A NEW Inland Rail Indigenous Participation Plan will ensure local communities can share in ongoing employment opportunities of the rail-track’s roll-out and operations, says Deputy Prime minister Michael McCormack.
The 1700 kilometre Brisbane to Melbourne nation-building rail route is expected to deliver an estimated 16,000 direct and indirect jobs with 700 per year once operational, while moving product to domestic and export markets faster and more cost effectively, he said.
Mr McCormack issued the news in a press release yesterday ahead of a visit to Logan today where he joins Forde MP Bert van Manen on at least one public engagement, the opening of a family refuge at Chambers Flat. Mr van Manen holds one of the most marginal seats for the Liberal National coalition in Queensland. There will be a Federal election next year.
The release comes as Inland Rail stages public information sessions in Logan this week. Logan has one of the largest Aboriginal Torres Islander populations in Australia.
The first session was held at Calamvale on Monday with sessions to be held at Grand Central Plaza, Browns Plains, near K-Mart today from 9am to 9pm and Jimboomba Junction Shopping Centre near Coles on Saturday from 9am to 3pm.
Residents who live on the 52-kilometre Kagaru to Acacia Ridge and Bromelton section of ARTC’s interstate freight rail network have put up a noisy protests in response to the route which is expected to carry between 40 and as many as 64 double stacked freight trains daily through the Scenic Rim and Logan. There will be coal trains.
An estimated 50,000 live on the rail line with the number expected to triple in coming decades.
A release issued by the deputy Prime Minister’s office yesterday said the IRIPP – driven by the Australian Rail Track Corporation ARTC and backed by the Federal Liberal and Nationals’ Government – would ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can share in the local benefits the once-in-a-generation infrastructure project generates.
It said the plan had already led to practical workforce targets being implemented such as the Parkes to Narromine section where construction contractor INlink has set a workforce target of 50 per cent local employment; including a goal of 10 per cent Aboriginal employment. That section of the $9.3 billion Inland Rail’s construction is expected to create about 100 opportunities for local residents; including up to 20 jobs for local Aboriginal people.
Mr McCormack welcomed the IRIPP’s launch and said it will enhance the Inland Rail’s grass-roots focus to benefit regional communities.
Mr McCormack said the plan supported the Australian Government’s commitment and strategy to empower local jobs and drive social and economic opportunities throughout the Inland Rail’s construction and future operations.
“The transformational Inland Rail project is about more than just building a 1700km rail line – it is about opening up new and exciting social and economic opportunities for inland Australia,” Mr McCormack said.
“Inland Rail will deliver 16,000 direct and indirect jobs – not just through construction, but also those that flow-on from construction – and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are an essential part of this prime outcome.”
