Farmers want answers on Melbourne to Brisbane inland rail project route

Furious farmers have vowed to keep their gates shuts to builders and contractors until their questions about the route of the 1700km inland rail project are answered.

Unhappy NSW farmers could hold up construction of Australia’s massive $9 billion inland rail project as they vow to keep their gates shut to contractors until they get ­answers from its builders and political leaders.

The proposed 1700km route of the project connecting Melbourne to Brisbane has left many NSW landholders with unanswered questions about why it needs to cut through their farms and why existing rail lines can’t be used.

Eric and Yvette McKenzie near where the proposed railway line will cross their property. Picture: Brad Newman

NSW Farmers’ Inland Rail Taskforce chair Adrian Lyons said the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) and political leaders, including Nat­ionals leader Barnaby Joyce, have not been answering reasonable questions from the farmers on the project.

“We support the inland rail, but not as it stands and how it’s been executed by this government agency ARTC. They’re building it for budget but not for specification,” Mr Lyons said.

“NSW Farmers and the CWA have made two written requests and a follow-up letter to Barnaby Joyce and he hasn’t even replied.”

NSW Farmers, which began legal action against the ARTC in 2020, accepts that building a new line will ­have an impact on farm businesses, but claims there is no evidence the ARTC has considered using existing rail corridors.

“Farmers want to know why their farms are getting split in half,” Mr Lyons said. “NSW has the least to gain and is being impacted the most.”

The proposed route of the $9 billion inland rail project.

Mr Joyce said the federal government was working closely with key stakeholders, including farmers.

“It is vital to maintain the trust and confidence of communities and that they have their say on the project throughout planning and construction,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.

But Mr Lyons said farmers were not happy with the communication from the ARTC and political leaders.

“It’s been disingenuous ­engagement and so we’ve been advised by our lawyer that farmers shouldn’t let these people on their farms,” he said.

And farmers are following the advice.

“I’ve said no to them coming on to my property, that was the advice I’ve been given from NSW Farmers and I don’t want them here,” Tony Hill said from his Stockinbingal property.

Bethungra farmer Eric McKenzie, 80, said he would have his property split in half by the route’s proposed greenfield site from Illabo to Stockinbingal, leaving his sheep and wheat farm “unviable”.

“The line goes right through the middle of our place, from one end to the other,” he said.

“I’ve shut the gate on them now … that’s the advice from NSW farmers and CWA because otherwise they’ll overrule us.”

Three new track greenfield sections have been proposed for NSW which will go through farms from Illabo to Stockinbingal, Narromine to Narrabri, and North Star to the NSW and Queensland border.

ARTC Interim Chief Executive, Inland Rail, Rebecca Pickering said: “Where possible (they’ve) responded to landowner feedback to make adjustments to the alignment to help mitigate the impacts of the project.

“All Inland Rail sections in NSW are in the reference ­design phase except for Narrabri to North Star, where construction commenced in late 2020, and Parkes to Narromine which is complete.”