The poor Pilliga is under further attack with the Inland Rail threatening to increase fragmentation in the forest and facilitate Santos’ Narrabri gas project.
See the NSW Planning Portal here : this section of the Inland Rail project consists of approximately 300 km of new single track rail line, through private and public property in a “greenfield” environment between Narromine and Narrabri
Submissions close 22 September 2022
If you are able, please help save the Pilliga: two facebook posts with suggested points you might consider are copied below
1. From David Paull (Pilliga Environment Group)
7 September 120 submissions – half oppose, 25% support. You have to register to make a submission.
You can make these points:
- A raised rail line will have multiple impacts on wildlife and ecosystems in the forest and is an unacceptable route where they could easily place it next to the Kamilaroi Highway.
- Will significantly alter the surface hydrology in the forest, further endangering the endangered community, ‘Pilliga Outwash Ephemeral Wetlands in the Brigalow Belt South Bioregion’. This community has a very restricted distribution and impacts on this community have not been addressed in the EIS. The additional work undertaken on addressing flooding impacts has not addressed this issue.
- The endangered Koala, Black-striped Wallaby and the vulnerable Rufous Bettong are very susceptible to strike by vehicles and having movement patterns in the forest disrupted raising the extinction threat for these species. Mitigating actions, bridges, culverts and canopy bridges have not properly addressed these issues.
- The loss of hollows is significant (14,503 to 41,103 hollow-bearing trees) and has not been offset through current policy. This is a significant residual impact on hollow bearing species in a forest where hollow numbers are already reduced by historic forestry.
2. Adapted from Wando CCC Inc facebook
ARTC, the company responsible for the Narrabri-Narromine section of the Inland Rail held a webinar recently during which they claimed:
- The line is taking the most direct route from Melbourne to Brisbane but check out the dog’s leg left veer into the Pilliga to head towards Narrabri here
- the route has nothing to do with Santos which wasn’t even there when planning started. However, this is not the case see, for example, the ABC’s Gallery: Santos Narrabri gas project posted 27 May 2014 here
- the line goes no-where near Santos. However if you go to the planning portal then to EIS (90) Go to Chapter D7 – References Part E – Map Book 1 to Map Book 5- View Open Map Book 5, it will download (here) Scroll to Map 188
The Leeward produced water ponds are clearly visible bottom left.
ARTC suggested that the only trains using the line would be the train travelling between Melbourne and Brisbane which would pass Leewood at over 100km/hr. We remain unconvinced that the only train using the track would be the Inland Rail- in fact ARTC’s own advertising suggests otherwise: over an image of a busy local supermarket foregrounding lettuce being stacked on a shelf: It (the Rail) will help ensure everyday goods get to where they are needed more efficiently.
In the final analysis it seems it’s simply easiest to take a route through the forest rather than negotiate with landholders.
Pat Schultz, Elizabeth O’Hara
See ARTC’s site here
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