Planes Trains And Tourism

Newcastle Herald

Thursday June 12, 2008

LEADER

Planes trains and tourism

ANY truly forward-thinking government would see the sense in upgrading Newcastle Airport as a second gateway to NSW and in linking this gateway to the capital city with a premium fast rail service.

These recommendations are contained in a major tourism review prepared for the State Government this week.

While the Treasurer and Minister for the Hunter, Michael Costa, has been quick to pour cold water on the ideas, it is to be hoped that others in the Government may keep an open mind.

The knee-jerk reaction of those predisposed to oppose an upgraded airport in the Hunter is to invoke the RAAF fighter base as an obstacle to expansion. This misrepresents the position.

The RAAF has gone to great lengths to accommodate civilian air services and Newcastle Airport's strategic plans indicate the air force is prepared to countenance significantly more civil traffic than is currently occurring.

There are some investments notably a second taxiway that would make such expansion far simpler but there is no reason to suppose that the RAAF and the airport could not jointly achieve these improvements as part of their already cordial partnership.

The fighter base's importance to the Hunter is beyond question. For both economic and military reasons it is too valuable to lose. It is true that this imposes a limit to the growth available at the civilian airport but that limit is a long way off.

Another knee-jerk objection is Williamtown's distance from Sydney, but there are plenty of places in the world with significant distances between major airports and capital cities.

Travel time could be reduced by investing in a fast train link, and although Mr Costa has highlighted financial obstacles, this is a project whose time must come.

A fast train would do more than make the airport more convenient. It would spark interest in commercial and residential real estate, make daily commuting between the Hunter and the capital feasible for hundreds of people and become a tourist drawcard in its own right.

Sydney and the bush

THE NSW Treasury's latest version of the state's 10-year infrastructure strategy may excite Sydney readers with time to wade through the many projects proposed for the capital city.

For those in the Hunter, however, the strategy simply makes it clear that at least another decade of reannouncements lies ahead for most of the projects the region has been promised for years.

The Glendale transport interchange, for example, isn't even on the radar despite yet another budget allocation this year for more planning. The Newcastle inner-city bypass, too, remains a twinkle in the eye of the Roads and Traffic Authority.

Apart from the Mater Hospital public-private-partnership, the contributions of various government trading enterprises and some spending designed to boost coal and freight revenues, the Hunter scarcely rates a mention in the Government's infrastructure plans for the next 10 years.

© 2008 Newcastle Herald

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