Senator Deborah O’Neill has criticised Riverina MP Michael McCormack over his involvement with the Inland Rail project through Wagga Wagga. Photo: Jarryd Rowley.
The Federal Government says it will invest $30 million on a plan for its controversial inland rail freight line between Melbourne and Brisbane to bypass the centre of Wagga, a move described as “playing politics” and “last-minute” by opponents.
On Monday (24 February), Wagga Wagga City Council (WWCC) raised concerns about prolonged wait times for ambulances at the Docker Street rail crossing delaying road access to Wagga Wagga Base Hospital, once more freight trains started passing through the centre of town.
The following day, Labor Senator Deborah O’Neill made a surprise visit to announce an investment on a five-year plan to look at how the so-called nation building project could avoid cutting through the middle of the city.
The 1600-km rail route is intended to help farmers get their produce to ports for export more quickly and efficiently. It is being built by Inland Rail Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of the federal government-owned Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC).
A bypass plan would further delay operation of the rail line (first promised in the 1980s) until well after 2030 and there are no details as yet on what changes would be made to the rail route for it to avoid the main part of town.
Senator O’Neill took a shot at former deputy prime minister and National Party Member for Riverina Michael McCormack when making her announcement.
“Mr McCormack, as affable as he may be, was the infrastructure and transport minister who designed this inland rail to dissect his hometown of Wagga; this announcement today by Labor is the first step in putting that mistake right,” she said.
“Mr McCormack signed off on the current design and it is set to have an impact on global work.
“I think this is a sign of the arrogance and hubris of the Liberal National Party.
“The former government that Mr McCormack was the deputy leader of, failed to do the proper planning, and it should be ashamed of what is delivered here for Wagga Wagga.”
Mr McCormack was quick to fire back.
“Interestingly, Deborah has said that I was the one to approve this plan, that she and the local Labor party members are apparently not a fan of, when in fact the Melbourne and Brisbane Inland Rail alignment study, which includes the current route through Wagga Wagga, was announced by Anthony Albanese when he was serving as the minister for infrastructure and transport, regional development and local government on 28 March 2008,” Mr McCormack said.
Mr McCormack also downplayed the supposed increased weight times for ambulances at the Docker Street crossing, stating the line will only see six extra trains daily come 2040 and that the current plans have been given the tick of approval by Wagga Base Hospital.
“The extra wait time is suggested to sit around 1.6 seconds during peak hour on Docker Street with the maximum being around 15 seconds,” he said.
“So for Deborah O’Neill, playing politics as always, to come out swinging, is a little bit rich and very, very off the mark.”
WWCC Councillor Richard Foley – a candidate for the Citizens Party for the Riverina seat in the upcoming election – said he was cautiously optimistic about Labor’s announcement, though criticised the timing.
Candidate for the seat of Riverina Richard Foley announced that he will be advocating for legislation enforcing a Wagga Wagga train bypass if he is elected to parliament this year. Photo: Jarryd Rowley.
“We know that Mr McCormack has said, that a bypass is off the table,” Cr Foley said.
“Now Labor is talking about planning for a bypass. Planning should be well underway, but it’s good to see this movement.
“Wagga has been starved of the appropriate infrastructure for 30 years under the National Party and the Labor Party comes in in the last minute and says, ‘We’re going to do this.'”
Mr McCormack said Cr Foley had come to the party late on the issue, describing his criticism as “nothing more than ramblings from a keyboard warrior”.
“What’s interesting is that Richard Foley was the council’s Australian Rail Track Corporation’s [ARTC] representative back in 2021 when the Wagga ARTC was first having meetings about Inland Rail’s eventual plans and nothing was said by him or WWCC,” he said.
“The first time he spoke up about it was years later when he stood at the Docker Street crossing with a high-vis vest on and said, ‘Oh, there’s been no consultation between Michael McCormack and council’.
“I’m calling that out because that is just not true. The ARTC had meetings where hundreds of people turned up, including 14 public consultation meetings.
“The ARTC attempted to have meetings with council’s people on many different occasions and WWCC couldn’t be bothered to even show up.
“I have to say that Wagga Council lobbied vociferously for more than a decade to get inland rail through the heart of Wagga, and then once council benefited to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, after that the Bowman industrial hub was built, they changed their tune.
“It is a magnificent facility, but it’s a little bit rich that we now have representatives of Wagga Wagga City Council, including its mayor and general manager crying out for a bypass, stating that lives are on the line.”
Original Article published by Jarryd Rowley on Region Riverina.
