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The Hon. CATHERINE CUSACK: My question is directed to the Minister for Transport Services. Has the Minister received a copy of the Country Labor submission to the Parry inquiry, which was co-ordinated by the Minister's inner-Sydney colleague the Hon. Amanda Fazio? Was the Minister aware in advance of comments attributed by the Northern Star to the Hon. Amanda Fazio in favour of retaining the Murwillumbah XPT, maintaining and upgrading the Murwillumbah rail line and in particular her statement that "It is unreasonable to accept that the CountryLink trains be replaced by coaches"? Has the Minister already decided to keep the Armidale and Murwillumbah lines? Are the statements made by the Hon. Amanda Fazio part of a political damage control strategy as a precursor to the Minister officially announcing that he will not close those lines?
The Hon. MICHAEL COSTA: I thank the honourable member for a very perceptive question about the effectiveness of Country Labor. In essence, she was asking me how effective Country Labor's campaign has been in relation to some recommendations that Tom Parry has made. I make the point that those are recommendations at this stage. There are not many trains left after the Liberal-National Coalition destroyed and decimated country rail services. The Nationals are a bit stunned by the campaign run by Country Labor. As I have already reported, The Nationals tried to organise a rally on CountryLink and got 20 people to attend. And they had to bus people from the North Coast to Grafton in order to get those 20 people! That was an abysmal failure. Russell Turner has a petition in his office and cannot get one signature on it. Other members of The Nationals around the State are making similar sorts of comments.
The Hon. Michael Gallacher: You just make this up as you go along, don't you?
The Hon. MICHAEL COSTA: I did not ask the question. If you do not like the answer, do not ask the question! I quote Russell Turner, who said he had a petition in his Orange electorate office calling for train services to be retained, and as of Wednesday he had no signatures on the petition. I know he is a very ineffectual member, and that might be the explanation, but this is very common in The Nationals. The reason they cannot get signatures is that they have no credibility. When The Nationals go out and talk about retaining country rail services, nobody believes them. I had a delegation from the Country Women's Association today, and they did not believe a word of The Nationals.
The Hon. Michael Gallacher: Tell us about the 200 at Taree, half of them wearing ALP hats and badges.
The Hon. MICHAEL COSTA: What 200?
The Hon. Michael Gallacher: The 200 people who turned up at Taree.
The Hon. MICHAEL COSTA: You got 20 at Grafton.
The Hon. Michael Gallacher: There were 200 at Taree.
The Hon. Catherine Cusack: Point of order, Madam President.
The PRESIDENT: Order! I advise the Leader of the Opposition that I cannot hear a point of order from the Hon. Catherine Cusack because of his interjections.
The Hon. Catherine Cusack: Point of order: My question specifically related to the Murwillumbah line and whether the Minister has already decided to keep it. The Minister's response is not relevant to the question asked.
The PRESIDENT: Order! I remind the Minister that his answer should remain relevant to train services on the North Coast.
The Hon. MICHAEL COSTA: As the honourable member ought to know, because I have repeated my response to Parry-related questions, I will be making a statement when the final report comes down, and not before then. It is appropriate to record the very effective campaign that Country Labor has run. Country Labor is now a very effective force in the bush. This is reflected in the fact that it has large rallies—in contrast with the very poor response to the call from The Nationals, be that at a rally in Grafton where 20 people turned up, or in petitions that nobody signs. People do not even know where The Nationals' offices are.
The Hon. Duncan Gay: Point of order. The Minister is misleading the House. He indicated that this was a campaign by Country Labor. The question related to the Hon. Amanda Fazio, who is not a member of Country Labor.
The PRESIDENT: Order! The Deputy Leader of the Opposition knows that is not a point of order.