Grain on Rail Day
Thanks to the NSW Farmers Association for the chance to speak to you today. The Greens have a longstanding commitment to public transport, and the rail network in particular. We have been campaigning to protect the remaining CountryLink train services from being taken off the rails.
Parliament House
Thanks to the NSW Farmers Association for the chance to speak to you today.
The Greens have a longstanding commitment to public transport, and the rail network in particular.
We have been campaigning to protect the remaining CountryLink train services from being taken off the rails.
This stands in contrast to the record of the other parties. In the 1980s and early 1990s, it was the Liberals and the Nationals that axed rural rail services while Bob Carr's Opposition protested. A decade later, and now it's the Labor Party with the axe and the Nationals doing the protesting.
In fact, I have a letter from Michael Costa written in 1987, when he was a heavyweight in the Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Enginemen.
At that time, he wrote: "Rail is more cost-effective than road. … There is a need for an effective rail lobby to counter the activities of the road lobby."
Now that he's the Transport Minister, is Mr Costa prepared to listen to that rail lobby?
It seems not. In his eventful year in this Ministry, Mr Costa has accelerated the trend of cutting back rail services undermining confidence in the rail network.
Times change, people change - but the issue stays the same. Government after Government has poured money into our road system while allowing the rail network to run down.
Having overseen this deterioration, the Government is now closing down rural passenger services and selling off rural freight services.
Just yesterday, Pacific National further strengthened its dominance of our State's freight rail services by buying Victorian company Freight Australia, which also runs services on our network.
Privatisation poses a further threat to our services, because subsidies are lost that helped keep grain on the rails.
Everything is now on a commercial footing. But the bean counters can't capture the social benefits of the rail network - the benefits that justified that subsidy.
Even if freight rail operations are not fully commercially viable, they keep trucks off our roads.
They prevent noise pollution, air pollution, road accidents, deterioration of road quality, greenhouse gas emissions, urban traffic congestion, and more.
When privatisation occurred, Pacific National was apparently allowed to reallocate its subsidy to help fund its plans for new super-silos.
But I'm told that these silos are likely to draw more grain off the rail network and on to trucks.
This will require major upgrades to roads that currently can't handle B-double traffic - upgrades that are expected to cost more than upgrading the rail network.
Short-term profit motives are now standing in the way of delivering a system that benefits us all.
What's missing from this whole debate is a commitment to maintaining and expanding rail infrastructure.
We've also seen the NSW Government's contempt for the wishes of the community. It has closed sidings and neglected the network, despite constant calls from a community that would rather have a fully functioning rail network than more trucks on the roads.
Everybody in this room knows that if rail is supported, maintained and well-run, it is a better economic and social option for our rural and regional communities and our grain companies.
The Greens want to help the community's voice be heard here on Macquarie Street.
We want to transcend the Government's narrow focus on profits and costs, and deliver a rural rail network that rural and regional communities can use and be proud of.
The Greens are a growing force in rural and regional communities. That's built on the strength of communities and our work with those communities on their campaigns.
I can assure you of the Greens' support, and I look forward to working with you all on this exciting campaign.
Thanks to the NSW Farmers Association for the chance to speak to you today.
The Greens have a longstanding commitment to public transport, and the rail network in particular.
We have been campaigning to protect the remaining CountryLink train services from being taken off the rails.
This stands in contrast to the record of the other parties. In the 1980s and early 1990s, it was the Liberals and the Nationals that axed rural rail services while Bob Carr's Opposition protested. A decade later, and now it's the Labor Party with the axe and the Nationals doing the protesting.
In fact, I have a letter from Michael Costa written in 1987, when he was a heavyweight in the Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Enginemen.
At that time, he wrote: "Rail is more cost-effective than road. … There is a need for an effective rail lobby to counter the activities of the road lobby."
Now that he's the Transport Minister, is Mr Costa prepared to listen to that rail lobby?
It seems not. In his eventful year in this Ministry, Mr Costa has accelerated the trend of cutting back rail services undermining confidence in the rail network.
Times change, people change - but the issue stays the same. Government after Government has poured money into our road system while allowing the rail network to run down.
Having overseen this deterioration, the Government is now closing down rural passenger services and selling off rural freight services.
Just yesterday, Pacific National further strengthened its dominance of our State's freight rail services by buying Victorian company Freight Australia, which also runs services on our network.
Privatisation poses a further threat to our services, because subsidies are lost that helped keep grain on the rails.
Everything is now on a commercial footing. But the bean counters can't capture the social benefits of the rail network - the benefits that justified that subsidy.
Even if freight rail operations are not fully commercially viable, they keep trucks off our roads.
They prevent noise pollution, air pollution, road accidents, deterioration of road quality, greenhouse gas emissions, urban traffic congestion, and more.
When privatisation occurred, Pacific National was apparently allowed to reallocate its subsidy to help fund its plans for new super-silos.
But I'm told that these silos are likely to draw more grain off the rail network and on to trucks.
This will require major upgrades to roads that currently can't handle B-double traffic - upgrades that are expected to cost more than upgrading the rail network.
Short-term profit motives are now standing in the way of delivering a system that benefits us all.
What's missing from this whole debate is a commitment to maintaining and expanding rail infrastructure.
We've also seen the NSW Government's contempt for the wishes of the community. It has closed sidings and neglected the network, despite constant calls from a community that would rather have a fully functioning rail network than more trucks on the roads.
Everybody in this room knows that if rail is supported, maintained and well-run, it is a better economic and social option for our rural and regional communities and our grain companies.
The Greens want to help the community's voice be heard here on Macquarie Street.
We want to transcend the Government's narrow focus on profits and costs, and deliver a rural rail network that rural and regional communities can use and be proud of.
The Greens are a growing force in rural and regional communities. That's built on the strength of communities and our work with those communities on their campaigns.
I can assure you of the Greens' support, and I look forward to working with you all on this exciting campaign.
