It may come too late to save the jobs of over 70 Aurizon workers but a plan is emerging to save rail in North West Queensland.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Last week Aurizon announce it was redeploying 76 positions (38 in Mount Isa, one in Cloncurry, 29 at Hughenden and eight at Townsville) after it loses a Glencore contract next month.
With Hughenden the epicentre of the losses due to its undue impact on a town with a population of 1300, a meeting of affected workers in the Hughenden Railway Club on Friday attracted MP Robbie Katter and the mayors of Flinders, Cloncurry and Richmond to show support.
Richmond mayor John Wharton said Glencore and other miners were moving freight off the rails because it was cheaper to go by road because they didn’t have to pay an access fee to rail operator QR.
“They are flogging our highway and we need to force them back on a perfectly good rail line,” Cr Wharton said.
“We’re going to up the ante on this. We need to say (to the mining companies), we’re going to charge you to use the highway.”
Cr Wharton has called for an independent investigation from the ACCC or similar on QR’s freight charges.
Unfortunately such a move is unlikely to save the jobs of those immediately affected with Flinders Shire mayor Jane McNamara saying that you could feel the pain in the room of the Railway Workers Club.
“There’s a lot of decisions those people have to make,” Cr McNamara said.
“They have been given offers from Aurizon and are working through that and some of them are saying those packages aren’t going to cut it, so they have to decide whether to take it or relocate.
“Some have family here so they don’t really have an option.”
Union organiser Les Moffitt said Hughenden would be left with only a small number of railway staff to provide relief to late running train services.
“This has nothing to do with improving efficiency and customer service as it’s all about reducing costs to maintain shareholder value,” Mr Moffitt said.
Member for Mount Isa Rob Katter says the move will have more of an impact on Hughenden then Queensland Nickel had on Townsville, has made urgent contact with the Premiers office.
"The town of Hughenden is reeling, the Government needs to decide what they want to do with these utilities, as rail user chargers are pushing transporters off the rails and onto the road," Mr Katter said.
"We are sick of infrastructure like the rail line being milked for all its worth to fund more passanger rail and traffic tunnels in Brisbane.”
"Last thing we want to see is more trucks chewing up our highways and families picking up and leaving town.”