Barnaby silent on farmers’ demand to change Inland Rail route

Darling Downs farmers holding out hope that the new Deputy Prime Minister would back their calls for a new Inland Rail will be sorely disappointed.

The Border to Gowrie Inland Rail route is unlikely to change, despite Barnaby Joyce’s new role in shepherding the project.

IT IS unlikely the newly minted Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce will do anything to move the Border to Gowrie section of the Inland Rail route, despite disgruntled Millmerran farmers calling on him to act.

Millmerran Rail Group chairman Wes Judd said Mr Joyce should immediately direct the Australian Rail Track Corporation to change the route, citing the adverse effect it would have on flooding in the black soil plains west of Toowoomba.

He added that the current route would displace farmers and agribusiness in the region.

“The current proposal is a flood risk,” he said

“Farming families have decades of rainfall and flood records – they have better data than the flawed advice of the ARTC.”

A Department of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development spokesman was quick to hose down any hopes of route change, saying the alignment was informed by “world-leading rail engineering experts” and community consultation.

“Significant work has been undertaken in flood-prone areas along the alignment to develop the flood models and crossing designs in consultation with the states, regional councils, communities, landowners, local hydrologists, and other key stakeholders to identify, minimise and mitigate flood risks,” he said.

“This work includes a review of flood models and reference designs developed by ARTC by an Independent International Panel of Experts for flood studies for Inland Rail in Queensland.”

While that independent panel published several points of concern in its Border to Gowrie draft report, the spokesman said this was normal for large infrastructure projects.

He added that it was also “normal” that these issues would be addressed during the environmental assessment and design stages of a project.

“In response to concerned stakeholders, including the Millmerran Rail Group, the Australian Government requested an independent review of the Border to Gowrie section of Inland Rail in 2020,” the spokesman said.

“This review reconfirmed that on a like-for-like basis the Border to Gowrie Reference Design route, selected in 2017 is superior to other routes proposed by stakeholders.”

The national project is expected to create about 21,500 jobs during construction and increase Australian GDP by $18 billion during its first 50 years.

Construction of the 216km Border to Gowrie section will start in 2022 and cost about $1.4 billion.