Nile Calls For Restoration Of Casino To Murwillumbah Rail Line

In State Parliament House yesterday, the Rev Fred Nile, MLC, Leader of the Christian Democratic Party, has called on the government to urgently restore the Casino to Murwillumbah rail line.

“The closure of rail services on the Casino to Murwillumbah line has seriously inconvenienced the people of the region. They want those services to be restored. I am disappointed that over the years the Government has failed to support the rail system in New South Wales. I recently visited some country centres out west. I travelled to Dubbo and Wellington and through Wagga Wagga and Albury, and in many places I saw rusting rail lines and empty stations. I thought back to the pioneers who had faith in our nation and built our rail lines before there were towns or large populations. Our rail system helped Australia to grow, and decentralisation was possible because people were able to reach country regions.

The winding back of the country railway system in New South Wales, and probably in other States, is a backward step. It may be argued that the rail services are no longer economical or that they do not have enough passengers. But I believe that with good organisation we should be able to plan a railway system to meet the needs of those who wish to use that system and those who want to use it for freight, to move primary products such as wheat across our nation. When I drive through country centres I find it difficult to pass the road trains—or B-doubles, which are two semi-trailers hooked together—that roar along our highways, sometimes three or four of them in convoy. When people try to pass these large vehicles, often road accidents occur and people are killed or seriously injured.”

I often drive in the inside lane, the lane closest to the left boundary of the road, which semi-trailers also tend to use, and I have a most bumpy journey. It seems that those heavy vehicles are tearing the roads apart. People who want to have a smoother journey have to drive in the outside lane, nearest the dividing line, because it is not so bumpy. I have observed the damage that is being done to the road system. The Federal and State governments have joint responsibility for funding the repair of highways, and local councils have to contribute to the repair of roads in regional areas. It would be far simpler to have a good railway system so heavy transport, whether it be produce or equipment, can be transported in the railway system. I believe that should be a priority for the Government. This motion deals with one of the symptoms of the problem, and I believe it is a problem right across the State.

The Hon. Jan Burnswoods rightly pointed out that more than 200 wooden railway bridges that are rotting are now falling down. I ask: Why have they not been progressively repaired or replaced with concrete or new wooden bridges over the years? The answer is that the Government has not spent enough money on infrastructure. That has now been proven, because the Government has announced that it will borrow $10 billion to fund its infrastructure projects. Over the past 12 years this Government and previous governments should have spent $10 billion to progressively upgrade or replace the infrastructure. It is a disgrace that many of these bridges—perhaps the entire 200—are reaching the point where they are dangerous, simply because heavy trains damage them. It should not be a last-minute rush to suddenly repair these bridges; it should have been done progressively.

The Hon. Jan Burnswoods said that according to the Government's calculation it would cost $150 million to open the line, for which New South Wales has offered $75 million and this Government wants the Federal Government to provide the other $75 million. I understand that originally the Federal Government offered $30 million, but at that time it may not have known about the serious condition of the line and that it required greater expenditure. I do not see that as a problem for the Federal Government, and I would encourage the State Government to negotiate with it. We often hear Prime Minister Howard speak about the Federal Government's great budget surplus. The Federal budget surplus is about $12 billion, $13 billion or $14 billion—it seems to increase every day. So the Federal Government should not have much problem finding $75 million to upgrade this railway system.

The amendment moved by the Hon. Jan Burnswoods calls on the Federal Government to provide that extra funding, and I have no problem with that. Up until now railways have been the responsibility of State governments, but there has been greater co-operation in transferring the interstate lines into Commonwealth-supervised arrangements across the country. It appears therefore that the Federal Government is taking more responsibility for railway systems within States than it has ever done in the past. I am not critical of that. I simply suggest that, given that the Federal Government has surplus funds, it should be able to assist all State governments upgrade their railway infrastructure.