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- 3 April 2001
Australian Inland Rail Expressway
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Speakers - McGrane Mr Tony
Business - Private Members Statements
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Page: 13047
Mr McGRANE (Dubbo) [6.04 p.m.]: On Thursday and Friday of this week, 5 and 6 April, a major national conference will be held in Dubbo regarding the Australian Inland Rail Expressway project. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Transport and Regional Services, Mr John Anderson, will open the conference and the Minister for Employment Services, the Hon Mal Brough, and the shadow Minister for Transport and Regional Services, Martin Ferguson, as well as representatives from community and business groups throughout Australia, will attend. The Australian Inland Rail Expressway is a concept of Everald Compton for the redevelopment of Australia. It is unfortunate that I will not be able to attend the conference because of commitments in Parliament but I give notice of the conference because a project with such nation-building potential should be given the green light in a bipartisan fashion.
In the same way as the Snowy Mountains Scheme changed Australia's way of life, the Australian Inland Rail Expressway will have the potential to revitalise rural Australia. I urge the Government and members of the Opposition to embrace the Australian Inland Rail Expressway in a real and tangible way to sustain the building of the nation. Everald Compton, who has been the driving force behind this project for the past five years, agrees that an inland railway is not a new concept. In 1887 the concept was first talked about when a group of businessmen met in Melbourne to plan a railway from Melbourne through the mid-west of New South Wales and Queensland to Normanton on the Gulf of Carpentaria where there were goldfields. The proposal did not eventuate because the New South Wales and Queensland governments would not co-operate, and the concept of an inland railway collapsed for 40 years.
In 1927, some parliamentarians tried to get the project up and running, but the plans did not include the gulf area. Passionate speeches were delivered in this Parliament about this vital construction but again the proposal lapsed. In 1934 Lord Vestey of England took up the cause. He wanted to lease a large part of the Northern Territory as the base for his international beef empire. Provided he secured a long-term lease at a peppercorn rent, he offered to build the track, at no cost, from Bourke in New South Wales via Charleville, Longreach and Dajarra. His offer was rejected by the Lyons Government. The next attempt was in 1942, when General Douglas Macarthur offered to build a railway linking Cloncurry to Darwin at no cost to Australia, using American steel and labour, to allow the fast movement of troops to the Northern Territory. Strong Opposition from Australian unions killed that project.
In 1949, a Cabinet minute indicated that Prime Minister Ben Chifley had proposed the construction of a rail link to Darwin, following the same track as that planned by Lord Vestey. The primary motivation was said to be the defence of Australia, but in reality it was for trade reasons. Chifley lost the election later that year and the new Menzies Government abandoned the attempt because the Queensland Government opposed the proposal, and again New South Wales could not agree. In 1965 Sir Garfield Barwick briefly reviewed the matter but the Holt Government was not interested. Two well-known Australian engineers, Lance Enderbee and Ken Davidson, took up the vision in the 1980s and 1990s.
Now in 2001 the time has come. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since Everald's team started work in 1996. During that time the project has had its fair share of ups and downs. In July last year on the Gold Coast the Deputy Prime Minister announced the results of a project undertaken by Maunsells. That report was a positive step. The role of the Dubbo conference is to focus on industry relocation from the eastern seaboard along the proposed track. The studies identified the efficiencies that industries will be able to gain in their operations by relocating to greenfield sites along the track, which would be serviced by a number of ports. With the relocation of industries the possibility of benefit to rural Australia is immense. History shows that the American rail system opened up America. I commend this concept to the House.
[Mr Deputy-Speaker left the chair at 6.09 p.m. The House resumed at 7.30 p.m.]
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