Opposition Statement: Missing coal rail infrastructure cost taxpayers millions

[ozbob]

From http://www.qldcoalition.org.au/news/article.aspx?ID=2193

Missing coal rail infrastructure cost taxpayers millions

Wednesday, 12 March 2008

The Queensland Opposition has revealed that Queensland Rail's failure to provide adequate infrastructure for the coal industry cost taxpayers $63 million in 2006/07.

Opposition Deputy Leader and Shadow Infrastructure Minister Fiona Simpson said rail infrastructure has been named as the coal industry's bottleneck, costing the industry $1.2 billion last financial year.

"$1.2 billion equates to $63 million of lost royalties to Queensland taxpayers, which means Queensland has missed out on four new schools or 325 public housing dwellings," Ms Simpson told Parliament today.

"The Government's failure to build timely infrastructure is damaging Queensland's tax coffers and is damaging our state and coal industry's international reputation.

"Dalrymple Bay is now able to export 65 million tones of coal per year, but the O'Donnell report into the Goonyella Coal Chain capacity review says that rail infrastructure will still cause serious bottlenecks until 2011 - this will equate to several hundred million more of lost royalty income.

"That's a lot of schools and public houses that Queenslanders will never see because the of the Government's failure to act."

Minister for Transport, John Mickel, announced in Parliament today that QR signed a contract yesterday with Leighton, GHD and KBR for the Goonyella to Abbott Point line, including the Missing Northern Link.

"The EIS for the Missing Northern Link was completed in August 2005. It took the Government six months to release this report for public comment and then another two years before announcing a contract on the project," Ms Simpson said.

"So Labor has sat on a critical project for two and a half years, costing our state and the coal industry billions.

"This pattern of long delays just reinforces the Government's ongoing failure when it comes to building timely infrastructure that's needed to cope with Queensland's booming resource sector and population.

"It's time for a culture change. Queensland needs timely infrastructure but this Government is only capable of playing catch up."