The state government only came to Maitland for public consultation about its plan to cut Newcastle rail line after the decision had been made, according to its submission to a parliamentary committee investigating planning in the Hunter.
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Maitland Greens member Wendy White said the impact of the rail cut on Maitland residents was an afterthought.
She has taken aim at the government’s consultation process for the rail cut in her submission to the Select Committee on the Planning Process in Newcastle and the Broader Hunter.
Ms White wrote that there had been no consultation with commuters from outside Newcastle before the decision to cut the line at Wickham was finalised.
“The information sessions in the Maitland area allowed no meaningful contributions, were contradictory and it was obvious that ramifications of the closure of the line for commuters outside the Newcastle area were an afterthought,” she said.
“Arguments [about the impact on] the elderly, the disabled, mothers with prams, kids going to the beach were ignored completely.”
The government’s submission to the committee noted that consultation included Maitland City councillors and community groups from Maitland in February and March this year.
But this consultation focused on the proposed light rail route into Newcastle and took place after the decision was made to cut the heavy rail line at Wickham, which was announced last December.
Transport for NSW then put its Review of Environmental Factors for the Wickham Transport Interchange on public exhibition in Maitland in July.
The government held a regional forum in Newcastle about long-term transport plans for the Hunter in April, 2012, and the rail cut issue was raised during this meeting.
More than 250 submissions will be considered by the multi-party committee, headed by Christian Democrat Reverend Fred Nile.
The committee will investigate recent planning decisions in the Hunter in light of corruption allegations, involving banned donations from property developers, levelled at multiple Liberal MPs from the region earlier this year.
While the committee has no power to stop the government from beginning work to remove the line on Boxing Day, it is expected to deliver its findings before the March election.
Buses will replace trains from Hamilton to the city for about two years while a light rail network is established.
