TIER 3 RAIL LINES
528. Hon PETER COLLIER to
the minister representing the Minister for Transport:
My question without notice of which
some notice has been given is asked on behalf of Hon Simon O'Brien.
I refer to the reported statement by
government that it would commission an engineering assessment on the cost of
reinstating tier 3 rail lines.
(1) Is it true, as reported, that the proposed
assessment was driven by a decision of the Labor Party state executive?
(2) Has the minister ever sought advice from the
Department of Transport about the viability of the tier 3 rail lines?
(3) If yes to (2), what was the advice
provided?
(4) Will the minister please table
that advice; and, if not, why not?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank Hon Simon O'Brien
for some notice of the question. The following answer has been provided to me
by the Minister for Transport.
(1) The former Court Liberal government privatised the
state's freight rail network in 2000. In 2014, under the former
Liberal–National government, the tier 3 lines were closed. The recent
arbitration process between Co-operative Bulk Handling Ltd and Arc Infrastructure
concluded in 2019. It was hoped that this process would result in an outcome in
the opening of some tier 3 lines; however, this did not occur. Following the
arbitration result, the minister again directly engaged with grain growers and
local government. For example, the minister met with wheatbelt grain growers in
late 2019 and visited the Shire of Kulin in January 2020, where strong views in
relation to tier 3 were presented. As a result of these factors, the minister
approved the Public Transport Authority commissioning an engineering assessment
of the tier 3 lines in March 2020. The minister is pleased that regional local
governments, wheatbelt grain growers and the Labor movement are supportive of
this approach.
(2)–(4) Given
that the freight rail network was privatised, and the commercially confidential
nature of the CBH and Arc Infrastructure arbitration process, the viability of
tier 3 lines is currently not independently known to the state government,
which is why an engineering assessment has been commissioned.