Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1)

notes the importance of rail in meeting the nation’s transport task into the future; and

(2)

is of the view that:

(a)

as a nation we remain focused on transferring more freight off road and onto rail—particularly on Australia’s east coast corridor;

(b)

we continue to develop an efficient, integrated system, which reflects the necessity for inter-modal links; and

(c)

strong competition on the freight rail network is encouraged and that competition between different transport industries is maintained.

Effective use of transport infrastructure is essential if we are going to prosper as a nation. Australia could not effectively participate in the current world boom in resources if we could not get our product quickly and efficiently to market. Australia’s transport task faces the challenge of great distance. We must also ensure that each mode of transport is achieving world’s best practice and that intermodal links, which bring together the different forms of transport, operate effectively.

Rail must play a greater role in the nation’s transport future, and AusLink recognises this. With the national transport task doubling by 2020, the federal government is working to ensure that we meet the challenge. This represents a stark contrast to the neglect of some state governments, which have allowed rail assets under their control to fall into disrepair—the New South Wales state government is a prime example of this phenomenon.

The Australian government is investing heavily in rail. Through AusLink and the Australian Rail Track Corporation, $2.4 billion is being invested in rail to 2009. On the east-west rail corridor, rail has achieved a market share in the order of 80 per cent, with a single freight train running between Perth and Melbourne replacing 450 semitrailers. An example such as this clearly demonstrates the role which rail can play in reducing congestion on our roads, improving road safety outcomes and providing positive environmental outcomes.

Whilst rail has been competing successfully on the east-west corridor, its share along the eastern seaboard is only 20 per cent. In response, the Australian government announced in June 2004 the investment of some $450 million to upgrade the east coast line between Sydney and Brisbane. In the 2006 budget, the government announced an additional $270 million for upgrading works between Melbourne and the Queensland border. What will these improvements mean for the movement of freight? They will mean that a super-freighter travelling between Sydney and Brisbane will be able to cut four hours from the trip, and between Sydney and Melbourne, two and a half hours.

The government has also commissioned Ernst & Young, backed by a team including ACIL Tasman and Hyder Consulting, to undertake a north-south rail corridor study to investigate future demand, capacity and options. The government is looking not only to rail but also to the wider issue of intermodal relationships as transport bottlenecks, when they occur, can stifle our economic growth. We all remember the way this country was hamstrung by an inefficient waterfront. The price for this inefficiency was being paid for not only by exporters and importers but also by every Australian through a lower national product and, as a result, lower living standards.

The National Intermodal Terminal Study conducted by DOTARS was released in March this year. It identified Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane as key potential growth areas for intermodal capacity over the next 20 years. The Australian government supports projects that enhance links between multimodal transport, such as targeting the flow from road to rail and to the major ports in our capital cities. A seamless flow of freight is vital to an efficient national transport system. Intermodal networking is critical to achieving that end, as is choosing the most appropriate mode of transport for a particular good or journey.

Rail has an important role to play for the people of my electorate at a local and national level. The freight volume being transported along the Pacific Highway is increasing rapidly. This is creating an adverse effect on road safety from the vast increase in the number of heavy vehicles, which is occurring at a rate far beyond the ability of this road to cope. It is also having an adverse effect on the environment from the increased noise and vehicle pollution. It is causing great concern to residents in my electorate. They see the tragedy and carnage from these all too familiar road accidents. Tragically, these accidents often involve heavy vehicles. Residents are also seeing  the number of these heavy vehicles growing, virtually on a daily basis.

Despite the road being upgraded by the New South Wales government, with assistance from the Australian government under AusLink, these improvements are effectively being swamped by the ever-increasing freight volume. The proposed rail upgrade of the north-south corridor will remove 120,000 containers from the Pacific Highway and get them onto rail by 2011. The example of the Pacific Highway holds true around the country. If we do not maximise the use of rail, our road system will eventually clog up and our ability to move easily from place to place through the road network will be compromised.

Rail is vital to the future development of our nation and to the future of road safety. We must continue to upgrade rail. It is a mode of transport for the 21st century. (Time expired)

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