| 1 Apr 2009: Media Alert - April Fool's Day Joke re Cross Border Taskforce ? |
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Media Release: 1 April 2009
A document from the elusive Cross Border Taskforce leaked to the media today is bereft of detail and shows no understanding of the real transport needs of the north coast region of NSW. "This report is a complete disaster. No wonder the NSW government does not want to publicly release it. It is less than worthless. We can only hope that NOROC's Integrated Regional Transport Plan will come up with more substantial recommendations," TOOT president Karin Kolbe said. "It completely ignores tourism opportunities, yet this is one of the important economic drivers for this area, as well as creating a much needed public transport service," Ms Kolbe said. "There are are about 1.7 million vistors to Byron every year - and they arrive by road. A rail service would allow tourists to explore the hinterland area. Instead of talking about moving tourists - which are our version of freight - this report talks about bananas." The report ignores the result of Assoc Prof Weatherby's Southern Cross University study that found that about 2875 people would use a local commuter service every day. It ignores the fact this area is rapidly growing - the only region with higher growth is over the border in SE Queensland. "It puts all its faith in buses, yet most people struggle with buses for anything but short trips. Many elderly people cannot travel on buses. And where do you put your surf board or your bike?" Ms Kolbe said. The Cross Border Report ignores the fact our main roads are already congested - yet the rail track lies dormant and decaying. It undermines the fact that most of the population live very close to the existing rail line. The towns of Murwillumbah, Lismore and Byron are all linked by the rail line. With the added link to Qld, Tweed would also be connected. Only Ballina would not be covered. So about 4/5ths of the population have relatively easy access to the rail. Worst of all, this report ignores the need to respond to climate change and peak oil. A steel wheel on a steel track is up to 10 times more efficient than a rubber tyre on bituman. Transport is the fastest growing contributor to greenhouse gases, yet this report ignores the issue altogether. TOOT restates the urgent need for: • immediate work on the existing Casino-Murwillumbah line; • commuter services to commence on the line as soon as possible; • planning for the link between Murwillumbah and Coolngatta (26kms) to commence immediately as Qld’s rail line is due there in 2018. Contact: Karin Kolbe 0411 594 599 02) 6680 8516 This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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