| July 2007: Cross-border Taskforce - delivered April 2009 |
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The NSW-Qld Cross Border Taskforce was announced in June 2006 in a press release. In Feb 2007 a flawed discussion paper was issued. Consultation was minimal. There was supposed to be a report to cabinet in July 2007. During the March 2007 State election, all questions on the rail were put aside until the Cros -Border report was released. During the Nov 2007 Federal election, sitting member Justine Elliot was able to ignore her 2004 promise to return the rail as the Cross Border report was still pending. A Freedom of Information Request (FOI) request was ignored on the basis that the report was a Cabinet-in-Confidence Document. On 12 March 2009 the NSW Legislative Council voted to demand the report be tabled within 14 days. Finally on 28 April 2009 the report was release, and almost universally slammed by community and council groups across the region. The underlying premise of the task force's paper is that nothing should be done regarding rail in northern NSW until the Qld government completes their extension from Robina to Coolangatta. That is, despite the rapidly growing population of the area there will be no consideration of rail until 2018. Further, the strategy specifically states that there are no plans to include the existing Casino-Murwillumbah line in any planning. The paper shows a poor understanding of the settlement pattern of this region. From the 2006 ABS Census we know that 86 per cent of the people in Byron and Lismore local government areas live within 5kms of the Casino-Murwillumbah line. The paper also understates the permanent population growth and pays scant regard to tourist numbers. Community consultation was very minimal. The final report had a finding about the Byron Bay second nd rail crossing that wasn't part of the initial terms of referenc.
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