Deputy PM stops by town to keep Inland Rail on track

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and Member for Parkes Mark Coulton stopped by town this week to make significant announcements about the Australian Rail Track Corporation’s Inland Rail project, and to meet with local members of the National Party who are worried about the proposed route at Narrabri and want further investigation.

In February, the National Party’s Narrabri branch voted to withdraw support for the current alignment after a presentation by local engineer Jim Purcell, who has raised concerns including about potential flood risks.

Mr Purcell has also expressed his opinion about the benefits, including economic, of an alternative alignment and stated his opposition to the government’s preferred route which would skirt around the western edges of Narrabri, passing over Wee Waa Road.

“The route is literally right up against the downstream side of Narrabri’s floodplain, so anything that you build downstream of a floodplain is going to impact flooding on a town,” said Mr Purcell.

Mr Coulton, who has championed the Inland Rail project, said the meeting would be an opportunity for members to hear from ARTC and Mr Joyce, who is the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development.

“There’s been a lot of discussion over the last five or six months in town,” said Mr Coulton ahead of the meeting held on March 15.

“But at this stage, up until today (Tuesday) there really hasn’t been a forum for Inland Rail to explain the process.

“I think a lot of people haven’t fully appreciated the extent and the magnitude and the length and the qualifications of the people involved in deciding on that route,” he said.

“The issues that have been raised are genuine issues, but there really hasn’t been an opportunity to have adequate discussion with all that information on the table.

“So that’s an opportunity for today for the local branch of the National Party, the Chamber of Commerce, the industrial network and others, the council, to have those discussions with the engineers and with the people from the Inland Rail.”

When asked if there was potential for change following the branch meeting, Mr Coulton said: “I believe that once they understand exactly the processes undertaken, and the fact that we’re not going to build something that’s going to flood the town, I mean that’s just not going to happen.

“But I’ll facilitate it and we’ll see where it goes. I’m not going to pre-empt what’s going to happen.”

Before attending the Nationals branch meeting, Mr Joyce and Mr Coulton held a press conference on Culgoora Road, near the Northern NSW Inland Port site, with ARTC Inland Rail interim chief executive officer Rebecca Pickering, Narrabri Shire Council mayor Ron Campbell and CSIRO’s TraNSIT project leader Dr Andrew Higgins.

“This is now the biggest investment project in our nation,” said Mr Joyce.

“One of the greatest beneficiaries of the Inland Rail is Narrabri.

“We anticipate the population to grow. We anticipate the value of people’s houses to go up. We anticipate that businesses will move here.”

“The reason we’re at this spot today is we’re announcing that the funding has been allocated to raise the height of the crossover of Inland Rail with this railway line here,” said Mr Coulton.

“Why that’s important is that future businesses that will choose to come and set up in Narrabri will have the option to double-stack container trains onto the Inland Rail.”

ARTC said it supported the modification of the bridge over the Walgett Branch Line in Narrabri to allow double-stacked trains to transition on and off the Inland Rail mainline to further boost freight opportunities.

The decision was made following consultation with NSC and key stakeholders and will see the height of the planned bridge increase over the existing Walgett Branch Line from 5.8 metres to 7.1 metres to allow double-stacked container wagons to pass under.

Ms Pickering said it was ‘a win for the community and farmers in northern NSW’.

“This is another example of how we are working alongside the community and key stakeholders to achieve better outcomes for years to come.

“The Narrabri to North Star section of Inland Rail is charging ahead, where 920 people, including 281 local residents, have worked on the project since construction commenced in 2020.

“As we approach construction on the Narromine to Narrabri section later this year, we are committed to creating opportunities for the local community and workforce.”

Mr Coulton said the opportunities for business growth, employment and economic development were ‘endless’ because of Inland Rail.

“By securing connective options for the future, Inland Rail ensures freight delivery security for not just Narrabri but the surrounding communities.

“It will bring connectivity for grain from the west on this Walgett line,” Mr Coulton said at the press conference.

“It will also connect to the Port of Newcastle. Narrabri is going to be a crucial location in transport with the Inland Rail.

“With the potential of gas just to the south of us, the opportunity for fertiliser production, further recycling of plastics, a whole range of things like that will be so important.

“As we have seen with the global tensions at the moment, the more self-sufficient we are in this country, the safer our community will be.”

Narrabri Shire Council mayor Ron Campbell said the Inland Rail project was “probably the greatest opportunity the Narrabri Shire has ever had”.

“We are delighted that ARTC has listened to feedback and made the decision to raise the Walgett Bridge height,” said Mr Campbell.

“The connectivity on the Inland Rail to potentially go to any port in Australia, linked to our northern NSW Inland Port supplied with reasonably priced energy from the Narrabri gas project, gives us a wonderful opportunity, an opportunity that’s going to benefit our community and our shire and the region for generations to come.”

CSIRO senior principal research scientist Dr Andrew Higgins, who led the Inland Rail supply chain mapping, attended the press conference to discuss new modelling that shows the project could cut freight transport costs by up to $213 million a year, resulting in huge savings for businesses and industries that use the line and further driving the growth of regional Australia.

CSIRO’s Inland Rail Supply Chain Mapping Project found that a shift from road to Inland Rail could significantly drive down the cost of transporting 22 million tonnes of freight annually.

It’s believed the potential cost reductions cover more than 12,000 supply chains and 94 commodities, including coal, steel, grains, vehicles, horticulture, and livestock.

And businesses relying on road-based supply chains will benefit most from the switch, profiting from the average transport saving of $80.77 per tonne ($179 million per annum).

“Inland Rail gives us the greatest opportunity for boosting economic development in regional areas, which is why we are delivering the project as quickly as possible,” said Mr Joyce.

Following the announcements, Mr Joyce was asked about ‘dissent’ within the Narrabri branch of the Nats regarding the current alignment.

“What I want to make sure is that we get the route built,” said Mr Joyce.

“The longer we wait, the more Narrabri has to wait for an increase in their standard of living.

“Everything we do is about building the wealth out west, and this is such a vital component of it.

“Of course, we always listen to people but, as I said, we started listening in 2016. It’s now 2022.

“There are a lot of people in Narrabri who want to live to see it and to be the beneficiaries of it.

“I listen to all these issues, but I bear in mind that every time a change is made, we put it back years – not months, not days, we put it back years.

“So, for my part, I err on the side of let’s get going.”

Mr Joyce said, “I am not an engineer, but we have had engineers on engineers reviewing this.”

When asked to respond to a report he’d come to Narrabri to ‘quell a revolt’ following the Narrabri branch’s concerns about the government’s preferred route, Mr Joyce said:

“Democracy is a marvellous thing and everybody in any party can express their views,” he said.

“Of course, in the dynamism of a party environment like that you’re going to have difference of views, and that’s part and parcel.

“Of course, we listen to people and it’s not that we’ve been completely obstinate.

“There’s areas where minor changes have been made, but you have to be honest with people.

“After 2016, we got the money.

“It’s now 2022, 2022 and there’s nothing here. And if we make another delay, you’re going to be waiting years further before anything ever starts.”

When Mr Joyce was asked if that’s what he would be telling the Narrabri Nats, he said:

“I won’t tell you what I’m going to be telling the Narrabri Nats. The Narrabri Nats will be telling me what I should know and that’s my job.”

As previously reported by The Courier, Mr Purcell isn’t against the Inland Rail project but has raised concerns, including about the potential impact of flood risks and has suggested the line be moved further west of the town.

Mr Purcell and the Narrabri Inland Rail Concerned Residents group have been lobbying for an alternate route since 2018.

“This route is quicker to build, faster, flatter, easier and cheaper,” he said.

Mr Purcell said the different route would only require five bends compared to the current alignment’s 20.

He said 18 dwellings would be impacted compared to 108 in the current route.

Mr Purcell said the alternative route would also pass-through flat terrain, unlike the current alignment which goes over Knight’s Hill opposite the Plant Breeding Institute.

He said the group’s proposed route would also eliminate the need for two bridges across Bohena Creek and reduce the bridge length across the Namoi floodplain from 4.9 kilometres to 3.3.

“The alternative route will not require the use of Gibbons Street,” Mr Purcell said.

Mr Purcell said the use of the street for the current route’s construction works was of particular concern given its busy nature with the hospital as well as aged care and childcare facilities calling Gibbons Street home.

At this stage, ARTC has said it does not plan on changing the route.