All Aboard The 73rd Study Into Newcastle Rail

Minster David Campbell MP.,
NSW Minister for Transport,
Level 35,
1 Farrer Place,
Sydney 2000

Dear Minister Campbell,

A member of the Premier’s Task Force to study Newcastle rail explained to me in 2005 that he must study the previous 70 reports on this subject to make the 71st report. In 2006 then NSW Transport Minister John Watkins told me;

“You have won! Rail services between Newcastle and Sydney will not be cut, however for political reasons I’ve had to authorise a study into electrification to Warabrook”.

So in 2006 the ALP was re-elected on that mandate. $500,000 later in October 2008 the 72nd report declared that the Warabrook proposal wasn’t feasible.

A month later an unelected developer, General Property Trust demanded a 73rd report. Hunter Development Corporation CEO Craig Norman is now proceeding with the developer’s demands.

Also, Minster for the Hunter Jodi McKay tells us:

“She expects the community will be consulted”.

But she didn’t enlarge on who would consult whom.

The last national survey reported that most commuters using Newcastle rail services come from Lake Macquarie, then Maitland, then Newcastle. All the previous studies despite their various titles of ‘Lower Hunter’, ‘Hunter Regional’ ‘Newcastle rail’ etc. have considered nothing but the 5 km from Broadmeadow to Newcastle. Can we expect the 73rd study to pretend to consider the effects on the people who use the rail? Can we be confident in expecting this seventy third study will be conducted by transport planners rather than real estate planners?

In 2006 NSW Democrats politician Arthur Chesterfield-Evans lamented that there were 23 reports on Newcastle Rail still being held by the government as ‘confidential’ for no obvious reason. At least that still leaves fifty more reports for the public to peruse. But at what cost? We were told $500,000 was set aside for the Warabrook electrification inquiry. If all the studies are of that order then the NSW taxpayer has paid out something like $35million so far for studies that achieved almost nothing. I hope that the government is not involved in that type of expense all over NSW.

Minister Campbell, it would restore a great deal of confidence to see the government take control of this situation, and put a stop to these eternal expensive developer initiated studies and let the government and the people put their energies into more useful pursuits.

Thank you for your time and considerations.

Yours faithfully,
George Paris