352
SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER$
\ THE HON. E. G. WHITLAM. M. P,,
FOR THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE TARCOOLA TO ALICE SPRINGS RAILWAY,
SPORT AUGUSTA, SA,, 11 APRIL 1975
THERE COULD BE NO BETTER PLACE TO PROPOSE
A TOAST TO THE RAILWAYS OF AUSTRALIA THAN HERE IN PORT
AUGUSTA, THIS IS ONE OF THE GREAT RAIL TOWNS IN AUSTRALIA,
A GREAT RAIL JUNCTION, THE CENTRE OF A COMMUNITY WHOSE
HISTORY AND PROSPERITY ARE CLOSELY LINKED WITH THE PROGRESS
OF AUSTRALIA'S RAILWAYS, FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE POSTWAR
IMMIGRATION PROGRAM, WORKERS FROM MANY COUNTRIES HAVE
ENRICHED THIS DISTRICT AND MADE A MAJOR CONTRIBUTION NOT ONLY
TO THE RAILWAYS OF THIS COUNTRY, BUT TO THE STEEL INDUSTRY
WHICH HAS PROVIDED MUCH OF THE TRACK AND ROLLING STOCK ON
WHICH THE RAILWAYS DEPEND,
THE OPENING OF A NEW RAILWAY IS A RARE
EVENT IN AUSTRALIA. APART FROM THE STANDARD GAUGE LINK
BETWEEN ALBURY AND MELBOURNE,' OPENED IN 1962. THE TARCOOLA
TO ALICE SPRINGS RAILWAY WILL BE THE FIRST MAJOR RAIL LINK
TO BE ESTABLISHED ON THIS CONTINENT SINCE THE TRANSCONTINENTAL
RAILWAY IN 1917. ALMOST HALF A CENTURY HAS PASSED SINCE
WE LAST MADE A SIGNIFICANT EXTENSION TO THE RAILWAY SERVICES OF
THIS COUNTRY* FOR A NATION OF SUCH VAST SIZE, WITH SUCH
SCATTERED RESOURCES, WITH SUCH A WIDELY DISPERSED, THOUGH
BY NO MEANS DECENTRALISED, POPULATION, IT IS CURIOUS
THAT THE RAILWAYS HAVE BEEN NEGLECTED FOR SO LONG, CURIOUS,
BUT NOT ALTOGETHER INEXPLICABLE. FEDERATION, FAR FROM
DRAWING TOGETHER THE DIFFERENT CITIES AND REGIONS OF THE
CONTINENT, TENDED TO ENFORCE THEIR SEPARATION. S,/ 2
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FOR GENERATIONS THE RAILWAYS HAVE LANGUISHED IN A
MIASMA OF INTERSTATE RIVALRY, CONSTITUTIONAL DIFFICULTIES,
IMPOVERISHED STATE BUDGETS AND SHEER INERTIA ON THE PART
OF STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS.
IN NO AREA OF GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITY IS
THERE A GREATER NEED FOR MODERNISATION AND REFORM. IN
NO AREA ARE THERE GREATER CONSTITUTIONAL AND
S ADMINISTRATIVE bBSTACLES TO SUCH REFORM. IN NO AREA IS THE
COST TO THE PUBLIC OF OUR-PRESENT ADMINISTRATIVE CONFUSION
AND PHYSICAL DILAPIDATION GREATER AND MORE ENTRENCHED.
OUR TRANSPORT SYSTEMS ARE OUTDATED, INEFFICIENT AND
UNECONOMICAL. RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEM IS FRAGMENTED
AND VAGUELY DEFINED. TRANSPORT IS THE CINDERELLA SERVICE
OF THE PUBLIC SECTOR AND THE RAILWAYS ARE THE
CINDERELLA OF OUR TRANSPORT SERVICES.
IN RECENT YEARS THE IMPORTANCE OF MODERN
RAILWAYS HAS BEEN INCREASINGLY RECOGNISED. THEY ARE
EASILY THE MOST EFFICIENT METHOD OF TRANSPORTING BULK
GOODS OVER LONG DISTANCES, BUT IT IS NOT SUFFICIENT TO
HAVE ADEQUATE STATE SERVICES. AN EFFICIENT RAILWAY
SYSTEM MUST BE AN EFFICIENT NATIONAL SYSTEM. IT MUST BE
ORGANISED TO MEET NATIONAL NEEDS AND PRIORITIES. THAT IS
THE APPROACH OF THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT. THE PROBLEMS
OF INTERSTATE RAIL TRANSPORT ARE QUITE DIFFERENT FROM
THOSE OF URBAN TRANSPORT, 4
URBAN TRANSPORT CAN PROPERLY BE LEFT TO THE STATES, THOUGH
THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT IS ACTIVELY ASSISTING THEM IN
THIS-FIELD. INTERSTATE TRANSPORT, MUST BE TACKLED FROM
A NATIONAL VIEWPOINT. WE ALL KNOW . THE NOTORIOUS BORDEN THAT OUR
RAILWAYS HAVE INHERITED FROM A COLONIAL PAST. THE
NATION IS STILL PAYING A HEAVY PRICE FOR RAILWAY SYSTEMS
CENTRALISED ON STATE CAPITALS AND CONSTRUCTED ON
INCOMPATIBLE GAUGES. THE POWER OF THE AUSTRALIAN
PARLIAMENT TO LEGISLATE ON TRANSPORT IS ILL-DEFINED.
APART FROM A GENERAL POWERs-TO LEGISLATE IN'RESPECT OF
THE TERRITORIES, THERE IS NO SPECIFIC PROVISION IN THE
CONSTITUTION GIVING THE AUSTRALIAN PARLIAMENT POWER IN
RELATION* TO ROADS OR ROAD TRANSPORT, FORTUNATELY THE
CONSTITUTION IS MORE SPECIFIC IN RELATION TO RAILWAYS,
THE PROSPECT OF A NATIONAL RAILWAY SYSTEM WAS-FIRMLY IN
MIND WHEN THE CONSTITUTION WAS DRAFTED. SECTION 51-ALLOWSe
THE PARLIAMENT TO MAKE LAWS, WITH THE CONSENT OF A STATE,
FOR THE ACQUISITION OF ANY STATE RAILWAYS ON TERMS ARRANGED N
BETWEEN THE COMMONWEALTH AND THE STATE. FOR MANY YEARS THE
STATE RAILWAYS HAVE BEEN AN INSUPPORTABLE BURDEN ON STATE
GOVERNMENTS; DISTORTING THEIR BUDGETS AND DEPLETING THEIR
RESOURCES AT THE EXPENSE OF OTHER ESSENTIAL PUBLIC SERVICES.
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ALL FORMS OF TRANSPORT URBAN, RURAL AND INTERSTATE HAVE
, FALLEN DEEPER INTO DEBT AND OBSOLESCENCE. WHILE THE
STATES HAVE LACKED THE FUNDS TO PROVIDE MODERN TRANSPORT,
THE COMMONWEALTH IN GENERAL HAS LACKED THE POWERS, ON
TOP OF THAT WE HAVE A MULTIPLICITY OF TRANSPORT UNIONS,
ORGANISED ON A FRAGMENTED FEDERAL BAS. IS, TENDING TO
REINFORCE THE INEFFICIENCIES ENGENDERED BY INTERSTATE
RIVALRY. SOUTH AUSTRALIA IS LEADING THE WAY IN
THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORE ECONOMIC AND EFFICIENT RAILWAY
SERVICES. IN 1972 -IN ONE OF THE FIRST ACTS OF THE
NEW GOVERNMENT-I OFFERED TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR
THE RAILWAYS OF ANY STATE PREPARED TO OFFER THEM.
VICTORIA AND QUEENSLAND REFUSED EVEN TO DISCUSS THE
OFFER, A WEEK AGO MR DUNSTAN AND I ANNOUNCED THE
AGREEMENT OF OUR GOVERNMENTS TO TRANSFER THE NON-METROPOLITAN
RAILWAY SYSTEM OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA TO THE AUSTRALIAN
GOVERNMENT. THIS MEANS THAT THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN
GOVERNMENT WILL BE RELIEVED OF THE BURDEN OF MUCH OF THE
RAILWAYS: DEFICIT. DISCUSSIONS WITH THE OTHER STATES'HAVE
BEEN GOING ON FOR SOME TIME. IN ADDITION TO THE NEW LINE
FROM TARCOOLA TO ALICE SPRINGS, AN AGREEMENT HASBEEN
SIGNED WITH SOUTH AUSTRALIA TO CONNECT ADELAIDE TO THE
EAST-WEST STANDARD GAUGE LINE AT CRYSTAL BROOK, THE
COMPLETION OF THIS PROJECT WILL MEAN THAT ALL MAINLAND
CAPITAL CITIES WILL BE CONNECTED TO STANDARD GUAGE,
IN RECENT WEEKS WE HAVE TAKEN TWO OTHER
MAJOR INITIATIVES TO IMPROVE AUSTRALIA'S RAILWAYS,
ONE -F OUR GREAT INSTRUMENTS FOR THE REFORM AND
COORDINATION OF NATIONAL TRANSPORT WILL BE THE
INTER-STATE COMMISSION. LAST MONDAY I ANNOUNCED THE
GOVERNMENT'S INTENTION TO INTRODUCE -LEGISLATION TO
ESTABLISH THE COMMISSION. IN MY 1972 POLICY SPEECH
I SAID: " THE INTER-STATE COMMISSION WAS INTENDED TO
END THE CENTRALISM FOSTERED BY ALL THE STATE
GOVERNMENTS THROUGH THEIR RAILWAY SYSTEMS. IT
SHOULD NOW PROVIDE NOT ONLY FOR THE
COORDINATION OF OUR SIX MAINLAND RAILWAY SYSTEMS
AND OUR MAJOR PORTS IN THE PERIOD BEFORE THE
COMMONWEALTH, LIKE OTHER FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS,
INEVITABLY TAKES RESPONSIBILITY FOR RAILWAYS
AND PORTS; IT IS ALSO THE IDEAL INSTRUMENT FOR
CORODINATING OUR MAJOR ROADS AND SHIPPING A
LINES AND AIRLINES AND PIPELINES...
" A FEDERAL LABOR GOVERNMENT WILL PROMPTLY
RESTORE THE MACHINERY THE CONSTITUTION INTENDED
AND VEST IT WITH THE COMMONWEALTH'S FULL
MODERN MEANS OF COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN THE STATES."
7-
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OUR OTHER IMPORTANT MEASURE HAS BEEN TO
INTRODUCE LEGISLATION TO CREATE THE AUSTRALIAN
NATIONAL RAILWAYS COMMISSION. THIS WILL ' PROVIDE FOR THE.'.
INCREASINGLY WIDER FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE
PRESENT COMMONWEALTH RAILWAYS. THE COMMISSION WILL HAVE
THE ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE AND OPERATIONAL'POWERS
NECESSARY TO CONSOLIDATE THE STATE AND AUSTRALIAN
RAILWAYS INTO THE SINGLE SYSTEM ENVISAGED UNDER THE
GOVERNMENT'S RAIL TRANSFER PROGRAM,
MY. COLLEAGUE THE MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT
GAVE A VIVID INDICATION OF THE SCALE OF THE TASK
BEFORE US WHEN HE INTRODUCED THE LEGISLATION FOR THE
COMMISSION ON 20 FEBRUARY. HE POINTED OUT THAT
AUSTRALIA'S RAILWAYS ON THE WHOLE ARE IN A PITIFUL
CONDITION. FOR YEARS THEY HAVE BEEN STARVED OF THE CAPITAL
FUNDS NECESSARY FOR THEM TO KEEP ABREAST OF ADVANCES
IN RAILWAY TECHNOLOGY AND MEET THE TRANSPORT DEMANDS PLACE2
UPON THEM BY A GROWING ECONOMY, FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAVE THE
RIDICULOUS SITUATION WHERE STATE RAILWAY DEFICITS ARE
INCREASLNG AT AN ALARMING RATE, YET THE RAILWAYS HAVE HAD
TO TURN AWAY BUSINESS. RAILWAYS AT PRESENT NEED OVER
3200 EXTRA'WAGONS-FOR INTER-SYSTEM TRAFFICALONE. IT HAS
BEEN ESTIMATED THAT THE VICTORIAN, SOUTH AUSTRALIAN,
NEW SOUTH WALES AND COMMONWEALTH RAILWAYS LOST OVER
$ 66 MILLION IN POSSIBLE REVENUE IN 1972-73 BECAUSE THEY
WERE NOT ABLE TO MEET THE DEMANDS OF ! NTER-SYSTEM TRAFFIC, 717
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THIS GOVERNMENT WAS QUICK TO REACT TO THE PROBLEM AND
IN THE 1974 BUDGET ANNOUNCED A CONTINUING ROLLING STOCK
PURCHASING PROGRAM WHICH OVER THE NEXT 2 YEARS WILL
PROVIDE SOME 1300 MODERN BOGIE WAGONS FOR INTER-SYSTEM
USE. THESE WAGONS WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR LEASE TO THE
STATES. TOMORROW I SHALL HAVE GREAT PLEASURE
S IN INAUGURATING THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEW LINE FROM
TARCOOLA TO ALICE SPRINGS. : I HOPE THE LINE WILL COME TO
SYMBOLISE OUR COMMITMENT TO BETTER RAILWAYS IN AUSTRALIA,
IT WILL BE THE L6NGEST RAILWAY BUILT IN AUSTRALIA SINCE
THE TRANSCONTINENTAL LINK BETWEEN THIS CITY AND
KALGOORLIE. IT WILL BE APPROXIMATELY 830 KILOMETRES
LONG. . IT WILL BE BUILT THROUGH SOME OF THE MOST
INHOSPITABLE DESERT COUNTRY IN AUSTRALIA. WHEN COMPLETED
IT WILL PROVIDE CENTRAL AND NORTHERN AUSTRALIA . WITH A
RAILWAY OF WORLD CLASS AND FREE FROM THE RISK OF
FLOODING. IT WILL GIVE THE PEOPLE OF CENTRAL AUSTRALIA
A FAST AND RELIABLE SERVICE, OF IMMEASURABLE BENEFIT
TO THE CATTLE AND MINING INDUSTRIES AND TO TOURISM. : 7l
S w -8-
A NEW RAILWAY HAS ALWAYS CARRIED WITH IT
AN AURA OF ROMANCE# A SPIRIT OF PIONEERING. NOTHING
SUGGESTS MORE VIVIDLY THE DETERMINATION OF A VIGOROUS
SOCIETY TO DEVELOP ITS RESOURCES AND IMPROVE ITS
COMMUNICATIONS, SOMETHING WAS MISSING FROM OUR
NATIONAL LIFE DURING THE LONG YEARS WHEN THE RAILWAYS
WERE ALLOWED TO DECLINE. MEN AND FAMILIES WHO HAD
GIVEN A LIFETIME OF SERVICE TO THE RAILWAYS WERE
0 ENCOURAGED TO LOSE FAITH IN'THE IMPORTANCE AND FUTURE OF
A GREAT INDUSTRY. , I HOPE AND BELIEVE THAT WE ARE
0 SEEING TONIGHT, THE REBIRTH OF THE RAILWAYS IN THIS
COUNTRY, THE BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA OF GROWTH AND
DEVELOPMENT, YOU CAN BE SURE THAT MY GOVERNMENT WILL DO
ITS UTMOST TO SEE THE RAILWAYS PROSPER AND RESUME THEIR
RIGHTFUL, THEIR HISTORIC ROLE AS THE BASIS OF AN EFFICIENT,
MODERN AND ECONOMICAL TRANSPORT SYSTEM. PROSPEROUS AND
EFFICIENT RAILWAYS ARE AN ESSENTIAL CONDITION OF A
PROSPEROUS AND EFFICIENT NATION.
S.