Andrew Constance's laughable suggestion to build a fast rail network from Newcastle to Nowra will do little to inspire public confidence in the high-speed line proposed by the federal government.
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The former NSW transport minister told ABC Illawarra that a fast rail line could be built from Newcastle to Nowra in 15 to 20 years largely using existing train corridors and tracks.
Why Nowra? Well, Mr Constance is now the Liberal candidate for the south coast federal seat of Gilmore, which includes the town of Nowra, population 22,000, 81 kilometres south of Wollongong.
It reminds the Newcastle Herald of the time the former Bega MP arrived in the Hunter to launch the light rail line in 2019 wearing a white elephant on his tie and declared that "everyone across this state - even in Bega - is talking about what's happening in Newcastle".
Mr Constance told the ABC on Tuesday that the NSW government should immediately release a 2018 report by UK expert Andrew McNaughton on options for high-speed rail in Australia.
He could not explain why the Coalition did not release the report before losing the 2023 election nor why his former boss Gladys Berejiklian sealed it away from scrutiny as cabinet-in-confidence.
The public has a right to be sceptical of Anthony Albanese's latest plan to resurrect the high-speed rail project.
The public has a right to be sceptical of Anthony Albanese's latest plan to resurrect the high-speed rail project, especially considering his Infrastructure Minister, Catherine King, has ordered the High Speed Rail Authority bring forward completing a business case for the Newcastle-Sydney first stage from 2026 to the end of this year, likely just before the next election.
Voters in the Hunter have grown tired of politicians using high-speed rail as an election carrot.
The government has committed $78.8 million to preparing the business case and has called for eight separate tenders from private contractors to help support the document.
Albanese has committed $500 million to planning and preparing for the Newcastle-Sydney route, though at the same time the federal and state governments have shelved plans to improve travel times and reliability on the existing line.
Mr Constance did make the reasonable point that the state government has managed to fund and build tens of billions in complicated underground train and road projects in Sydney so fast rail might not be so "pie in the sky".
The HSRA business case will build on a 2013 federal government-commissioned study and work by Transport for NSW in 2019 which was later buried by the Coalition government.
The only way to convince the public the fast rail revival is not a cynical political exercise is to prepare a meaningful business case, release it for public scrutiny then commit money to building the line if it stacks up.
HSRA chief executive officer Tim Parker told the Herald last week that he was in the job to deliver the line, not just prepare business cases.
Time will tell if he gets his chance.
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