SA Liberals’ GlobeLink transport bypass economically ‘unviable’, says Labor
STATE Transport and Infrastructure Minister Stephen Mullighan has dismissed Liberal plans for a new freight airport and road-rail link as “unviable”, as business groups split over the idea.
STATE Transport and Infrastructure Minister Stephen Mullighan has dismissed Liberal plans for a new freight airport and road-rail link as “unviable”, as business groups split over the idea.
The Sunday Mail on Sunday revealed Opposition Leader Steven Marshall’s $20 million pledge for a business case on the proposal, dubbed GlobeLink, which would re-route heavy trains and trucks away from suburban Adelaide.
The total cost is unknown but would run into the billions.
Business SA, the SA Road Transport Association and Nick Xenophon Team have all backed deeper investigation of the proposal as the SA Freight Council raises “serious concerns”.
Mr Mullighan said an independent report, which was finalised in 2010 and examined proposals for only moving the rail line, found the cost of doing so far outweighed the benefits.
A further State Government investigation in 2014 concluded a road bypass can’t be justified on economic grounds due to the limited number of vehicles that would use it, he said.
“Any economic credibility Steven Marshall had before today has collapsed with his disastrous venture into infrastructure investment,” Mr Mullighan said on Sunday.
“It would be a drag on the state’s economy and it is pork-barrelling at its worst.
“The Liberals are terrified of Nick Xenophon in the Hills — so they are giving up on projects identified as a priority by Infrastructure Australia, including South Rd upgrades.”
SA Freight Council chief executive Evan Knapp said freight-only airports were not sustainable.
“The majority of air exports go in the belly of passenger aircraft. It is the combination of the two that makes such services viable,” he said.
“This may also harm the great work Adelaide Airport is doing to attract new air services to SA, like Qatar and China Southern (airlines).”
SARTA executive director Steve Shearer said truckies would consider paying a toll on a new freight freeway if it they could save money overall compared to using existing infrastructure.
“We’ve got a perfectly good road now, and no one is going to be interested in paying more to go on another road unless there’s actually a saving,” he said.
“Traffic flow equates to real savings in our view. It’s stopping and starting and going through gears all the time that chews up fuel.”
Federal NXT MP Rebekha Sharkie, whose seat covers the Adelaide Hills, said residents had long called for a freight rail line shift to cut back on noise and the risk of sparks starting bushfires.
“If we don’t invest in this, then in a decade I think we’re at real risk of losing freight altogether,” she said.
“There are some concerns the economics on past studies were flawed.”
Ms Sharkie said local councils were now investing in their own updated analysis of a rail shift.
Business SA chief executive Nigel McBride said GlobeLink was “the kind of big infrastructure idea that we need”, with potential for safety gains in Adelaide as well as boosting industry.
“We welcome long-term visionary plans that realise our future is in exports,” he said.
“This certainly deserves a proper study and costing about its viability.”
Mr Marshall defended the plans for a freight-only airport and said it was about growth for the state.
“We want to grow our exports and we want to grow jobs from that,” he told ABC 891 on Monday.