Reviewing the performance of the Australian transport sector against the European Union, Great Britain, France and Sweden

This paper analyses the performance of Australia¿s transport sector relative to that of the corresponding sector in Great Britain, France and in Sweden, and in places to the European Union (EU). The review covers the period 1970 to 2007 or the latest available yearly data. Its scope is limited to an analysis of freight transport, passenger transport, energy consumption, CO2 emissions and road fatalities. Among its key findings are that Australia has consistently achieved a relatively faster rate of annual growth in both road transport freight and rail transport. Second, energy consumption by the transport sector in both France and Sweden over the years 1997-2007 has grown more quickly than consumption in the total economy, whereas in Australia the overall change in final energy consumption by the transport sector is lower than the % change for the total final energy consumption. Third, Australia did not perform well in respect of reducing CO2 emissions across the whole economy relative to France, the United Kingdom or Sweden over the years 1971-2005. Policy implications arising from this analysis are outlined. The paper concludes with an outline of some limitations of this research and proposed areas for future research.