessment is now on public display.

The proposal is one of four wind farms proposed for the district, with three others planned in the Boorowa region.

The Project Application is available here. Submissions are open until September the 24th.

The NSW government wants to make it easier to fire underperforming teachers and more difficult to enter the profession.

NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli launched a discussion paper on Tuesday - titled Great Teaching, Inspired Learning - which aims to "increase the professionalism of the profession".

Mr Piccoli said ATAR entry scores for would-be teachers were often too low.

"We graduate 5500 teacher graduates and employ between 300 and 500 (a year)," Mr Piccoli told reporters in Sydney.  "We do have to look at teaching from a supply-and-demand perspective.  We are graduating a lot of undergraduates, and as a result the ATAR scores for some of the undergraduates are quite low.

ATAR scores ranged from less than 50 to the high 90s, Mr Piccoli said.

"Below 50 is not the kind of score that we want for school teachers."

But Mr Piccoli said he didn't believe teaching was being used as a fallback profession.  The discussion paper raises the question of sacking underperforming teachers in a less bureaucratic way.

"It's not an easy process to remove an underperforming teacher," he said.  "One of the big questions in a discussion paper like this is, how do we remove underperforming teachers in an effective way.  A quick, non-bureaucratic way but that also respects the rights of the teacher."

Mr Piccoli will consult with Catholic and independent schools, universities and teacher unions on the review process.

Consultation will run until November 2, with an online forum to run between August 24 and October 5.

A research team from UOW’s Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials (ISEM) and the Faculty of Engineering’s Australian Institute for Innovative Materials has undertaken breakthrough research into a new class of materials called topological insulators.

Spintronic and Electronic Materials team leader Professor Xiaolin Wang said that topological insulators are a new class of materials that conduct electric current and do not conduct electric current simultaneously. Their inside is insulating while their outside/ surface is conduscting, allowing the material to become a ‘metallic insulator’.

Professor Wang said such a type of material has many fascinating physical and chemical properties.

The team has also made a breakthrough in the observation of significant change of resistance with application of magnetic field in such kind of topological insulator nano-sheet at room temperature. The observation paves the way for the topological insulators to be useful for practical applications in magnetoelectronic sensors, spin electronic devices such as disk reading heads, mechatronics, and other multifunctional devices.

This work led by Professor Xiaolin Wang, and co-authored by Dr. Yi DU, Professor Shixue Dou and Professor Chao Zhang has been published in Physical Review Letters.

According to Professor Wang, the topological insulator is a special case of a new class of materials that was invented and published in Physical Review Letters by Professor Wang in 2008, and reviewed in a Review article in Nature Publishing Group, Asia Materials in 2010 by Professor Xiaolin Wang, Professor Shixue Dou and Professor Chao Zhang.

In collaboration with teams from Netherland Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente High Field Magnet Laboratory Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University Nijmegen and Leiden Institute of Physics, Leiden University, another breakthrough was made for the composite of a topological insulator and a superconductor early this year.

The joint team discovered that supercurrent in a superconductor can pass through a thin layer of topological insulator without losing superconductivity. The realisation of supercurrents through topological metallic surface states is an important step towards the detection of the elusive Majorna particle which is its own antiparticle.

The joint work has been published in Nature Materials, Jan 2012.

Professor Wang said the team’s latest developments on this new class of materials was showcased t the 4^th International Conference on Spintronics held in Sydney last week.

The Director of ISEM, Professors Shixue Dou said research on the new class of materials has boosted the reputation of ISEM’s world-class capability in materials design and fabrication. This capability is extremely important in research of advance materials and condensed matter physics.

The researchers acknowledged the support they received via funding from the Australian Research Council through Discovery projects.

A new report released by the Tasmanian Cancer Registry has shown that cancer survival rates in Tasmania have improved significantly over the past 20 years.

The report, Cancer Survival and Prevalence in Tasmania 1978 - 2008 is the first survival data published by the Tasmanian Cancer Registry, which is managed by the Menzies Research Institute Tasmania.

Survival at five years after diagnosis for all cancers diagnosed in 2004-2008 was 64 per cent, a major improvement from the 42 per cent seen for cancers diagnosed between 1984 -1988. This means at least 3 out of 5 Tasmanians diagnosed with cancer survived beyond five years.

The highest survival was seen for thyroid cancer (98 per cent) and melanoma (92 per cent) in men and women, prostate cancer in men (97 per cent) and breast cancer in women (89 per cent).

Cancers with the lowest five-year survival were lung cancer (13 per cent) and stomach cancer (23 per cent).

Menzies Acting Director, Professor Alison Venn says that overall the data is extremely positive.

"We are very optimistic about these results, with survival rates for most cancers reported on being markedly higher in 2004 - 2008 than in earlier time periods."

"The results highlight the importance of medical research in contributing to improvements in early detection and treatment of many cancers."

"Unfortunately they also highlight the persistently poor survival of people with lung cancer and the terrible consequences of smoking which underlies most cases," Professor Venn said.

Cancer Council Tasmania CEO, Simon Barnsley, welcomes the recent report.

"This is a very valuable resource for the community as it reflects the major advances made over recent decades in the fight against cancer."

"One very welcome finding is the big increase in survival rates for colorectal cancer, from 41 per cent to 62 per cent. And survival could be increased even more through early detection and participation in the bowel cancer screening program," Mr Barnsley said.

Survival was generally similar for both males and females and survival in Tasmania was similar to Australia as a whole.

While these population statistics give a picture of cancer survival for the Tasmanian population as a whole, it is recommended that individuals with cancer seek expert medical advice to determine their likely prognosis given all other relevant clinical information.

Read the full copy of the Cancer Survival and Prevalence in Tasmanian 1978 - 2008.

The Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics has released its Australian Energy Technology Assessment (AETA) Report and Model, prepared in consultation with WorleyParsons, the Australian Energy Market Operator, CSIRO, and a stakeholder reference group drawn from industry and research/academic organisations with interests and expertise in a diverse range of electricity generation technologies.

BREE Executive Director and Chief Economist Professor Quentin Grafton, said that the AETA provides the best available and most up-to-date cost estimates for 40 electricity generation technologies under Australian conditions.

“By the mid 2030s some renewable technologies, such as solar photovoltaic and wind onshore, are expected to have the lowest levelised costs of electricity generation of all of the evaluated technologies,” he said.

“Among the non-renewable technologies, combined cycle gas (and in later years combined with carbon capture and storage) and nuclear offer the lowest levelised costs of electricity generation over most of the projection period, and remain cost competitive with the lower cost renewable technologies out to 2050.”

In a summary of the study’s findings, Professor Grafton said Australia’s energy future is likely to be very different to the present, predicting that Australia will experience an energy transformation over the coming decades that will have “a profound impact for electricity networks, how energy is distributed and on Australia’s ability to meet its targeted greenhouse gas emissions reductions.”

The AETA is updated on a biennial basis and will be an important input to the Australian Government's Energy White Paper, due for release later in 2012.

The Australian Energy Technology Assessment, including the Report and the accompanying model that generates the levelised cost of electricity for each of the technologies and by region, can be downloaded at www.bree.gov.au.

A resources analyst says the slump in Australia's mining industry is due to complex issues at home and in China.

Thermal coal has hit two-year lows of around $US88 a metric tonne.

Iron ore has dropped around 15 per per cent in two months, fetching an average of less than $US120 a tonne.

Matthew Trivett, of Patersons Securities, says the market is not as confident as it used to be about the information coming out of China, which is the largest buyer of those commodities.

He says some Chinese Government decision making is based on on appeasing the masses rather than on solid economics.

Mr Trivett says there are also problems with the high cost of Australian mining.

"On the home front, we've got a lot of rising costs, lot of union action, a lot of the projects coming on line need a lot of capital," he said.

"And what we thought was going to be a good revenue stream in the future is getting smashed by prices falling off a cliff."

The board of Unitywater has appointed of George Theo as CEO. Mr Theo has been acting in the role since May this year and previously held the role of Chief Operating Officer where he played a pivotal role in Unitywater’s establishment.

Mr Theo brings more than 25 years’ experience from the water industry through previous positions at GHD, Brisbane Water and City West Water.  He takes over from former Unitywater CEO, Jon Black, who now holds the position of Director General, Department of and Energy and Water Supply, Queensland Government. 

SA Water has finalised its long term plan for the Upper Spencer Gulf designed to meet customer requirements for the next 30 years.

The Upper Spencer Gulf long term plan considered SA Water’s water and wastewater services in Whyalla, Port Pirie, Port Augusta, Port Germein, Crystal Brook and other surrounding country lands.

SA Water Chief Executive John Ringham says a detailed review of the region’s water services has found that there is sufficient water available to supply the Upper Spencer Gulf until at least 2040/41.

“The plan has found that overall water demand in the region is stable, with predicted growth in the number of customers balanced out by improvement in water use efficiency,” Mr Ringham says.

“This means that there is sufficient water available to help the Upper Spencer Gulf grow without the need for making major changes to our water supply network.

“However, to ensure we can continue to meet demand now and into the future, SA Water will investigate options to optimise its current network.

“Some of these options include possible upgrades to the Winninowie and Baroota Tanks to optimise the capacity for the use of recycled water for non-drinking purposes. These works will be undertaken if and when required.

“When considering the region’s wastewater services, the plan found that Whyalla has sufficient infrastructure to meet projected growth however, there is the possibility that new infrastructure may be required in Port Pirie and Port Augusta within the next 5-15 years.”

Mr Ringham says the long term plan took into account population growth, climate change, projected water supplies, community feedback and SA Water’s current services.

“To help develop the plan SA Water consulted with a broad range of stakeholders including Upper Spencer Gulf residents, property owners and I thank them for their assistance.”

More information is at http://www.sawater.com.au

The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, which was due to commence on the 1st January 2013,  may be delayed until July 2013.

The Australian Logistics Council recently quoted NHVR Project Office Director, Richard Hancock, as saying that July is probably the most likely date for when all the states and territories will have applied the heavy vehicle national law. 

Mr Hancock reportedly said that to avoid confusion, the national regulator wouldn’t start administering things like issuing permits nationally until all states and territories are at the same point.

The NSW Minister for Roads and Ports, Duncan Gay, has commended Sydney Ports on driving improvements in supply chain efficiency at Port Botany.

Speaking at the Annual Transport Workshop Mr Gay said in its first 12 months, the Port Botany Landside Improvement Strategy (PBLIS) had greatly improved truck turn-around times through the port’s two terminals.

“Turnaround times have improved by 30-percent to an average 32 minutes and that means far less congestion at terminal gates.

“PBLIS has also resulted in more trucks accessing the port in off-peak times, including nights and weekends, reducing bottle necks and congestion and taking a good deal of pressure off the supply chain, Mr Gay said.

Mr Gay said the Government made a commitment to independently review the PBLIS strategy after 12 months in operation and the results have been far better than predicted.

“The Sydney Ports’ team is doing something quite remarkable with this PBLIS initiative – they have analysed every part of the supply chain, identified the strengths and weaknesses, and are now driving further efficiencies, Mr Gay said.

“The newly opened Truck Marshalling Area (TMA) on the main road into the Terminals is already delivering results. By providing a safe and secure area for up to 50 early-arriving trucks, the TMA enables on-time trucks to access the terminals without getting caught in queues.

Mr Gay said the rail efficiency at the port is a significant challenge but meeting our target of 28-percent container movements by 2020 is by no means unrealistic.

“Right now Sydney Ports is working on some innovative strategies that also depend on the full support of stakeholder’s across the supply chain.

Mr Gay said key to the success of this strategy is communication and that’s why Sydney Ports is establishing its Port Botany Rail Operations and Coordination Centre (ROCC).

“The ROCC’s main task will be to coordinate and communicate between the rail operators, stevedores and rail network providers, to improve the efficiency of daily rail operations in and out of the port.

“Eventually, the ROCC will be facilitating port-rail operational planning, addressing operational issues, coordinating train services through Port Botany and maintaining a safety culture throughout the port precinct.

“With all of these PBLIS initiatives working in harmony across the supply chain, I am very confident future performance targets will be met and that all stakeholders will directly benefit from the resulting improvements in road and rail efficiencies,” Mr Gay said.

A police safety blitz in south-west WA has found almost half of 196 heavy trucks stopped on the Forrest Highway had safety defects.

According to an ABC report the defects included faulty seat-belts, bald tyres and cracked windscreens.

Traffic sergeant Gerard Murphy was reported as saying that some trucking companies are putting the lives of drivers at risk by scrimping on maintenance costs.

"One of the companies' truck drivers said their transport manager, who was in charge of fleet maintenance, was basically being paid a monthly budget for coming under budget," he said.

"When you're looking at vehicles that are 25 or 30 tonnes pulling fairly large trailers, to have bald tyres, suspension that's not working, brakes that aren't operating correctly, seatbelts that aren't working properly, it can be very concerning to the motorists who have to drive on the same road as them," he said.

The Transport Workers’ Union of Australia (TWU) has challenged Coles to a public debate on the continuing high number of deaths and injuries from truck crashes across the country.

The challenge came after Coles took issue with the Union’s claims on safety yesterday.  According to TWU National Secretary Tony Sheldon, “Coles have disputed the facts that we have laid out to the public with regard to the number of deaths and injuries on our roads.  A number of our veteran members across the country spoke with Coles customers and members of the public yesterday to highlight the practices of the company, which are squeezing the life out of truckies.”

The huge safety crisis on our roads caused by the major retailers is backed up by the latest fatal heavy vehicle quarterly bulletin, published in April.  The report showed that between July and September 2011, the number of deaths from truck crashes increased significantly in two states.  It increased by a huge 75% in South Australia, and 22.6% in Queensland. (See Notes Below).

Tony Sheldon says, “This is further evidence of the crisis we are facing.  Coles need to stop quibbling and sit down and work with Unions and government to solve the problem.”

“I challenge Coles to a public debate to put all of these issues on the table.  We are not afraid to debate the facts. We have had more than 20 years of cross party reports, inquiries and coronial reports which have identified the link in the transport industry between safety and rates of pay. The dangerous conditions and excessive hours demanded by major retailers such as Coles are directly responsible for the carnage on our roads.”

“An average of 330 people are killed and more than 5,300 are injured each year on our roads as a result of heavy vehicle incidents. This crisis on our roads is devastating families and communities and costs the Australian taxpayer more than $2.7 billion each year.”

Tony Sheldon also condemned Coles’ call yesterday for the Union to report individual drivers to the authorities.

“In response to our action yesterday, Coles have not only disputed the facts, but also called on the TWU to report drivers to the authorities. What a shameful response from a multi-billion dollar company.  Rather than face up to their responsibility and try to deal constructively with the real issues, they call for a witch-hunt of truckies, who are risking their lives to meet Coles’ unreasonable deadlines,” says Tony.  

Bond University will lead a national $14 million sports science research project in collaboration with The University of Queensland Diamantina Institute.

The project is the largest of its kind, with $5.75 million cash funding from the Commonwealth Government.

The Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education has awarded Bond University a $5.75million Collaborative Research Network (CRN) grant.

In collaboration with Professor Matt Brown's group at The University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, the project also involves the Australian Institute of Sport, and the University of Sydney, and will identify proactive ways to manage the health and fitness, and potential for injury of athletes and the wider community.

Professor Matt Brown says this is a great opportunity to partner UQDI's outstanding strength in genomics research with leading experts in musculoskeletal sciences to investigate issues relating not just to athletic performance, but also healthy ageing.

“We are delighted to be partnering with Bond University in this fascinating study, which will contribute a lot to the understanding of major musculoskeletal diseases of ageing, such as osteoporotic fracture and arthritis.”

Bond University's Vice-Chancellor Professor Tim Brailsford said the CRN grant was a significant development for Bond University and sports science research in Australia, and the timing could not have been better.

“This is not only Australia's largest sports science research project it is also the largest research grant awarded to Bond University in its 23 year history. With the Olympics about to commence, the timing of this announcement could not have been better,” said Professor Brailsford.

The CRN program provides a platform for regional and metropolitan institutions to develop their research capacity and strengthen research systems by partnering with other institutions, to leverage world-class infrastructure and specialist expertise.

Professor Brailsford said the project will bring together some of Australia's most prominent experts in musculoskeletal and sports science, such as Professor Matt Brown, Professor Bon Gray from Bond University; Professor Maria Fiatarone Singh from the University of Sydney; Professor Nicholas Brown, AIS Deputy Director (Research and Applied Science).  

This year’s Mining Business Outlook Report by Newport Consulting has found that mining leaders are ‘more bearish’ in their economic outlook for 2012–13 compared to the previous financial year.

The report found that the “mining industry appears to be in survival mode, with only 25 per cent of companies planning to invest in major CAPEX projects this year compared with 52 per cent last year.”

Only 20 per cent of the mining leaders interviewed for this year’s Mining Business Outlook Report are ‘very optimistic,’ compared to 57 per cent last year.

At the same time, the number of mining leaders who describe their outlook as ‘not optimistic’ has surged to 34 per cent, compared with just 13 per cent last year. Over the period from 2009–10 to 2012–13, the number of mining leaders who are ‘not optimistic’ is at a three-year high.

Key factors behind a subdued outlook for 29 per cent of respondents included rising costs of labour and energy, union activity hampering one in five projects, and cost spikes due to the carbon tax. The drop in coal and ore prices has added to the challenges.

The report highlighted the need for infrastructure to be prioritized by the government.

“The vast potential of mining projects in Queensland and Western Australia has highlighted the need for more economic and social infrastructure in these regions – from better rail, road and air links, to social assets such as housing, health care and community services. Many mining companies now invest in their own transport infrastructure, such as overland conveyors to transport their output from pit to port. Such infrastructure currently accounts for an estimated 80 per cent of capital expenditure. Our mining leaders called for more government support on this front.”

The report is available here.

Transport for NSW is calling Expressions of Interest for new air licences to connect Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport to regional areas in NSW.

Deputy Director General, Policy and Regulation, Tim Reardon said the government is offering licences that will provide operators with exclusive access to lower volume air routes for a five-year period.

“This will provide certainty for communities and smaller regional airlines,” Mr Reardon said.

Regulated routes are generally those routes linked to Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport which have fewer than 50,000 passengers annually. Currently there are 14 regulated routes and the licence period for these services expires in March 2013.

The new licences will start in March 2013.

“By encouraging a competitive licensing process we hope to attract operators who will be committed to providing more frequent, reliable and customer focused services for regional communities.”

Regional airlines can apply for both existing and new routes. Regulated routes include services from Sydney to:

• Merimbula
• Parkes
• Broken Hill
• Bathurst
• Moree
• Lord Howe Island
• Moruya
• Taree
• Grafton
• Narrabri
• Narrandera
• Mudgee
• Cobar
• Cooma

Further information for potential applicants is available at www.transport.nsw.gov.au/air

NSW Treasurer Mike Baird and Ports Minister Duncan Gay have confirmed the NSW Government will proceed with the long-term lease of Port Botany and Port Kembla to fund the State’s priority infrastructure projects.

“The Government has received and considered the recommendations of the scoping study and based on this advice, we have decided to proceed with long-term leases on both assets,” said Mr Baird.

“We are facing an immense challenge to fund the backlog of critical infrastructure across NSW and more needs to be done to free-up the vital funds needed to deliver long overdue road, school and hospital projects across NSW.

“Not only will these transactions provide a boost in funds for priority infrastructure, they also provide significant opportunity to enhance the efficiency of the port operations.

The scoping study examined market conditions, needs of key stakeholders, the readiness of the businesses and provided recommendations on the best way forward.

Lease arrangements will include:

• 99-year lease of the Port Botany precinct, as well as the transfer of the Enfield and Cooks River logistics sites currently owned by Sydney Ports Corporation
• Sydney Ports Corporation will retain a significant maritime role in Government ownership, including the role of Harbour Master, the Sydney Harbour sea pilots, maintaining navigation buoys and markers, as well as the Port Jackson wharves and cruise shipping functions.
• The PBLIS landside logistics regulatory function will be retained by the NSW Government and Sydney Ports Corporation will retain its existing maritime security and emergency response functions.
• Sydney Ports Corporation will also retain the ownership of the ports of Eden and Yamba.
• The Port Kembla transaction will also be based on a 99-year lease of the port.

“Investors will have the opportunity to acquire both ports and we expect there will be strong interest in supporting the development over time, including improved landside logistics chains in South and West Sydney, particularly with regard to rail,” said Mr Gay.

“The public interest would be protected with the future lessee of the port to develop it under the terms of the lease and under a long term planning framework involving ongoing Government oversight.

“A price monitoring regime will also be established to ensure transparency on pricing outcomes, similar to other major Australian capital city ports,” said Mr Gay.

The development of intermodal terminals across South and West Sydney, the Government’s freight strategy to be released later in 2012 would seek to develop Port Kembla as the logical next long term tranche of container capacity after Port Botany.

Proceeds from the transaction will be invested in Restart NSW (with 30 per cent of funds reserved for projects in regional areas), while $100 million is earmarked for infrastructure projects in the Illawarra which will be determined by Infrastructure NSW later this year.

The transactions are expected to formally commence in the fourth quarter of 2012, with a view to completing the transactions in the first half of 2013.

Toll Holdings has signed an agreement with Victorian newsagents to be part of a new service to provide a network of more than 3000 pick-up points for online shopping customers.

Toll managing director Brian Kruger was reported in The Australian Financial Review as saying the new consumer delivery business would be provided through Toll’s global express division, which already houses Toll Priority, Toll IPEC and Toll Fast.

It will offer  a choice of delivery times, weekend deliveries and alternative retail location parcel pick-up.