What is Australia’s next great nation-building infrastructure project? What will be our next Snowy Mountains scheme, our next Harbour Bridge? That was the question raised by an enthusiastic audience at the Better Transport Forum in Dubbo last week.
Around 30 people attended the forum, on another cold winter’s night – but MC Scott McGregor warmed the crowd up with his repartee and a few choice quotes from Henry Lawson and Mark Twain.
For primary producers and other export industries, the big issue in regional NSW is access to ports. Freight links to Port Botany are constrained by the limitations of our road and rail infrastructure, and by Sydney’s ever-growing transport congestion. The construction of more passing loops on the rail line between Dubbo and Sydney is a simple short-term measure that would lead to a significant improvement in transport times to and from the Western Plains for exporters.
In the longer term, the big “Snowy Mountains” style project that offers the most potential for the region is the proposed north-south freight line from Melbourne to Brisbane. An inland route for this rail-link through Parkes could be the catalyst for an investment boom in the Western Plains.
A number of local train drivers spoke of the need to upgrade branch lines. In some places, there are sections of track that are over 100 years old. These section are the rail equivalent of a ‘dirt track’. The Coonamble line, for example, is in such poor condition that a blanket 20km/hour speed limit is in place for 56 kilometres between Armatree and Coonamble. What should be a 45 minute trip instead takes three hours – no wonder rail freight is struggling to remain competitive with the trucking industry.
There were plenty of other good ideas and suggestions raised at the forum – such as the need to get better coordination between the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) and the Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA). The forum also agreed on the need for long-term infrastructure planning, so that projects can get up and running quickly as funding become available.
As with our previous forum in Tamworth, the success of the Dubbo event was due to the participation of a wide cross-section of people. This wasn’t just about rail workers. It was about the local council, small business owners, major export industries, and- most of all - members of the local community.
I’d particularly like to thank our guest speakers on the night:
- Roger Fletcher - Managing Director of Fletcher International;
- Matthew Dickerson - Dubbo Councillor;
- Warren Williams –President of the Dubbo Chamber of Commerce President;
- Klaus Clemens - Managing Director of national transport consultancy RMAus; and
- Lee Rhiannon - Greens Senate Candidate.
Ms Rhiannon also took the opportunity to launch the Greens ‘Road to Rail’ policy in Dubbo while she was there - helping to generate more public discussion about the need for an integrated transport network.
Thanks also to the RTBU members who came along and made it such a worthwhile night. I’ll be sending the results of the discussion to politicians at both the State and Federal level.
Stay tuned for information about more Better Transport forums around NSW in the near future.
