Parliamentary Speeches
Casino to Murwillumbah Rail Line ( 06/06/2006)
Mr DONALD PAGE (Ballina—Deputy Leader of The Nationals) [5.33 p.m.]: On Friday 19 May I attended a transport forum at Bangalow to discuss various transport issues affecting the Far North Coast. The issues discussed included the need for an integrated transport plan for the area, the need to separate interstate freight from local traffic, problems relating to the Pacific Highway upgrade and, importantly, the need to put train services back on the Casino to Murwillumbah line. The transport forum coincided with the second anniversary of the axing by the State Labor Government of the XPT train service on the Casino to Murwillumbah line. At the forum that was very strong support for the introduction of commuter services to service communities along the line. If these commuter services can be connected to the existing XPT services at Casino—and I believe they can—so much the better. In addition, there is very strong support for the Casino to Murwillumbah line to be connected to the Queensland line, which is planned to come down from Robina to Coolangatta.
In 1992 two reports were commissioned by the former New South Wales Coalition Government regarding the technical feasibility of connecting these rail lines and the potential economic viability of this proposal. The studies were carried out by Travers Morgan. The technical feasibility study identified five options, one of which connected Murwillumbah with the Queensland line via Coolangatta airport. Other options went further to the west. The paper concluded that it is technically feasible to build these lines, although some of the lines would run through low-lying areas sometimes prone to flooding. On the other hand, the economic analysis was flawed because it did not take into consideration the full range of benefits that such a project would deliver when the benefit-cost analysis was done.
In any event, things have changed a lot since the 1992 study, and the benefits in terms of tourism, commuter travel, improved employment opportunities, fewer cars and buses on our roads, less greenhouse gas and the integration with the south-east Queensland region are all there for us to see. At the very least, an updated benefit-cost study needs to be done, and I call on the State Government to employee independent consultants to do a proper benefit-cost study that takes into consideration all the benefits that such a connection would deliver. Returning to what can be done now, it is obvious that commuter services can and should be put on the line as a matter of urgency. Light rail cars are available at Newcastle and only limited work is required to make the line safe. This work mainly involves upgrading some bridges. I refer honourable members to the PricewaterhouseCoopers study done in 2004 for details on costings.
Whether commuter services are privately or publicly operated, it is obvious that public funding support will be required in terms of upgrading and maintaining the line, and a community service obligation will also be required. The PricewaterhouseCoopers report indicates that on average only $2.5 million per annum is required in maintenance to make the line safe, but it suggests spending $4.1 million over the first seven years. So it is not expensive, especially when we consider that the Labor Government is spending billions on CityRail. I make the point that on numerous occasions since this Labor Government axed our train service, the Liberals and The Nationals have indicated their intention to put trains back on the Casino to Murwillumbah line. Since the XPT was axed, the Government has done nothing of substance to give the community any real hope that reinstatement of rail services on this line is likely to happen.
On the contrary, successive transport Ministers have reiterated their support for the original decision, stating that they do not want to revisit Minister Costa's decision to remove trains from the line. I note that in today's budget there is still no mention of reinstating rail services on the Casino to Murwillumbah rail line. In the lead-up to the 2003 election the Labor Government repeatedly denied that it was contemplating axing rail services on the line. However, once it was elected it proceeded to do just that. In the lead-up to the next election in March 2007 we may well hear undertakings from the Government about doing something positive about reintroducing trains, but the fact is that the Government cannot be trusted. In December 2003 it imposed a 12-month moratorium on axing the service, and broke that promise three months later. So the community should treat with a grain of salt any positive statements made by the Government about train services on this line in the run-up to the next State election. Such statements will only be made in a vain attempt to save the political neck of the honourable member for Tweed.
By contrast, the New South Wales Liberal Party and The Nationals are committed to the introduction of rail services on this line as soon as the line can be made safe. We believe that this Sydney-centric Government's decision to axe train services on this line was short sighted and had no regard for the lack of public transport in our region and our rapidly growing population. Nor does it consider the plight of the elderly and the disabled, for whom train travel is much more comfortable. The Casino to Murwillumbah rail line is an important piece of infrastructure. It can be the backbone of an integrated transport plan for the region. It is essential that we get both an integrated transport plan in place and put trains back on this track. If people want this, they must support The Nationals and the Liberal Party at the next election.
