TSBE urges Inland Rail fast-tracking
THE $12 billion Inland Rail project needs to be fasttracked through the Darling Downs to help protect it from economic struggles caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
That was the view of Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise CEO Ali Davenport, who said the Darling Downs needed to focus on opportunities in advanced manufacturing that could occur from a market downturn.
Ms Davenport said the economic lobby group had written to the Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to urge them to push forward with both the Inland Rail and the water pipeline linking Warwick to Wivenhoe Dam through Toowoomba.
“We’re really calling on the federal and state governments to fast-track these infrastructure projects that are going to put jobs in our region,” she said yesterday.
“We’re talking Inland Rail – let’s fast-track that one.
“The pipeline from Toowoomba to Warwick is not quite shovel-ready, but we really want locals to be able to work on that project.
“We want to make sure the process happens as how it should, but if they can possibly fast-track it, let’s get it happening.”
The comments come as the region continues to understand the full impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, which has led to the cancellation of major events pulled people out of small businesses.
Ms Davenport said governments had a responsibility to try and keep money and jobs moving through the Darling Downs economy.
“Keeping people in work is the most important thing that any government can do right now,” she said.
“We won’t actually know (the full effects) for a while, because everything right now feels like business as usual, but if there are greater shutdowns, which we anticipate, then obviously the economic effects are going to be larger.
“Everyone’s playing a wait-and-see game at this point, so obviously the businesses affected will be your restaurants and smaller businesses.
“In projects such as Inland Rail, as long as we’ve got people working, that’s going to be the most important thing.”
Ms Davenport said there would also be opportunities for the region to grow its burgeoning manufacturing sector, which was the thirdlargest industry in Toowoomba by economic output.