Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian says it is too early to know the implications of Wednesday’s Supreme Court decision to block the NSW government’s attempts to truncate the Newcastle rail line.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The victory for Save Our Rail followed the government’s attempt to bypass laws preventing the disposal of rail assets by beginning the transfer of those assets to another government agency.
Following two days of hearings last week, Justice Michael Adams told the court that if rail assets were acquired by the other agency – the Hunter Development Corporation – then it would became a rail infrastructure owner and therefore unable to remove tracks except by act of Parliament.
Ms Berejiklian told The Mercury in a statement yesterday that the government had until January 2 to lodge a formal appeal.
“The NSW Liberals and Nationals government has been clear about its commitment to revitalise Newcastle for more than two years – a job that starts with truncating the rail line and
reconnecting Newcastle’s city centre with the foreshore and delivering light rail,” she said.
“Work is now underway on upgrades to Hamilton Station and the Hunter’s brand-new Grand Central transport interchange at Wickham.
“We will not back away from our long-standing commitments to revitalise Newcastle and the Hunter.”
The Save Our Rail group won the reprieve for the existing rail line by appealing to Section 99A of the Transport Administration Act 1988.
The section says that a rail infrastructure owner cannot, unless authorised by Parliament, close a railway line.
To get around the Act, the NSW government last week started the process of transferring by compulsory acquisition certain rail assets such as signalling systems, lighting equipment, overhead wiring and boom gates from RailCorp to the Hunter Development Corporation.
Justice Adams found that this was a legal means of transfer and was not prevented by the Transport Administration Act.
But the Judge accepted the argument put forward by Save Our Rail barrister Shane Prince that it also meant the
corporation could not remove the rail line.
The government sought and gained the right for RailCorp to remove about 700 metres of overhead wiring around Wickham from Boxing Day.
If RailCorp and the Hunter Development Corporation lose their appeal they will have to replace the overhead wiring.
Labor candidate for Maitland Jenny Aitchison said the decision justified the concerns of Save Our Rail and others in the community.
“The government has acted in a way that is not lawful and against the wishes of the community,” she said.
“It is a shame they continued with the shutdown over Boxing Day.
“The only way people can ensure the rail line is kept is by electing a Labor government in March.”
Ms Aitchison said Labor would stand by their promise that the rail line would remain if they were elected in March.
“The success of the court challenge and the outcome only makes our policy stronger,” she said.
“I’ve done a lot of work raising this issue with my colleagues and for me it is an issue that I just keep hearing in our electorate.
“From the people I’ve spoken to in the community the overwhelming majority want the rail to stay.
“I’ll be communicating that to our party and making sure that our policy remains strong.”
