Sharon Grierson (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to share with the House some of the experiences and outcomes arising from a recent study trip that I undertook in June and July of this year. The purpose of the overseas study was to have direct briefings about and to view first hand the operation of modern light rail systems in Dublin, Montpellier and Bordeaux with a view to preparing a working paper on the suitability of a light rail system for Newcastle, the city that I represent in the Commonwealth Parliament of Australia. All three cities selected have similar population catchments to Newcastle and, like Newcastle, both Bordeaux and Montpellier are regional cities. Montpellier is located two hours inland from the major coastal city of Marseilles.

The French light rail systems that I inspected were designed by Alstom and the Dublin Luas system was designed by Sinclair Knight Merz as part of a consortium. I would like to acknowledge the assistance of the Newcastle office of SKM and also of Alstom Australia president and managing director Chris Raine and sales director Mr Jean de la Chapelle in organising briefings and inspections. I acknowledge with gratitude the briefing prepared and delivered by Michael Sheedy and Danny Vaughan—respectively the director of light rail and the operations manager of the Railway Procurement Agency in Dublin—and the assistance of Ben Dunne from the Irish parliament, who gave me a tour of the Luas. In particular, I also thank Mr Gerald Kowalski, the customer director for Alstom Transport for the cities and local authorities of France, and Mr Jean de la Chapelle, Alstom Transport’s platform director and tender manager, for their individual briefings and guided inspections of, respectively, the Montpellier and Bordeaux light rail networks. Their willingness to consider the many questions that I put to them and their generous hospitality was very much appreciated.

In this debate tonight I do not have enough time to cover my entire study tour, but I would like to share some of the conclusions and some of the features of Newcastle that recommend it, in my view, for an urban renewal approach that includes light rail. First, though, it is important to state upfront that light rail has been an important part of the solution adopted by European governments to ageing infrastructure, urban decline and the need to cut carbon emissions. In the three cities I visited the light rail systems were successful drivers of population, productivity and public transport growth. As Australia faces the challenge of making its cities more sustainable, more productive and more liveable, light rail has a major part to play. I regret that we lag behind in this area, but the good news is that cities like Adelaide, Hobart and the Gold Coast are preparing for light rail as an important part of their urban redevelopment. I hope the city of Newcastle will one day join them.

In my study report I state the following conclusions. An integrated approach to urban planning and design in each case study has delivered effective light rail networks, which facilitated urban consolidation and renewal, CBD regeneration and population and economic growth. An integrated approach to transport planning and urban planning maximised the effectiveness of all modes of public transport—bus, light rail and heavy rail—in the case studies. An effective, integrated transport and urban planning approach to light rail networks directly addressed ways to facilitate increased cycling and walking.

In France, funding support from the national government was dependent on cooperation across municipal governments. Whereas attempts to amalgamate local governments had not been pursued, the conditional funding approach provided an important impetus to planning across council boundaries and cross-council cooperation. This measure would be very applicable to the Australian setting and indeed to my region, which has several councils impacting upon transport routes.

The European Union provided one-off funding for the three light rail systems linked to the need to reach emission reduction targets. The emission reduction targets set by the European Union were important policy settings for the success of funding for light rail networks. Clearly, setting targets and introducing a price on carbon are important steps in attaining financial viability for light rail networks and systems. As an incentive for passenger take-up of light rail in Dublin, the national government made the purchasing of an annual pass a tax deduction, reducing an individual’s gross salary and therefore taxable income by the amount of the annual pass. This is an incentive that I think should be considered for implementation in Australia wherever light rail systems are introduced, particularly in the initial phase of operation.

The French cities successfully introduced light rail systems in a way that proactively reduced car usage and carbon emissions. Car parking was prohibited in many areas or was severely restricted. The pricing of parking was set to discourage car use. Light rail was given complete planning priority over vehicular transport. Urban planning in Australia, of course, has a long way to go to fully embrace such an important ethos. The Bordeaux and Montpellier approach was more strategic and holistic than the Dublin approach. Interestingly, the Dublin system suffered from a lack of agreement between two municipal governments. Where have we heard that before? But plans had been prepared to remedy that situation. In both Montpellier and Bordeaux, there was a commitment to delivering a significant network, sufficient to be a catalyst for the desired environmental and economic outcomes.

In all three cities visited, light rail is embraced by the public as affordable, safe, flexible and convenient transportation and is seen as an acceptable alternative to car transport. It was frequently described to me as middle-class transport. However, in observing the three systems in operation clearly they were all providing transport solutions to a diverse client base.

Initial capital infrastructure costs are unlikely to be recoverable in a simple financial input-output model. However, a holistic cost-benefit analysis that takes into account the cost of factors such as urban congestion, car emissions, road maintenance and accidents as well as the opportunity cost of the negative impact of poor transport facilities on economic growth and urban renewal would be important to any feasibility study for the construction of light rail networks. While it is unrealistic to expect to recover initial capital investment for major light rail networks, it is important to cover operating costs and move towards a profit-making enterprise.

These conclusions provide guidance, I would suggest, to underpin the design and construction of light rail networks. The light rail networks studied in Bordeaux, Montpellier and Dublin were truly inspiring. They showed what can be achieved when a multidisciplinary and cross-government approach is applied to the challenges of regenerating cities, providing urban consolidation, greater sustainability and effective transport solutions that reduce emissions. In each of these cities the population has increased markedly, and economic growth has been a strong feature of the new modern transport networks. I am a strong advocate for such an approach in the city I represent, Newcastle.

Newcastle is a regional city which has experienced CBD decline over the past two decades. The success of both the Building Better Cities redevelopment project and the popularity of large suburban shopping malls contributed to this decline. But in Newcastle the CBD decline was exacerbated by the 1989 earthquake that saw the major regional hospital, the Royal Newcastle Hospital, seriously damaged and eventually replaced by a new hospital, the John Hunter Hospital, in a suburban area. Other large employers like Energy Australia also abandoned their CBD locations and relocated in suburban areas.

Some in our city suggest that in spite of the success of the Honeysuckle precinct along the harbour front, the heavy rail spur line that separates the harbour from the CBD retail area acts as a barrier to CBD regeneration and new investment into the CBD. However, for others the heavy rail is the major arterial link to the growing commuter areas of Maitland and Central Coast. Undeniably, with competing needs and opposing viewpoints, finding a way forward has been difficult. Over 30 transport reports have been prepared by the state government but an integrated approach to transport and planning is some way off.

As the federal member for Newcastle, I have a responsibility for some areas of development proposed in Newcastle. In particular, the expansion of the university into a larger CBD campus is, from my viewpoint, an important anchor project, one that I believe will not only increase retention rates and improve the student experience but also provide an employment anchor for the city, increase population and visits into the CBD and thereby increase the demand for all services including retail, hospitality, personal, financial and transport.

After completing a light rail study overseas, I am convinced that the other project that will lead to CBD regeneration and urban consolidation is a light rail network in Newcastle. Since the election I have been working with three local experts in transport and urban planning to test the assumptions regarding light rail against a Newcastle context. Our preliminary work does suggest that a light rail system in Newcastle would be appropriate for the city. In particular it offers a way forward that would overcome the disconnect between the harbour and the CBD retail area and would offer a rapid link between the two university campuses.

For Newcastle, light rail would make it easier for everyone to enjoy the city’s great lifestyle, it would breathe a new life into the Newcastle’s growth corridors and light rail would link our knowledge and people centres with smart transport for the 21st century. Lonely Planet recently chose Newcastle as the ninth city to visit in its Lonely Planet’s top 10 cities for 2011. When you visit Newcastle you would be struck by the work of Renew Newcastle, which is activating empty shops with creative enterprises. You would marvel at our working harbour, beautiful beaches and the friendly nature of the people. We are an earthy city with a great future. It is my belief that a new city-wide light rail network would be an important driver and catalyst for the city of Newcastle to realise its potential as one of the country’s best cities—prosperous, sustainable and liveable.

I look forward to the discussion paper on our urban environment and cities to be released by Minister Albanese later this year and see it as an important first step to realising a better future for Newcastle. I also look forward to releasing the working paper prepared with some resident experts before the end of the year.