July 26, 2010The Federal Government has refuted claims by the Greens the construction of a freight terminal at Moorebank near Sydney will lead to a big increase in trucks on the road.
Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Anthony Albanese has criticised Greens senate candidate Lee Rhiannon following the release of her party’s transport plan that advocates more rail funding at the expense of road transport.
According to Rhiannon, the terminal will lead to “an almost unbroken line of trucks from port Botany to Moorebank along the already congested M5”.
Albanese says the terminal will not lead to any more trucks using the M5.
“In fact once operational, this new facility will take up to a million trucks a year off this road,” he says.
“This project is all about getting freight off our roads and onto rail, particularly given its location on the existing North South rail freight corridor and soon to be built Southern Sydney Freight Line.”
Albanese also contested claims that rail transport is not receiving adequate funding, saying the Federal Government has increased spending tenfold to $9 billion over six years.
Following on from her comments last week that
truck registration should be $23,000, Rhiannon urged governments to focus more on public transport than building new motorways.
“The Greens also want to revitalise rail freight and minimise the number of large trucks thundering through Western Sydney which are increasing air pollution, worsening congestion and posing a safety risk,” Rhiannon claims.