A law introduced into State Parliament to protect the Barossa Rail Track and corridor from been dug up further, was this morning derailed, with every Marshall Liberal Government MP voting against the Bill.
Taskforce chair and Duty Member for Schubert, Mr Tony Piccolo, introduced the Bill in February based on the work of the Barossa Tourist Train Taskforce.
“I am very disappointed that the Marshall Liberal Government has blocked this important bill,” said Mr Piccolo.
“The government has missed an opportunity to protect the rail corridor between Gawler and Angaston.”
“Now the Barossa Rail Corridor is vulnerable to Kromer’s Crossing style of vandalism, which has cut-off Nuriootpa.”
“There may also be potential for the line to be blocked or cut-off again at the Altona road bridge between Rowland Flat and Lyndoch, which has been earMarked for major redevelopment.”
“This Bill would have required any development work that would block or cut-off the line to be approved by Parliament.”
“This damage to the line will mean more taxpayer funds will be required to undo and fix these problems before the rail corridor can be operational again, potentially costing millions of dollars.”
The Statutes Amendment (Barossa Rail Corridor) Bill 2021 would have achieved three things. restrict the government from selling off any part of the rail corridor to any third parties, it would have formally defined what the corridor is and provided a safeguard for any development along the corridor, which under the proposed law, would have required the consent of Parliament.
“It is now open slather for the government to further cut-off the line under the guise of crossing upgrades. It will just delay the entire tourist train concept and make it more expensive than it needs to be,” Mr Piccolo warned.