Michael Ferguson (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Minister for Transport and Regional Services. Would the minister advise the House of measures the government has taken to maintain freight rail services in Tasmania?

Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Minister for Transport and Regional Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for Bass for his question and acknowledge the role he and the member for Braddon have played in efforts to restore and maintain rail services in Tasmania. This is obviously a very important issue for Tasmania. Honourable members will be aware that late last year Pacific National announced that they intended to close most of the freight services in Tasmania because they were uneconomic. To have moved all of the volume on those freight services onto road would have had significant implications for the Tasmanian road transport system, and, of course, all Tasmanians wanted to maintain effective rail services because of the important role they play in the state’s infrastructure. Pacific National said that they needed major track upgrading and they needed a commitment from the Tasmanian government to maintain the track in the years ahead. In return they volunteered to provide $38 million to $40 million to upgrade engines and rolling stock.

On 12 December the Australian government announced that we were prepared to participate in a rescue package for Tasmanian rail, contributing up to $86.75 million towards capital upgrading of the Tasmanian system so long as the other parties to the arrangement were prepared to also participate. Four days later the Tasmanian government indicated their willingness to participate, and now we are awaiting advice from Pacific National and are involved in negotiations with them to endeavour to secure the necessary funding from them to enable this package to proceed. There has been a constructive working relationship with the Tasmanian government, and I appreciate the role of the Tasmanian members of parliament in pursuing this issue and ensuring that we reach a satisfactory conclusion.

Of course, the approach from members opposite was somewhat different. I thought it was quite extraordinary that the shadow minister for transport, the same Senator O’Brien that we were hearing about before, condemned the Australian government for offering this rescue package. He was acutely embarrassed when four days later the Tasmanian state Labor government accepted it and agreed to be part of the arrangements. We will get on with doing this job constructively. I understand that the board of Pacific National will be meeting later this month and I hope that that meeting may lead to a resolution of this issue and that Tasmanians can have the assurance they are looking for that their rail system will be sustainable in the years ahead.