AN anticipated announcement of $300 million to reinstate some of the State's Tier 3 grain rail lines, ahead of the Federal budget at the end of this month, has been thrown into doubt.
Infrastructure Western Australia and Infrastructure Australia both confirmed last week they had not yet received business cases for reopening the lines from the Department of Transport.
Transport Minister Rita Saffioti confirmed the WA Agricultural Supply Chain Improvements Stage 2 Options Assessment business cases was finalised in mid-February and a Department of Transport spokesperson told Farm Weekly in late February the business cases were "being" submitted to Infrastructure WA and Infrastructure Australia for assessment.
However, last week, a spokesperson for Infrastructure WA, which reviews infrastructure proposals and reports to Premier Mark McGowan prior to their submission to Infrastructure Australia, confirmed they had not seen the business cases, with Infrastructure Australia also confirming they had not received final business cases for assessment.
Adding to funding uncertainty, a CBH Group spokesperson confirmed the State's major grain handler had also not seen the completed business case prepared by the Department of Transport, although it had provided much of the information for them.
The CBH spokesperson said the organisation had been working closely with the State government on the Agricultural Supply Chain Improvements (ASCI) freight strategy for more than three years, to "ensure the Department of Transport had a good understanding of the future requirements of the CBH network so this can be factored into the road and rail strategy".
Australian Rail, Tram and Bus Industry Union, Western Australian branch secretary Craig McKinley said despite Infrastructure WA and Infrastructure Australia not having received the business cases, he was hopeful the funding would come to fruition and said he expected an announcement within a matter of weeks.
Mr McKinley said he had been told by the Transport Minister's office that the business cases and the application for funding were two separate issues.
"They've put an application in for the money - the business case is not the money, the business case is the dividing up of the money," Mr McKinley said.
"The upshot is that we are expecting a significant announcement towards the end of March - the State government is expecting a $300m ASCI announcement in the Federal budget."
The State and Federal governments have already jointly committed $200m for the Agricultural Supply Chain Improvements Package 1.
However out of that $200m, only $22m has been allocated to build four rail siding extensions at CBH's Moora, Brookton, Cranbrook and Broomehill receival sites.
The Department of Transport spokesperson said further funding packages for regional freight rail and supply chain upgrades were being prepared as part of future budget submissions.
Opposition spokesperson for transport and The Nationals WA MP for Moore, Shane Love, said it was disappointing that the business cases had not yet been submitted when the Federal budget was due to be announced on Tuesday, March 29.
"I don't know whether the delay is being caused by the government, but they need to get that business case assessed so we can get the funding rolling," Mr Love said.
"We have a very short window of opportunity and goodness only knows if there's a change of government - there could be a change of priority in Canberra.
"That's a vital point because I know full-well what happened before when there was a change of government and different priorities and funding that you thought was secure and then, (with) talking about Labor winning government in WA, disappeared.
"An Albanese government with a focus on the Eastern States could have a completely different set of priorities for funding."
Mr Love said it was "a bit of a worry" to know that the business cases had not been submitted yet.
"I can only assume that the State government has that many projects on in the metropolitan area that it (Tier 3 business cases) has taken a back seat to those," Mr Love said.
"Hopefully things can be fast-tracked".
Opposition agriculture spokesman, The Nationals WA MP for the Agricultural Region, Colin de Grussa said the Agricultural Supply Chain Initiative would reduce rail freight costs for graingrowers and boost the supply chain capacity for grain export.
"Reducing associated export costs by upgrading the State's road and rail network will not only help growers take advantage of the demand for their product, but also local communities," Mr De Grussa said.
"We look forward to work progressing quickly on this vital supply chain, to ease transport pressures on regional Western Australians."
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