No faith in Nalder
Farmers have lost confidence in Transport Minister Dean Nalder over his "inadequate" rail response.
Mr Nalder tabled his long-awaited response in Parliament last week, four months after the committee raised a host of concerns about the network and the State Government's oversight over Brookfield Rail's exclusive 49-year lease.
The Government-dominated committee exposed details of the lease and revealed a profit-sharing deal between the Public Transport Authority and Brookfield linked to the closure of Tier 3 lines in the Wheatbelt.
Mr Nalder said his response confirmed the Government's position Brookfield was responsible for maintenance of all leased railway infrastructure. He said the private sector, including CBH, had primary responsibility for investment in the network.
Tier 3 lines were closed on June 30 last year, leaving Wheatbelt growers with no option but to cart grain on crumbling and unsafe roads.
Last week at the WAFarmers annual conference, a unanimous "no- confidence" motion in the minister was passed from the floor during the general meeting.
WAFarmers transport spokesman Bill Cowan said the economic environment and safety impacts on the Wheatbelt and the State as a result of the Tier 3 rail closures had been tirelessly explained to Mr Nalder, but he did not seem to want to listen.
"Now he has ignored the damning findings of the Parliamentary-appointed grain freight committee," he said.
Speaking from the conference, a group of younger farmers weighed into the lobby group's sentiments, accusing the Government of short-sightedness over the issue.
Group spokesman and Ag Connect WA president Kallum Blake said the Government was just thinking about what was important up to the election, while agriculture required a long-term vision.
"The whole point is that the Government has committed the State to a lease arrangement that prevents others from using lines the Brookfield does not wish to use," he said.
"We believe the Government should just front up and admit their mistake and get involved to fix it."
Fellow group member and Moora grower Brendan Van Beek said he believed Government needed to work more closely with industry.
Rail has been proven to be an important part of agriculture, so we need to see options on the table so we're not backtracking as an industry, he said.
Meanwhile, Federal Labor members last week called on the Barnett Government to match its efforts in investing in WA's grain network and to reopen Tier 3 grain lines.
Member for Perth and shadow parliamentary secretary for regional development and infrastructure Alannah MacTiernan said the Federal Labor Government in its last term poured $135 million into the grain freight network as part of a plan that would have the WA Government and industry making similar investments.
"The privatisation of the lines was a failure from the start," she said.
"The contract was so badly drawn that the original operator was able to on-sell it for around half a billion dollars in profit without the State Government having any capacity to intervene.
"Mr Nalder's response takes no account for the fact that farmers and local communities are now literally paying the price for the Liberal-National Government's ineptitude.
"The Nationals have failed their constituency here - being the architects of the botched privatisation and the blockers of the use of royalties for region funds to save Tier 3 lines."
Shadow minister for agriculture and rural affairs Joel Fitzgibbon said there was no question the State Government needed to be more proactive in protecting the interests of WA grain growers.
"The Barnett Government has failed on two counts," he said
"It failed to get an agreement that was in the best interests of the region and it has failed to ensure that the safety of rural roads is maintained.
"The Barnett Government needs to come to the table with a real solution for the future sustainability of the grain freight networks."
