Not so fast on high-speed rail Albo, says Truss
4th August, 2011
“THE prospect of a high-speed rail network along Australia’s eastern seaboard is exciting, but the Gillard government must make sure of the project’s viability before promising Australians another grand plan it cannot deliver,” Leader of The Nationals and Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Warren Truss cautioned today.“Australians will be looking at our current national debt, factoring in the collapse in consumer and business confidence, adding the uncertainty of a looming carbon tax and wondering whether a $100 billion high-speed rail network will turn into a white elephant.
“Despite the grandiose posturing, Australians are all too familiar with Labor’s now notorious failure to deliver anything on time or on budget.
“Labor first promised an NBN that would deliver high-speed broadband to 98% of people at a cost of $4.7 billion. Now the promise is down to 93% of people and the cost has blown out to $50 billion.
“The Pacific Highway duplication between Sydney and the Queensland border, which Minister Albanese has overseen, was originally going to cost less than $7 billion in total – it is already $4 billion over that initial budget and will not be completed by the promised 2016 deadline.
“Now this same Minister wants a $100 billion train set to play with. I cannot imagine a project of this scale and cost being in less reliable hands. As today’s study spells out, it is unrealistic to expect the capital costs to ever be recovered, so it is imperative that costings be accurate and astutely managed.
“Adding to the uncertainty, the $100 billion estimated price tag is in today’s dollars so does not take account of the impact of Labor’s carbon tax, which will add billions to the cost of construction.
“The Gillard government will also need to factor in ongoing and ever-growing running costs, especially for electricity, as it phases out low cost coal-fired power stations.
“This is already getting messy. By the time Labor is through with high-speed rail, we’re likely to be talking numbers in the trillions.
“In principle, we support the concept of super-fast rail, recognising it has a lot of potential. At face value, it’s a way of relieving congestion in cities – taking pressure off airports and getting cars off the road, as well as creating and developing regional commerce and population hubs.
“In fact, the study the Coalition government commissioned for high-speed rail between Sydney and Canberra was broadly consistent with today’s findings. The project was not viable unless taxpayers footed the bill for most of the costs.
“We must take account of commercial realities, especially in light of our relatively small population and likely commuter levels against such a massive investment, which, let’s face it, under Labor is likely to run off the rails pretty quickly.”
Stage one of the feasibility study, released today, only deals with the requirements for implementation, as well as route and station options. It denotes only ballpark costings. The nitty-gritty won’t be known until the middle of next year.
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