Re: Bendigo milk processing plant upgrade approved (new rail lineincluded)

[David Bromage <dbromage@fang.omni.com.au>]

Stuart Thyer wrote:
> Milk being brought in from other regions may be the answer. South Gippsland
> is one such source of high quantities of milk, but with the South Gippsland
> line still closed, that still begs the question, what is the line for?

There are two options.

One is that milk could be brought in. There has been a big increase in
bulk milk transport in New Zealand in recent years, so it's not
impossible. Obviously the absence of the South Gippsland line cuts out a
big chunk of this, but South Gippsland milk is mainly bought by another
company.

The other option is that milk prodcts could be sent out by rail.
Remember that milk has been deregulated, and Victoria is now "exporting"
a lot of milk to other states.

It could also be export milk products, which is a rapidly increasing
market (even before foot and mouth). Murray Goulburn at Leongatha is
keen to increase production of powdered milk for export. The problem is
that the Shire doesn't want any more heavy traffic on the South
Gippsland Highway. As the export products are containerised, rail
transport from Leongatha was examined before the line was severed.

Cheers
David