Representatives from the NSW Farmers’ Association met with the Deputy Prime Minister in Gilgandra last week, continuing the Association’s call for greater transparency about the inland rail project.
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NSW Farmers President, Derek Schoen, who led the seven-farmer delegation, handed the Deputy Prime Minister a letter in which the Association called for Mr McCormack to take a ‘hands on’ approach to the inland rail project.
“NSW Farmers is disappointed that the Deputy Prime Minister and the Government has not agreed to an independent inquiry into the selection of a preferred inland rail route between Narromine and Narrabri. This meeting was therefore an opportunity to continue the Association’s campaign for greater transparency about the selection of the preferred route corridor,” Mr Schoen said.
“While the Deputy Prime Minister’s diary did not allow for a larger community meeting, we are grateful Mr McCormack has agreed to come back to the region to hear community concerns in the near future.
“At today’s meeting, I presented the Deputy Prime Minister with a letter asking him to personally take charge of this project. This request is based on the community’s frustration with the lack of transparency from the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) , and a growing perception that the agency engages in spin over substance in its dealing with landowners.”
“From day one, NSW Farmers has sought reasonable answers to reasonable questions on behalf of member landowners. These have included requests for cost benefit analysis of the selection of the route (against other options) and quantification of claims about the potential increased cost and transit time of alternative options. Too many of these questions remain unanswered.”
Mr Schoen noted that the ARTC is a government-owned organisation and is accountable to the taxpayer through the parliament and their shareholder ministers.
“Deputy Prime Minister McCormack, together with the Minister for Finance, are the joint shareholder ministers responsible for the ARTC. It is about time they demanded an end to the truth and transparency impasse of the ARTC toward landowners. We have therefore called upon Michael McCormack to stand up for his rural constituents and on their behalf demand answers from the ARTC.”
“All we have ever sought is justification for the decisions around the selection of a preferred route. We hope that the Deputy Prime Minister can use the power of his office to direct an agency which answers to him to start being honest, open and transparent with landowners and communities affected by inland rail,” Mr Schoen concluded.
