Re: Cost of Alice Springs to Darwin.

[rwilke@can.i.have.the.spam.ham.bacon.egg.sausage.and.spam.without.the.spam.spam.or.spam.au (Roy Wilke)]

On Wed, 27 Aug 1997 10:40:31 GMT, mauried@commslab.gov.au (Maurie
Daly) wrote:

(snip)

>I think the issue is whether the Railway should be built based solely on 
>economic grounds which is what most dopey journalists seem to be pushing.
>You can make up your own minds about whether completing the line would be 
>worth it.

Maurie,

This government has spent its term, so far, pushing the "economically
rational" line on all aspects of government administration. Spending
has been cut in all portfolios in real terms, and "user pays" fees
have been introduced to government services which have often already
been paid for out of tax revenue.

This philosophy makes no allowance for the old-style public service
rationale which built the Trans-Continental railway in the pre WW-1
years (it will most likely never be economically viable, but it's
importance to the nation can not be measured in purely economic
terms.)

Now, suddenly, just before an election, the Alice Springs-Darwin
railway idea has been resurrected. This is in direct contradiction to
the philosophy espoused by this government.

That is why "most dopey journalists" are pushing the economic issue,
Maurie.

The Railway is merely an election ploy, and, whatever the PM says now,
will most likely be quietly forgotten after the NT election is
finished.