Toowoomba Regional Council mayor Paul Antonio has been appointed as the new chair of the Melbourne to Brisbane Inland Rail Alliance (MBIRA), which represents all local governments that will be connected by the Inland Rail route.
Antonio, who owns a gravel operation in the Darling Downs region, has been a long-time advocate of linking Toowoomba to the Brisbane to Melbourne Inland Rail project and has served as regional council mayor of Toowoomba since 2012.
The Inland Rail Project is designed to provide a needed boost to supply chains and refine the national freight network, which will lead to transit times of a day or less via trains between Melbourne to Brisbane.
A total of 13 individual projects will be constructed under the project, making it the largest rail infrastructure project in the country.
“Inland Rail is key to stimulating the economy in the next 12 to 24 months,” Antonio told Queensland Country Life. “My biggest worry at present is for any potential delays there may be in relation to the Inland Rail.
“I know that private industry is poised to get right behind this project, but they need certainty in order to invest. Let’s get on and get it done, to the highest standards, with the needs of affected land-holders addressed and compensation paid to those for whom the impact cannot be eliminated.”
Antonio’s appointment follows the departure of former MBIRA chairman Moree Plains Shire Council Councillor Sue Price . She has also been pushing for the project to be completed in time, saying the rail network will fix the “outgrowing” freight roads.
“’MBIRA’s advocacy is still vital to make sure the project gets finished in time, to world’s best practice standards and to future-proof eastern Australia’s freight networks,” Price said. “The national freight task will treble in 30 years, outgrowing the road network’s carrying capacity. Rail must take up the balance. Not only that, but Inland Rail has the capacity to drive economic recovery in regional Australia post the COVID crisis.
“More than $8 billion will be pumped into the communities in the corridor – at least 75 per cent to local industry and workers. It can be the post-COVID boost that the Snowy River Scheme was post-WWII.”
Industry connections
Antonio formally opened the IQA’s 60th annual conference in Toowoomba in October 2017. At the time, he discussed the importance of Toowoomba to Queensland’s growing road and rail networks, and the region’s capacity to transport goods to up to 85 per cent of Australia’s population. He underlined how the Wellcamp Airport, the Toowoomba Second Range
Crossing and Inland Rail would boost Toowoomba’s credentials while enhancing the safety of moving heavy consumer goods and supplying smoother travel for commuters.
Antonio also acknowledged the importance of the quarry industry in supplying the construction materials for these projects, especially in ensuring a “reasonable road standard” for the community on a road network that stretches more than 6600km in an area of 13,000m2. He said it was “phenomenal” to think that just one kilometre of a two-lane highway requires about 14,000 tonnes of construction materials.
“Our road, rail and air connectivity [are] really driving this community and pushing us out there as one of Australia’s most powerful regions,” Antonio said. “And none of it would be possible without the quarry industry. You help provide the solid foundations for our region to grow and flourish.
“I must stress it’s not just about your product. The benefits to our community include over 10,000 jobs, directly in the quarrying industry, and a further 80,000 jobs indirectly, many of those in regional areas. Our region is home to [several] key resource area quarries. The sites across here will deliver key resources that support our growing infrastructure. They will employ locals and they will support families and they will boost our economy.”