Jamie Briggs (Mayo, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this evening to put on the record a major issue of concern to many residents in the Adelaide Hills, in my electorate. The Australian Rail Track Corporation is planning to construct a 2.1 kilometre crossing loop at Ambleside in the Adelaide Hills just near Verdun to increase the productive capacity of the Adelaide to Melbourne rail freight line. As part of the Rudd Government’s nation building stimulus package, the Australian Rail Track Corporation was allocated $76 million in funds to upgrade seven existing crossing loops on the Adelaide to Melbourne rail freight corridor.

The construction of a new loop is to accommodate the projected increases in rail freight traffic throughout Australia and will eventually result in up to 30 trains passing through Verdun on a daily basis, which will in turn result in trains idling on the crossing loop outside the properties of local residents at regular times. Local residents living in Verdun are deeply concerned about the project as it will lead to increased noise pollution, damage a very special environment, risk heritage buildings and increase an already serious threat from bushfire.

The rail freight corridor through the Adelaide Hills has the steepest gradients in the world for rail freight movement, and the noise produced by trains in navigating this track is significant. The gradients and sweeping bends cause extreme noise that can be heard some two or three kilometres away. To put this into context, noise produced from freight trains is exempt from the state environmental protection laws and therefore local residents whose properties lie adjacent to the track often experience noise well in excess of 100 decibels. In real terms, this is louder than a 747 taking off in your backyard. This is of deep concern considering that it is commonly acknowledged among ear, nose and throat specialists that noise levels of anything over 75 decibels can damage a person’s hearing if he or she is exposed to it regularly over a prolonged period.

There is also the inherent risk of bushfire, with a number of residents already having had fires caused on their properties by red-hot brake shoes flying off freight trains into overgrown shrubbery which the ARTC is failing to maintain. An example of this occurred in January this year, the day after a catastrophic bushfire alert was issued. This could lead to potentially disastrous situations, especially considering freight trains are allowed to operate on bushfire days classified as catastrophic by the South Australian Country Fire Service.

It is fair to say that I, Isobel Redmond—who is the leader of the South Australian Liberal Party and the state member for the area—the Adelaide Hills Council and the local residents have all been extremely disappointed with the Australian Rail Track Corporation’s consultation process, which has been patchy at best and deliberately evasive at worst. Property owners directly affected by the project have also had difficulties in their discussions with ARTC representatives, often having their questions left unanswered or in some cases receiving conflicting advice.

In conjunction with Isobel Redmond, I am seeking assurances from the ARTC and the Rann state Labor government that its development proposal will be subjected to a full public consultation process and that a comprehensive environmental impact study will be undertaken. It has been disappointing to learn that some Rail Track Corporation officials have arrogantly dismissed residents’ concerns and apparently said that they will ‘lose’, that the Rail Track Corporation will ‘win’ and that the residents will just have to learn to ‘live with the track’. Given this type of behaviour, it is even more important—as I am sure that the member for Port Adelaide, who is at the table, will understand—that the Rann state Labor government ensures that this development application is given full scrutiny.

The increased freight traffic through this part of the Adelaide Hills will also have a huge impact on the road traffic from all train level crossings from Nairn through to Wingfield, including the electorates of the member for Boothby and the member for Adelaide, and we will certainly make that well known. Isobel Redmond and I are therefore pushing both for a wider study into the impact that increasing freight traffic will have on road congestion throughout Adelaide and for this study to be undertaken as a requirement of the overall development approval process being undertaken.

It is my very strong view that the building of this loop should not go ahead; rather, the money should be saved and put towards a long-term project aimed at getting the freight line out of the Adelaide Hills. The loop in its current location makes no sense and in fact increases the very real danger of bushfire. It will damage a precious environment and have a massive social impact. I stand with the residents of the Adelaide Hills against this proposal. (Time expired)