“It’s a disgrace” – business leader blasts government over rail trail failure

BYRON Bay Chamber of Commerce president Matt Williamson has slammed the government over its failure to deliver the Northern Rivers Rail Trail, saying years of political delays had cost the region a major opportunity.

The criticism comes after it was revealed last week that Byron Shire Council and Lismore Council were unsuccessful in their joint $42 million funding application to extend the trail under the latest round of the Federal Government’s Regional Precincts and Partnerships Program.

The proposed extensions included three sections of the planned 132-kilometre pathway between Casino and Murwillumbah: Lismore to Bexhill, Mullumbimby to Crabbes Creek and Bangalow Industrial Estate to Bangalow Showground.

“We think we have been stitched up completely,” Williamson said.

“It’s been a long succession of short sightedness and people not representing their community at a political level as we have slip-slided back and forth as to will we have a rail trail, won’t we have a rail trail, are we bringing back the trains?

“We have at different times had the funding to proceed with this. Now we have a project that’s manifestly more expensive than when we had the money. It’s a disgrace from a business perspective. We look at it and go, ‘what a cock up’. Businesses that perform like that don’t stay in business.

“There’s a few different ways we can fund this project but there hasn’t been the political will to do it. There’s a huge opportunity going to waste.”

Federal Member for Richmond Justine Elliot said she was disappointed the application had not been successful.

“I’m a strong supporter of rail trails and, like many, I’m disappointed that the combined application from Lismore and Byron councils has not been successful in the latest round,” she said.

“Unfortunately, I have been advised the independent panel did not consider the application meritorious as some of the necessary criteria for this grant were not met, including that it was not shovel-ready and key regulatory processes and approvals are still pending,” she said.

She said local governments would be able to apply for Round 3 of the Growing Regions Program later this year.

“If the government had come back to us early on and said these are the things that have to be fixed we would have been able to solve most of the problems that they have used to say that we didn’t get it in the last year,” Northern Rivers Rail Trail Supporters president Pat Grier said.

“Local councils aren’t in a position to fund this; the Tweed section was funded by the Federal and State government and the Lismore section by the Federal government.”

Grier said the organisation would intensify its campaign to secure 100,000 signatures supporting completion of the trail.

“If anything, this has spurred us on to be even stronger,” he said.

“We need a lot of support from the community to help us get ready for the next grants so we don’t have this problem again.”

Byron Shire Mayor Sarah Ndiaye said the outcome was “a massive blow”.

“I know the construction of the rail trail is a massive cost, but I have no doubt it will pay for itself ten-fold in terms of community benefit, environmental outcomes, tourism and business investment,” she said.

“The rail trail is open and operating from Murwillumbah to Crabbes Creek at one end and Casino to Lismore at the other with a missing link in the middle.

“We have no option now but to put our disappointment aside, regroup and work on a new way forward.”

Butcher Baker Bangalow co-owner Paul Coughran, who hopes to develop the old Bangalow train station into an eatery, said tourism had been down the last few years and the region needed the project.

“We have seen what rail trails have done for other small towns and it’s hard to see us being left out,” he said.