NSW Government gone off the rails
The Transport Administration Amendment (Rail Trails) Bill will be intensely debated before the Legislative Council next week. This is a Bill that should be opposed for the following reasons.
Currently, the law in New South Wales prohibits the closing and disposal of railway lines without an Act of Parliament. This legislation was enacted a century ago to give greater protection to the people of New South Wales. We have seen legislation passed to enable the closure of a specific line such as the Glenreagh-Domingo rail line in the 1990s.
Last month, the NSW Government buckled to public and political pressure and changed the wording of the legislation, which would have given the Minister for Transport David Campbell the power to close rail lines and sell them without needing the permission of Parliament.
The Government’s raison d’être for selling off large tracts of rail land to developers is highlighted in an article in the Sydney Morning Herald (26/09/09) which stated “Existing provisions prevent the removal or sale of rail tracks and other works from a railway line unless the line is closed. The new Bill eliminates these restrictions and allows for the sale and removal from any railway line, including those that aren’t to be transferred to the Department of Lands, without necessitating they be closed”.
Any reference to selling the land has now been removed in the current legislation. There are 58 rail lines across New South Wales which have been labelled “non-operational”. Changes to the legislation will allow 45 of them, that have been closed for 15 years or more, to be leased.
The requirement for Parliamentary approval for the closure of the railways is necessary to prevent the NSW Government making hasty decisions that are poorly thought out and not based on strategic public policy that will serve the interests of the people of New South Wales.
Rail is the most economically, socially and environmentally friendly means of transporting commodities and produce to ports or markets. Rail freight provides less than a third of the emissions of road freight, reduces wear on under funded rural roads thereby reducing health and safety risks on these roads.
The disposal of rail line corridors limits the development of future transport and logistics infrastructure for the NSW economy. This includes placing limitations on the future expansion of the urban community through existing light railway lines in the inner west of Sydney, as well as important grain freight railway lines.
Furthermore, the closure of these railway lines has severe ramifications on rural and regional communities as they are already struggling with low public transport options. As a result, these towns would be more isolated if the rail corridors are sold to developers.
The sale of such land would impose huge constraints upon the future economic and social development of rural and regional New South Wales. This Bill would enable the closure and sale of lines in several contentious areas such as: the Newcastle CBD line, the Casino-Murwillumbah line (runs through several town centres including Byron Bay and includes much valuable land), lines in western NSW (primarily used for the transport of agricultural produce such as grain), and Lilyfield to Dulwich Hill freight rail line in Sydney.
With increasing concerns about climate change and rising fuel costs, the NSW Government must effectively maintain the protection of these rail corridors for potential rail use. In order for the Transport Administration Amendment (Rail Trails) Bill to pass, the State Government needs the vote of three Crossbench Members.
Along with the Coalition and the Greens, I will strongly oppose this Bill when it is introduced in the Upper House.
Reference: Andrew West, Rail land bill ‘a fire sale for developers’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 26/09/09.