Greens Rural Summit Orange: Public transport priorities

I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land we meet on. Thanks to Jeremy Buckingham and other Greens members in western NSW for organising the first Greens Rural Summit.

Successive governments, Coalition and Labor, have allowed rural and regional transport to deteriorate.

After years of neglect rail services are in crisis. I do not say that to be alarmist. I believe we have a responsibility to acknowledge how serious the situation is in order to build "save our rail" campaigns that will be integral to turning around government policy.

The good news is that communities are fighting hard to defend and extend rail services and the Greens are very part of this work.

As the Greens MP with responsibility for transport issues in NSW, advocating more public transport is a cornerstone of my work as an MP.

The Greens consistently and constantly calls for more investment in public transport. On an almost weekly basis, we are presented with more bad news about transport, and as Greens we have our work cut out responding to the Howard and Carr governments' appalling transport policies.

The result is a major rundown of public transport, particularly in rural and regional areas.

We are talking about a crisis - a generational shift. If the Carr and Howard governments do not change its tune, our children and grandchildren may not get to enjoy and use the services provided by our railways for more than a century.

It is nothing short of criminal to let this priceless legacy wither. Yet that is exactly what is happening: when rail services are not being cancelled or privatised, rail lines are simply being left to rot.

The impact is profound. Communities become more isolated. Local economies contract. Jobs are lost, both on the railways and in the towns they serve.

Yet still the money flows to road, not rail. This year, we have seen it again, at both federal and state level.

National Party leader John Anderson claims to be the champion of rural and regional Australia, and has also promoted his own rail credentials.

But his Auslink package tells the real story behind the rhetoric: minimal investment on the major rail corridor, and nothing for all those lines that need maintenance and repair.

In New South Wales, road projects got $1.76 billion in funding, while rail got only $560 million. There were 33 road projects and just 6 rail projects.

Of these, 5 were on the Sydney-Brisbane line and 1 was at Port Botany. Chris Corrigan and his friends at Pacific National will be delighted - but what about everyone else?

What about the Brisbane-to-Melbourne inland rail corridor for this region? What about the branch lines? What about the steam-age era Sydney-to-Melbourne line?

The Howard-Anderson Government would prefer, it seems, to put more trucks on the road.

That means more tyres in landfill. More air pollution. More greenhouse gas emissions. More sleepless nights for those who live near the highways.

It means more damage to roads. It means costlier road maintenance bills - and that cost falls on councils as well as governments. There will be more highway deaths and more injuries.

The same story, with the same consequences, is being played out at State level.

The three main sins of the Carr Government are cuts to CountryLink, neglect of rural grain lines, and the deal to lease freight lines to the Commonwealth.

CountryLink as a rail-based service has been under attack for years, starting with the Greiner Government.

People in the bush have long memories, and they know that the National Party's manufactured outrage today belies their own enthusiasm for cutting services when in government.

It was under Wal Murray, former leader of the Nationals in NSW, that we lost the overnight mail services from Sydney to the West, and the services to big centres like Cooma, Glenn Innes, Tenterfield, Nyngan and Bourke.

This was a crime - think of the jobs lost, and indeed lives lost as more traffic was forced onto rural roads.

This year, we have lost the Casino to Murwillumbah service. Even by the standards of our cost-obsessed Transport Minister Michael Costa, this was a short-sighted decision.

My colleagues in the Legislative Council, Ian Cohen and Sylvia Hale, have been very involved in the campaign to save this rail line.

Mr Costa could've improved this line by extending it north past Murwillumbah to the booming Gold Coast. Instead, he simply axed it - along with all the jobs along that line.

This decision was made in haste before the mini-budget in April, and was based on a misleading 3-page document prepared by staffers who were telling him only what he wanted to hear.

This decision was bad enough on its own, but it has renewed fears all around New South Wales that more rail services will follow.

Mr Costa gave New England and Canberra CountryLink services a 12-month reprieve, but there is no indication he has changed his thinking on CountryLink.

The Greens have repeatedly called on Mr Costa to put money into restoring and expanding CountryLink, rather than paring it to the bone.

Mr Costa just assumes that people don't want to travel by train, and that he should just shut the lines down.

But it's the neglect of the infrastructure that's the problem. Unfriendly timetables, bad track, unreliable rolling stock, poor advertising - these are all things that could be fixed.

The Greens believe that investment of this kind would encourage patronage, creating a virtuous circle.

Given the Government's neglect, and its favouritism for road, it's impressive just how well CountryLink still holds up.

Even as things stand, CountryLink costs the taxpayer less in public subsidy per kilometre of travel than CityRail. The CityRail subsidy is 20 cents per passenger-kilometre, the CountryLink subsidy only 14 cents.

Meanwhile, CityRail is getting $1.5 billion for air-conditioned carriages. It would cost half this to fully re-equip CountryLink with modern trains. The Transport Minister's sense of priorities is simply inexplicable.

Rural branch lines are also a tragic tale. The NSW Farmers Association has estimated that 15 branch lines could be restored for just $150 million - less than a tenth of all that CityRail air-conditioning.

These lines service small communities that are desperate to keep trucks off their roads. In many cases, councils can't afford to upgrade those roads, and the community doesn't want them turned into truck superhighways.

The Carr Government thinks it can save money by closing down rail lines. But the community will pay the price in lives and road costs. 90,000 additional B=double truck movements on rural roads every year will be required when these lines close.

Restoring these rail lines could make grain transport more efficient, and could pave the way for other goods to be transported on rail. What a wonderful opportunity.

Instead, current indications are that lines will only be saved in marginal seats.

I have joined farmers in fighting these planned closures. My work around Greenethorpe, Bogan-gate and Tottenham brought home to me why we have to keep these branch lines open.

In other places, track and sleepers are already being illegally ripped up even though the lines are not officially closed.

At Gwabegar, a "closed" sign has been put over the rails. This suggests the Government is forging ahead with its plan to let these lines run down.

To actually close a line, an Act of Parliament is required. Yet near Molong, the RTA has ripped up track. Around Oberon, the Council has ripped up track.

A valuable public asset is being illegally stripped before people's very eyes.

I have recently travelled in northern NSW, the west and the southern highlands meeting with local communities, travelling on trains talking to commuters, and collecting signatures for petitions.

It's hard to describe the outrage and frustration many people in rural and regional areas feel about the loss of their freight and passenger rail.

It's also hard to convey the impact it has on railway workers and their families.

The lease deal that hands freight lines over to the Commonwealth Government is causing major upheaval in regional centres.

In Grafton and Bathurst I've met rail workers whose jobs are on the line. They are stressed, they are anxious. The Government is treating them in a cavalier fashion.

The Greens opposed the legislation to make this deal happen, because we wanted to protect jobs, and to get a better investment deal for freight rail.

These are dark days for rural and reg rail services, but we can still turn things around.

Public transport is a passion of the Greens. It creates employment, encourages community cohesion and has environmental benefits.

In my travels around NSW to promote the Greens campaign to save rail services, commuters have told me how much their rail services mean to them.

Older people and the infirm say these services make it possible to travel for treatment, to see their grandchildren, and to do voluntary work. Families depend on these train lines for their livelihoods.

I have lodged petitions with thousands of signatures, I have asked questions of the Minister, and I moved a motion on rural rail that was successfully passed by Parliament.

The Greens will keep fighting. We must win this campaign. It is our responsibility to see these services passed on to the next generation.

Our forebears built this system, and we have no right to dismantle it. Again and again, Mr Costa thinks he can assume that right.

He talks about railways being unprofitable, uneconomic. The Greens say that this isn't about profits - it's about an essential service to the people of this State. If governments don't provide services, what are they for?

The Greens see this campaign as a priority. We are pleased to be working with groups like the Farmers Association and the Rail, Tram and Bus Union. We are also encouraged by the amount of community support we are getting for this campaign.

The message is out there: the Greens want to defend public transport, and protect rural and regional rail services.

I am keen to continue spreading that message. I want to come to your region, here your transport issues and take your concerns back to Parliament.

This Rural Summit is another step forward. I congratulate the rural Greens for organising it, and I believe it will be critical to getting back on track with transport policies that deliver for people and the environment.

Successive governments, Coalition and Labor, have allowed rural and regional transport to deteriorate.

After years of neglect rail services are in crisis. I do not say that to be alarmist. I believe we have a responsibility to acknowledge how serious the situation is in order to build "save our rail" campaigns that will be integral to turning around government policy.

The good news is that communities are fighting hard to defend and extend rail services and the Greens are very part of this work.

As the Greens MP with responsibility for transport issues in NSW, advocating more public transport is a cornerstone of my work as an MP.

The Greens consistently and constantly calls for more investment in public transport. On an almost weekly basis, we are presented with more bad news about transport, and as Greens we have our work cut out responding to the Howard and Carr governments' appalling transport policies.

The result is a major rundown of public transport, particularly in rural and regional areas.

We are talking about a crisis - a generational shift. If the Carr and Howard governments do not change its tune, our children and grandchildren may not get to enjoy and use the services provided by our railways for more than a century.

It is nothing short of criminal to let this priceless legacy wither. Yet that is exactly what is happening: when rail services are not being cancelled or privatised, rail lines are simply being left to rot.

The impact is profound. Communities become more isolated. Local economies contract. Jobs are lost, both on the railways and in the towns they serve.

Yet still the money flows to road, not rail. This year, we have seen it again, at both federal and state level.

National Party leader John Anderson claims to be the champion of rural and regional Australia, and has also promoted his own rail credentials.

But his Auslink package tells the real story behind the rhetoric: minimal investment on the major rail corridor, and nothing for all those lines that need maintenance and repair.

In New South Wales, road projects got $1.76 billion in funding, while rail got only $560 million. There were 33 road projects and just 6 rail projects.

Of these, 5 were on the Sydney-Brisbane line and 1 was at Port Botany. Chris Corrigan and his friends at Pacific National will be delighted - but what about everyone else?

What about the Brisbane-to-Melbourne inland rail corridor for this region? What about the branch lines? What about the steam-age era Sydney-to-Melbourne line?

The Howard-Anderson Government would prefer, it seems, to put more trucks on the road.

That means more tyres in landfill. More air pollution. More greenhouse gas emissions. More sleepless nights for those who live near the highways.

It means more damage to roads. It means costlier road maintenance bills - and that cost falls on councils as well as governments. There will be more highway deaths and more injuries.

The same story, with the same consequences, is being played out at State level.

The three main sins of the Carr Government are cuts to CountryLink, neglect of rural grain lines, and the deal to lease freight lines to the Commonwealth.

CountryLink as a rail-based service has been under attack for years, starting with the Greiner Government.

People in the bush have long memories, and they know that the National Party's manufactured outrage today belies their own enthusiasm for cutting services when in government.

It was under Wal Murray, former leader of the Nationals in NSW, that we lost the overnight mail services from Sydney to the West, and the services to big centres like Cooma, Glenn Innes, Tenterfield, Nyngan and Bourke.

This was a crime - think of the jobs lost, and indeed lives lost as more traffic was forced onto rural roads.

This year, we have lost the Casino to Murwillumbah service. Even by the standards of our cost-obsessed Transport Minister Michael Costa, this was a short-sighted decision.

My colleagues in the Legislative Council, Ian Cohen and Sylvia Hale, have been very involved in the campaign to save this rail line.

Mr Costa could've improved this line by extending it north past Murwillumbah to the booming Gold Coast. Instead, he simply axed it - along with all the jobs along that line.

This decision was made in haste before the mini-budget in April, and was based on a misleading 3-page document prepared by staffers who were telling him only what he wanted to hear.

This decision was bad enough on its own, but it has renewed fears all around New South Wales that more rail services will follow.

Mr Costa gave New England and Canberra CountryLink services a 12-month reprieve, but there is no indication he has changed his thinking on CountryLink.

The Greens have repeatedly called on Mr Costa to put money into restoring and expanding CountryLink, rather than paring it to the bone.

Mr Costa just assumes that people don't want to travel by train, and that he should just shut the lines down.

But it's the neglect of the infrastructure that's the problem. Unfriendly timetables, bad track, unreliable rolling stock, poor advertising - these are all things that could be fixed.

The Greens believe that investment of this kind would encourage patronage, creating a virtuous circle.

Given the Government's neglect, and its favouritism for road, it's impressive just how well CountryLink still holds up.

Even as things stand, CountryLink costs the taxpayer less in public subsidy per kilometre of travel than CityRail. The CityRail subsidy is 20 cents per passenger-kilometre, the CountryLink subsidy only 14 cents.

Meanwhile, CityRail is getting $1.5 billion for air-conditioned carriages. It would cost half this to fully re-equip CountryLink with modern trains. The Transport Minister's sense of priorities is simply inexplicable.

Rural branch lines are also a tragic tale. The NSW Farmers Association has estimated that 15 branch lines could be restored for just $150 million - less than a tenth of all that CityRail air-conditioning.

These lines service small communities that are desperate to keep trucks off their roads. In many cases, councils can't afford to upgrade those roads, and the community doesn't want them turned into truck superhighways.

The Carr Government thinks it can save money by closing down rail lines. But the community will pay the price in lives and road costs. 90,000 additional B=double truck movements on rural roads every year will be required when these lines close.

Restoring these rail lines could make grain transport more efficient, and could pave the way for other goods to be transported on rail. What a wonderful opportunity.

Instead, current indications are that lines will only be saved in marginal seats.

I have joined farmers in fighting these planned closures. My work around Greenethorpe, Bogan-gate and Tottenham brought home to me why we have to keep these branch lines open.

In other places, track and sleepers are already being illegally ripped up even though the lines are not officially closed.

At Gwabegar, a "closed" sign has been put over the rails. This suggests the Government is forging ahead with its plan to let these lines run down.

To actually close a line, an Act of Parliament is required. Yet near Molong, the RTA has ripped up track. Around Oberon, the Council has ripped up track.

A valuable public asset is being illegally stripped before people's very eyes.

I have recently travelled in northern NSW, the west and the southern highlands meeting with local communities, travelling on trains talking to commuters, and collecting signatures for petitions.

It's hard to describe the outrage and frustration many people in rural and regional areas feel about the loss of their freight and passenger rail.

It's also hard to convey the impact it has on railway workers and their families.

The lease deal that hands freight lines over to the Commonwealth Government is causing major upheaval in regional centres.

In Grafton and Bathurst I've met rail workers whose jobs are on the line. They are stressed, they are anxious. The Government is treating them in a cavalier fashion.

The Greens opposed the legislation to make this deal happen, because we wanted to protect jobs, and to get a better investment deal for freight rail.

These are dark days for rural and reg rail services, but we can still turn things around.

Public transport is a passion of the Greens. It creates employment, encourages community cohesion and has environmental benefits.

In my travels around NSW to promote the Greens campaign to save rail services, commuters have told me how much their rail services mean to them.

Older people and the infirm say these services make it possible to travel for treatment, to see their grandchildren, and to do voluntary work. Families depend on these train lines for their livelihoods.

I have lodged petitions with thousands of signatures, I have asked questions of the Minister, and I moved a motion on rural rail that was successfully passed by Parliament.

The Greens will keep fighting. We must win this campaign. It is our responsibility to see these services passed on to the next generation.

Our forebears built this system, and we have no right to dismantle it. Again and again, Mr Costa thinks he can assume that right.

He talks about railways being unprofitable, uneconomic. The Greens say that this isn't about profits - it's about an essential service to the people of this State. If governments don't provide services, what are they for?

The Greens see this campaign as a priority. We are pleased to be working with groups like the Farmers Association and the Rail, Tram and Bus Union. We are also encouraged by the amount of community support we are getting for this campaign.

The message is out there: the Greens want to defend public transport, and protect rural and regional rail services.

I am keen to continue spreading that message. I want to come to your region, here your transport issues and take your concerns back to Parliament.

This Rural Summit is another step forward. I congratulate the rural Greens for organising it, and I believe it will be critical to getting back on track with transport policies that deliver for people and the environment.