Three-month lifeline for Overland

Aof three-month lifeline for one

the region’s main transport links will keep the service running as discussions continue about its long-term viability.

The State Government announced it would contribute money to keep The Overland train, a historic Adelaide-melbourne passenger train which has stops including Nhill, Dimboola, Horsham, Stawell and Ararat, operating until the end of March.

The announcement follows more than a year of uncertainty about the longevity of the passenger rail, after the South Australian government withdrew support at the end of 2018 and the Victorian Government’s year of top-up funding approached its own end.

Member for Lowan Emma Kealy, one of many advocates for a return of regular passenger rail services to Horsham, said the State Government announcement was yet another shortterm commitment that was ‘sabotaging’ the service’s ongoing viability.

“The government’s inability to provide long-term surety puts a lot of pressure on the service and impacts on patronage. It’s almost like death by a thousand paper cuts,” she said.

“By leaving this funding to the very last minute, and even when funding one year at a time, the Labor government creates a lot of uncertainty about The Overland’s reliability.

“Even today, if someone knew they had an appointment in Melbourne in April, with the current three-month commitment they would be looking elsewhere. Our region deserves more certainty.”

The State Government said the extension would allow for further discussions with The Overland’s private operator, Journey Beyond, about the service’s long-term future.

However, Ms Kealy said regional communities could benefit more from fighting for a return of regular passenger rail services that provided more frequent travel options.

“There can be a level of frustration when we’re fighting for a service which operates only two times a week, when with a geographical location like ours we should really be fighting for a regular train service that operates at least three times a day,” she said.

“It is vitally important that we have a connection to Ballarat and further to Melbourne, especially to help us retain people in the region for work.

“So, if the government can’t provide money for ongoing surety of The Overland, I want them to replace it with a regular passenger rail service.

“There would be a few question marks over what that would exactly entail and how it would operate. But the government needs to really step up and give us a fair deal.”

Horsham Rural City Council mayor Mark Radford said he hoped The Overland would continue and develop, particularly as it was the Wimmera’s only passenger-rail service and

Avoidable tragedy

SIR, – The appalling loss of life and property in East Gippsland is made even more tragic because it was largely avoidable.

The fires that caused the destruction had burned for weeks unchecked before becoming a threat.

In a virtual repeat of the 2003 Canberra fires, a lack of effective suppression work during cooler conditions resulted in uncontrollable fires when the weather deteriorated.

Whether leaving these fires uncontrolled was a result of government policy or a serious lack of judgment on the part of senior management in Victoria’s fire services is an issue that needs a public inquiry. That inquiry also needs to ask why our fire agencies are prepared to drop hundreds of thousands of dollars of retardant on large fires – often with little effect – but are unwilling to spend a few thousand on ground applied retardant that would have effectively contained those fires with initial attack.

This unwillingness to equip crews with this very effective technology is hampering their provided important state and interstate access.

He said in the meantime, however, Horsham council would also continue to lobby for the return of daily passenger train connections to Melbourne, with a request made for a shuttle service between Horsham, Stawell and Ararat to link with existing services to the city in the short-term.

“Looking to the future of the interstate link, there are three clear opportunities that could be better promoted – Melbourne to Adelaide and Adelaide to Melbourne with Motorrail, Melbourne and Adelaide ‘to’ the Wimmera region and ‘to’ Melbourne and Adelaide from Wimmera stations,” he said. ability to contain fires quickly and ultimately costing lives and property. Another question to be asked is the level of protection work done around the communities impacted by these fires.

Most affected communities had days, even weeks, to prepare for their inevitable arrival but it appears little if anything was done.

Ground applied retardant can create strategic breaks very quickly. A kilometre of break can be established in as little as five minutes. Homes and other assets can also be quickly fire proofed with retardant.

The Victorian Government ‘leave early’ policy appears to have shifted the focus from protecting communities and supporting people to stay and defend their homes to evacuate and let them burn. While this might reduce the risk to lives, it results in significant property losses and people might not be able to obtain insurance when they rebuild. If we are to avoid a repeat of these fires we must adopt more effective methods of initial attack and provide communities with more effective fire protection. Daryl Scherger, Ararat