The Tasmanian transport mishmash mess

As a fellow Australian and Strategic Transport Planner, I am extremely disappointed at the poor effort by the major political parties in pronouncing a long term transport plan for Tasmania.
The Government appear to be so tired that they just gave up on a strategic transport plan and released a hopeless, mishmash of various sub-plots that are only worthy of being dismissed and forgotten.

The Opposition appear to be frigid with fright about being accused of overspending and thus proclaim a plan of dual carriageway construction for the Midland Highway at an estimated cost that is not believable. The reality is that the time frame will stretch out to decades, and the costs will blow-out massively, draining funds from many other urgently needed projects.

The Government is sticking by its patchwork repair of the old nineteenth century rail alignment and continues to claim that its use of steel sleepers are adequate; by contrast, general agreement in the rail industry is that Tasmania’s conditions of tight curves and higher rainfall, will result in shortened life expectancy and operational reliability, with high probability of track buckling and thus potentially, further derailments and line closures.

Modern transport is far too important to to be treated in this ad hoc fashion; it underpins economic development; it reveals new productive opportunities further enhancing employment and advancement of local communities. State of the art services for freight, for commuters, for tourists must be created in order for Tasmania to thrive.

Transport cannot remain a captive of 1950s thinking. What we should have been hearing in Tasmania is a commitment to a long term, strategic plan that will integrate road, rail, sea-ports and airports into a seamless transport facility, relevant to the 21st Century transport task, effectively linking this part of Australia to the mainland and to the world for freight and people movement.

Additional port links, adjacent to rail, in Australia’s largest container port, the Port of Melbourne are necessarily a vital part of the long-term strategy.

A long term strategic plan for a genuinely integrated, co-ordinated transport system is the only way Tasmania is going to be successful in dealing with peak oil price rises while effectively reducing emissions in the face of a growing freight task and the changing transport needs of an ageing, growing population.

Let us not forget that the huge fillip to Tasmania’s economy that such a plan would achieve would be instrumental in engaging young people towards academic careers and remaining/attracted to Tasmania: No need for cash handouts! And importantly, such national, strategic planning is what the Federal Government agencies are seeking out as preferred infrastructure funding.