Barossa tourist plan derailed as Supreme Court backs State Government
Chateau Tanunda owner John Geber has failed in his Supreme Court bid to overturn a Government decision to dig up 120 metres of rail track on the unused Tanunda to Nuriootpa line.
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Plans for a Barossa Valley tourist attraction to rival the ground breaking D’Arenberg Cube in McLaren Vale have been dashed by a Supreme Court ruling late today.
The failed application by John Geber, who has turned the historic Chateau Tanunda from a vast unoccupied stone and brick building 20 years ago into one of the most acclaimed wineries in Australia, is likely to cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Mr Geber claimed Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government Minister Stephan Knoll had erred in his decision to rip up a 120m section of the unused Tanunda to Nuriootpa rail line.
The roadworks would halt his plans for a train to take tourists on a 33km train trip around the region.
But the court, headed by Chief Justice Chris Kourakis, found otherwise and decided the Minister was correct in his power to pull up the small segment of rail line in order to allow a $4.8 million roundabout upgrade to proceed.
“The State Government welcomes the Supreme Court’s decision to throw out Mr Geber’s application so the Kroemers roundabout upgrade can now proceed and create jobs, improve safety and traffic flow at this dangerous Barossa intersection,” Minister Knoll said.
Mr Geber had suggested that state Premier Steven Marshall – who is also Tourism Minister – had his priorities the wrong way around in backing Minister Knoll.
The rail line sits in Mr Knoll’s electorate of Schubert.
“The Barossa is wilting,” Mr Geber said, pointing to the success of the d’Arenberg Cube as a way to boost a region’s tourism and profile.
Mr Geber – who is also planning a five-star $31 million hotel at Chateau Tanunda which he says will create about 100 long term jobs – has spent about $150,000 so far to force a judicial review of the decision by Mr Knoll last month to order the pulling up a segment of the track.
Mr Geber will now face paying the Government’s legal costs as well.
The DPTI said the roundabout would improving safety at Kroemer’s Crossing in Tanand also allow greater freight access to surrounding businesses.
But the work now halts Mr Geber’s train plans, which would have seen his three-carriage former Barossa Wine train, the Bluebird, take tourists across the Barossa on “twilight tours”.
Mr Geber pointed to the sucesss of the recent Byron Bay rail service in New South Wales as evidence of what can be achieved quickly.
“No wonder South Australian tourism flounders when the Byron Bay Rail Co (in New South Wales) was up and running in three years flat – solar, plus two new stations built,” Mr Geber said.
“All in the face of the Premier’s ace to make tourism a cornerstone of this state’s recovery.”
Mr Geber described the suggestion the Government could reinsert the line if required as a “hollow assertion … sure, after you’ve just spent millions digging it up”.
“This is a ‘Yes Minister’ move, nullifying any further use of the Barossa Valley line north of the intersection,” he said.
The cost of the roundabout revamp includes $4.8 million from the Federal Government as part of its $1.8 billion regional infrastructure spend.