TRANSCRIPT: Doorstop – Parkes NSW 25 February 2019

With:

Cr Ken Keith OAM, Mayor, Parkes Shire Council

Cr Phyllis Miller OAM, Mayor, Forbes Shire Council

Mr Colin Forde, Program Construction Manager Inland Rail, Australian Rail Track Corporation

E&OE

Subjects: A milestone in the delivery of the Inland Railway; consultation with farmers.

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Today is a significant milestone in the delivery of the Inland Rail – national-building infrastructure. We’re here near Parkes, where the east, west and north/south lines intersect; 14,000 tonnes of Whyalla steel, Australian steel; Australian jobs, that’s what it means, are being dropped off here today – 14,000 tonnes of steel which is going to help finish the Narromine to Parkes section. This is a significant milestone. Of course, we turned the first sod not far from here, late last year. The $9.2 billion investment that the Federal Liberal-Nationals Government has put into the Inland Rail is continuing at a cracking pace and we want to make sure that this project is delivered, delivering jobs, delivering a real future for farmers, for agribusinesses; this 1,700-kilometre Corridor of Commerce is going to transform inland areas, and I’m just excited to be here with Phyllis Miller, the Mayor of Forbes Shire Council; with Ken Keith, the Mayor of Parkes Shire Council. They both understand the opportunities that await when this Inland Rail project, not only continues but also is completed.

JOURNALIST:

Ken, if I could just ask you what this means for Parkes?

KEN KEITH:

Look, it’s enormous benefit to the Parkes community, particularly during construction. But to me the most exciting part of this national logistics hub here at Parkes is the value-adding opportunities that it will create going forward in to the future; the benefits to agriculture along the route; as long as this railway line is built in the straightest, most efficient alignment that can be done. It can’t go to every town, it can’t miss every farm, but it’s important that we build an efficient railway line that will deliver the best outcomes for all those farmers along the route and all those agri-businesses that might take the opportunity to value-add.

JOURNALIST:

I’ve just got some questions about Narromine North- Do you want to do that here or do we do it …

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Whatever you like.

JOURNALIST:

I just want to see what your reaction is to New South Wales Farmers’ Association asking its members north of Narromine not to, effectively, work with ARTC?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Well look, I would urge and encourage farmers to continue to work with the Australian Rail Track Corporation. It’s important that they do that. We’ve certainly engaged throughout the whole process. I appreciate that there were some issues and concern some time ago, but we’ve continued to engage, we’ve continued to consult and we will continue to do that. I’m really pleased that Warren Truss is chairing this Inland Rail project and Richard Wankmuller, who is the Chief Executive Officer of the Inland Rail Project. They have engaged, they have certainly spoken to everybody from New South Wales farmers through to individual stakeholders. And I’ve done the same as well. To landholders, I’ve been to public meetings at Gilgandra; at Stockinbingal; a Illabo and elsewhere; made sure I’ve turned up, talking around kitchen tables with farmers in Queensland, in Victoria and of course in New South Wales; whether that’s in north west Western New South Wales, indeed, here in the Central West. And I’ll continue to do that, even further down south from Wagga Wagga.

I appreciate that there are also concerns with the Illabo section, but we’ll continue to engage and I would encourage the New South Wales Farmers to tell their members to make sure – and help their members through the process – to tell them that we do want to engage, that we do want cooperation, because this is, ultimately, nation-building infrastructure that is going to mean such a difference for farmers, for towns, for agri business for indeed everybody. It’s going to make such a difference to our nation, but particularly to our regions.

JOURNALIST:

We’ve heard from some landholders who say they are going to follow what New South Wales Farmers are asking and won’t have anything to do with ARTC. That’s going to make it very hard to sort out that section of the track, won’t it?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

I say again that we will continue to consult and negotiate and, you know, my line’s always there for anybody who wants to pick it up and call me in relation to this matter – send me an email. We want to engage, we want to continue to engage and consult. I’m disappointed that a media release was put out last week saying that I had written, saying that I wasn’t consulting, that I wasn’t doing that; whereas in actual fact, I can show you any number of letters to say the complete opposite. I’ve been very transparent; the Federal Government has been as well.

Sure, there have been some issues along the way. We’ve worked through those. We want to get on with the job. We see behind us how many jobs and opportunities the Inland Rail is creating and we want to continue to make sure that it rolls out in the best possible way with the least possible impact. And so, that’s the objective. It is going to create jobs and opportunities going forward, and we want everybody to be a part of that.

JOURNALIST:

There does seem to be some confusion though – and it’s ongoing confusion – over the route of the track north of Narromine. I mean, what’s it going to take to be able to get this sorted, especially now that you do have the threat from New South Wales Farmers?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Well sure, but the route is also in some stages five or six kilometres wide. It will go back down to 40, 60 metres wide once the final engineering specs and all that have been done. So those farmers, some of whom are upset at the moment about the possibility of the Inland Rail going through their land; they will be pleasantly surprised that it in actual fact won’t. It’ll be close by but it won’t be going straight through their properties. As so, in some cases, many, many farmers who are worried, you know, their concerns may well be misdirected given the fact that when the final alignment is to 40 to 60 metres, it will count them out from being impacted by the Inland Rail.

JOURNALIST:

So how have farmers managed to get the wrong message, then?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Well, there’s been a lot of misinformation put out there, and social media will always have people up in arms, and the fact is a lot has been said and written on social media that quite frankly just isn’t true. And of course, we’ve had the ARTC out engaging – Warren Truss, Richard Wankmuller and myself – we’ve talked at public meetings. We want to make sure that everybody is well informed, but we also want to make sure that people have the right information. Of course, they can also look at the Government infrastructure website, and of course they can always drop me a line to ask questions about what are the facts of the matter.

KEN KEITH:

Could I just make one comment on the Inland Rail Link, and I think we need to compare what happened when the Indian-Pacific Line was built, the East-West Link, nearly 100 years ago. It went on a straight alignment. The farmers then realised that, if you're going to go all the way to Perth, you need to build a straight railway line. And it went through people's properties. People understood the whole economic benefit of keeping it straight and that alignment, and there was an acceptance by farmers on that occasion by the farmers associations of the time to make it sure it was a straight line. And then they talked to the farmers who were directly impacted, and ARTC and this Government need be given that same opportunity to build the most efficient line. It will impact on farmers, but talk to ARTC, talk to the Government and get those issues sorted out with drainage or culverts or overpasses or whatever.

JOURNALIST:

So, do you think New South Wales Farmers has overstepped the mark here?

KEN KEITH:

Look, I don't believe New South Wales Farmers are the most knowledgeable people when it comes to building railway lines; I think ARTC have got much better carriage of that facility. And we can’t miss every farm, we can't go to every town; otherwise you build an inefficient line and we need to build an efficient railway line that services all farmers and all of regional Australia well into the next hundred years.

JOURNALIST:

You’ve just said 60 people are employed on this site – are they all local people or are they people from outside?

COLIN FORDE:

So, people who are local, I think there’s about 19 people that are local at the minute; the rest are obviously from the company, INLink, BMD, Fulton Hogan. That will increase over the next couple of months.

So, over the next couple of months that will ramp up and, like I said, there’s roughly about 19 people who are local at the minute and that will continue to increase over the ramp up of the project.

JOURNALIST:

Can you say to how many?

COLIN FORDE:

Off the top of my head, no; not at the minute. We have some stringent requirements that we put on InLink to be able to employ a fair few people in the local community.

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

If I could just add to that answer, the fact is there is a one-stop-shop that has been open in Clarinda Street in Parkes that is inviting people to show interest in employment prospects, in small business opportunities. And so wherever and however possible, we’re encouraging local people to build local sections of the rail line. This is going to provide so many opportunities for small companies, for medium-sized companies, indeed large companies, and the ARTC wants to work with people, whether individuals or companies, to get the best possible outcomes out of this project.

It is a nation-building infrastructure project and the Federal Liberal-Nationals Government is committed to making sure that there are jobs – whether it's Inland Rail, whether it's roads – whatever the case might be, we're rolling out a record $75 billion worth of infrastructure right across the nation at the moment, and just this week I'm going to three different states: Melbourne Victoria, I’ve been in the ACT yesterday, New South Wales today, I’m going to Queensland later in the week – so there's three states and one territory – talking about infrastructure, talking about the ability to get freight carted around our nation in a far more efficient manner, as Ken Keith has just indicated; to get people home sooner and safer; to bust through congestion in our capital cities; to make better regional connectivity; and to make sure that we build a better future for our nation. That's what this project is all about.

I’m delighted to be here today with Ken Keith and Phyllis Miller. They understand, as local mayors, just how important this project is going to be. They're on board. I know all you people are on board. I'm sure the New South Wales Farmers Association is also going to get on board. They'll eventually see – I know they do now, but they'll eventually see just how beneficial this is going to be because their people, the people they represent, are going to be the biggest beneficiaries of all.

Excellent. Thank you very much.

Shane Manning