INQUIRIES into a passenger rail service from the Barossa Valley to Adelaide’s city centre are being kept secret by the State Government.
It has completed 13 investigations into rail services to the Barossa Valley in the past five years, but will not release details of any of them.
A document released under Freedom of Information laws shows the Transport Department has prepared the series, including an executive paper on a trial service for a Barossa express, a draft paper on a proposal for Barossa services and a report to look at opportunity.
The Government also has prepared an executive paper on a service train trial between Adelaide and Angaston and a report on a working document for an Adelaide-Tanunda train service, as well as a working document for an Adelaide-Barossa Metroticket train service.
The FoI request answer stated no documents would be released because they might go to Cabinet. “While there is a public interest . . . those interests are outweighed by the need to ensure that the confidentially of the Cabinet process is maintained,” it says. “The premature release of the information could infringe on the confidentiality of future Cabinet considerations.”
Family First MLC Dennis Hood said he did not see any reason for the secrecy. “Clearly, the department is investigating a rail service to the Barossa at some level and yet the Government remains highly secretive as to the purpose of these investigations,” he said.
“Family First has been calling for a resumption of rail services to the Barossa for some time now and sees no reason for the secrecy.”
Transport Minister Patrick Conlon said the Government had been perfectly clear on its plan for public transport.
“Reinstating passenger rail services to the Barossa is not part of the State Government’s current transport plans,” he said.
A parliamentary inquiry into public transport and a resumption of Barossa passenger rail services specifically will start hearing evidence today week.
June 17th, 2009 at 10:16 pm
Well the government decides to keep this quiet but uses stupid non specific blurbs to plug itself as supposedly budget news releases
I know where my vote will go next year.
And I will be on the first train back to the Barossa too.
June 28th, 2009 at 10:48 am
It is probably now a well known assumption that one of the reasons why these reports are being denied to the public and media is because of the politically hot potato this issue is for the Labor Party, Independent reports have uncovered in recent years that a Barossa passenger rail service remains a high transport mode that many people from Australia, and from around the world, including those who have to travel on a regular bases by car to catch a train from the Gawler, Gawler central and Smithfeild railway stations, who have or will travel to and from the famous wine region as a preferred form of transport.