Landholders rally in Brisbane against Inland Rail project

A delegation of concerned landholders will rally in Brisbane today against the Inland Rail route across the Condamine floodplain.

Jason Mundt (left) and Wes Judd (right) inspect the damaged rail line near Gilgai Lane, outside Pampas. The line was hit by the 2010, 2011, and 2013 floods.

LANDHOLDERS concerned about the Inland Rail project on the Condamine Floodplain will rally in Brisbane today to speak with Federal opposition leader Anthony Albanese.

Chairman of the Millmerran Rail Group Wes Judd said he expected hundreds of people to gather at the Parliamentary Offices in Brisbane to express their concerns about potential flood-level increases and damage to their properties if the railway is built across floodplain.

“We’re going to Brisbane to talk to the opposition leader about the Inland Rail issues across the Condamine floodplain,” Mr Judd said.

“We expect Anthony Albanese to address these issues.

“We want to bring him up to date with what’s wrong and place him in a better position to address these things and commit to that.

“We hope he will put pressure on the government to take action and be decisive, to take on board all that they know and make the proper decision with a bit of courage.”

Mr Judd said the ARTC’s planning had been a “terrible process” and they needed to “shift it off the floodplain and never come back.”

“It’s been going on for three years, there have been issues which have been flagged, and we’re concerned about the issues relating to flooding,” he said.

“The process has been so bad and the developers have been so dismissive that landholders don’t want Inland Rail anywhere near the floodplain.

“Landholders have lost trust in the process.”

The group will meet in Brisbane at 1pm and hope to speak to Mr Albanese by 1.30pm.