Page 4204 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 21 September 2011
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where and how light rail will work in Canberra and doing the detailed work. This has not been done before now.
This work will inform a new bid to Infrastructure Australia and I see no reason that would prevent us making a revised bid for federal funding. I have requested that this bid be ready by the middle of next year and, although it is an ambitious target, it is a reasonable timetable and I am happy to discuss this with the government further if they have some points of discussion on this. It would be wrong to rely completely on Infrastructure Australia for funding. There are options available to the ACT in the absence of federal assistance.
My motion asks that the government develop a cost proposal for light rail routes in the ACT that the ACT could begin constructing in the absence of federal assistance. This may be an individual route rather than the full network, which can be expanded over time.
Again, I would point out that the Gold Coast light rail project is going ahead as part of a public-private partnership between the Queensland government, the Gold Coast City Council, the commonwealth and the company GoldLinQ. The pros and cons of these sorts of ventures are something which the ACT government could also investigate.
My motion raises the issue of freight travel. Unfortunately, the proportion of rail freight in the ACT has declined, indeed as it has across the country. Road freight is taking over, and the construction of the Majura parkway is intended to facilitate road freight in the ACT. Anyone concerned with the long-term future of our city should know that road freight is not the answer and that rail is a much more sustainable option for freight, and this has been discussed at a number of forums in recent times.
A report by ARRB consultants found that rail freight produces up to 90 per cent fewer emissions per tonne of freight carried than road freight. Any government committed to emissions reduction should be looking at how to facilitate a switch to rail freight. The Greens’ belief is that there are a number of proactive actions the government can take to advance rail freight in the ACT, and I do not accept the contention that it is out of the government’s hands.
The 2009 rail master plan written for the government by a consultant said that there were opportunities for the growth of rail freight in the ACT. It said that an intermodal freight terminal was an option for Canberra. This kind of terminal allows the easy transfer of freight from rail to truck, meaning that the majority of the freight journey is done by train. The rail master plan even identified viable sites, such as Fyshwick. It recommended looking at the feasibility of developing an intermodal facility. The consideration of a rail precinct currently underway through the East Lake development project is the perfect time to progress these rail freight projects. Unfortunately, it no longer seems to be on the government’s agenda.
At the time of the rail master plan, the government promised to consider rail freight in conjunction with freight policies for the ACT and the government’s land release program. It also promised to follow up on the 2009 rail master plan with detailed analysis, consultation and consideration of providing rail infrastructure. It said it
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