Michael McCormack turned the sod on the start of the Parkes to Melbourne Inland Rail route in 2018. He’s furious at the Federal Government for cutting back the project. Photo: Michael McCormack MP.
Wagga leaders fear the city will be left with the noise, disruption and division of Inland Rail but none of the payoff after the Federal Government confirmed the project will be cut back by about 1000 km to end at Parkes.
Originally sold as a nation-building freight line linking Melbourne to Brisbane through Wagga CBD, Inland Rail promised to help rural businesses get their local produce to ports and capital cities faster and cheaper. Instead, after years of delays and ballooning costs, that vision has been dramatically scaled back.
The price tag has blown out from about $10 billion to more than $45 billion. In response, the government will now focus on completing the southern section between Beveridge, north of Melbourne, and Parkes by 2027, with the Parkes-to-Brisbane stretch kicked down the road indefinitely.
In practical terms, it means the line won’t reach a major port at either end any time soon – undercutting its main selling points.
“If you were the manager of this project, you would’ve been sacked,” Wagga Ratepayers Association president Chris Roche said.
“This project was poorly planned and poorly implemented. Someone needs to be held to account — it’s not just the previous government, it’s both.
“If they had consulted the voters properly before locking it in, it might have been different. Instead, consultation came after the route was decided on.”
Locally, frustration is growing over what Wagga is being asked to absorb. The line cuts through the CBD, raising concerns about freight noise, traffic delays near the hospital and long-term impacts on the city’s amenity.
Independent MP Joe McGirr has been lobbying for rail bypass to keep heavy freight out of the city centre, but its future is now uncertain.
“What’s happening with the $30 million promised for the bypass?” Mr Roche said.
“Was that another Labor lie?”
Mr Roche said the association had contacted both levels of government for answers but received none, fuelling fears the bypass could quietly disappear along with the northern section. He said he’s supportive of the concept of inland rail, but disgusted at the way the project had been “mismanaged”.
Federal Riverina MP Michael McCormack, a former transport minister and long-time Inland Rail backer, said regional communities would be left to carry the burden.
“This will come at the cost of regional jobs. Regional economies will suffer further from this neglectful decision,” he said.
“No doubt we will hear from country mayors angry at the continued neglect Labor has inflicted on regional Australians.
“This government does not care about the regions or the hard-working people who live, work and raise families there.”
Federal Transport Minister Catherine King said the decision followed independent advice confirming the full Melbourne to Brisbane line would cost more than $45 billion and could not be completed until at least 2036.
