RTBU slams Abbott’s rejection of high speed rail

The Abbott Government has turned its back on high-speed rail, scrapping the expert committee set up to advise on its planning and eventual construction.

Committee members, which included RTBU National Secretary Bob Nanva, were informed their services were no longer required on Thursday afternoon.

Bob Nanva said the committee’s dismantling would set the cause of high-speed rail back by decades.

“High-speed rail is critical to Australia’s economic future. By connecting our east coast cities with high speed rail, we can give productivity a shot in the arm and seriously cut carbon emissions,” Bob Nanva said.

“By scrapping this committee, the Federal Government has turned its back on the future and shown an inability to plan for the future.

“The members of this committee were volunteering their own time and energy, any cost to Government was minimal.

“This decision smacks of a government that has no plan for national infrastructure and no interest in receiving external advice.”