6663 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Wednesday 9 April 2008 __________ The Speaker (The Hon. George Richard Torbay) took the chair at 10.00 a.m. The Speaker read the Prayer and acknowledgement of country. BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE Notices of Motions General Business Notices of Motions (General Notices) given. PRIVATE MEMBERS' STATEMENTS Question—That private members' statements be noted—proposed. NEW SOUTH WALES RAIL TRANSPORT MUSEUM Mr PHILLIP COSTA (Wollondilly) [10.02 a.m.]: The New South Wales Rail Transport Museum is located at Thirlmere in my electorate. The museum is an independent, non-profit company established in 1962 for the purpose of collecting, preserving and presenting railway heritage of New South Wales for the benefit of the community. Former Commissioner McCusker officially opened the original New South Wales Rail Transport Museum on Sunday 22 October 1972 at the Round House at Enfield. This was one of the former commissioner's last official duties. In 1973 it was announced that the museum at the Round House at Enfield would be demolished, and after much negotiation with the Public Transport Commission the museum was transferred to a space made available on the Commission's property at Thirlmere. In 1974 the Thirlmere site began its transformation when exhibits were transferred, and the museum was opened on 1 June 1976. The New South Wales Rail Transport Museum has more than 2,000 members, including an active volunteer workforce of over 300 and a small number of full-time staff who are the driving force that keeps the museum open every day of the week. A voluntary board and a management committee administer the museum. The museum is accredited as a rail operator under the Rail Safety Act 2002 and has network access rights to the New South Wales main line rail network. It also leases and maintains a 14-kilometre section of the track from Picton to Thirlmere and Buxton. The main reason for my raising this matter today is to inform the House that the museum at Thirlmere has undergone a significant upgrade to the value of $14.6 million. Members of the museum had considerable input in bringing the upgrade plan to fruition and, now complete, the concept design promises to transform the Thirlmere Rail Heritage Centre into an interactive attraction for all rail enthusiasts, families and the broader community. The new design concept contains three precincts. The first is the heritage precinct, which includes the station, the signal box, the stationmaster's house and the co-op shed, all of which were built in the late 1800s. The co-op shed is very important because this part of my electorate was originally an important agricultural belt and the shed was used to transport much of the produce from the area. Incidentally, this was the original line south prior to the main line being rebuilt through Bargo. The second is the exhibition precinct, and an outstanding piece of infrastructure is to be built there. Locomotive 3801, which is already housed at Thirlmere, will be on exhibition in the new precinct for all to see. The exhibition precinct will house many items of historic value and the public will be able to walk amongst some of the trains—as they can now—in a much better layout. The third precinct is an operations precinct, where the volunteers will continue their hard in restoring many of our iconic rail pieces, such as locomotive 3801 that is now housed at the museum. I will give a few examples of the type of work that is being carried out at the museum at the moment. Tony LeBreton is currently coordinating a project on locomotive 1905, which is receiving a full static restoration to present it to full display condition for the museum. Bill McNiven is coordinating a project on carriage HFL 420, which is being restored at the museum workshop. Geoff Allerton is coordinating a project on carriage eight-wheel radial, whatever that is—I have not seen this before. I have a list of approximately 6664 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY 9 April 2008 15 items, all of which are very important to the rail heritage and all of which are part of restoration projects coordinated by volunteers. I place on record my thanks to the Thirlmere Rail Heritage Centre for its great work and I look forward to the completion of this fantastic project in 2009. Mr JOSEPH TRIPODI (Fairfield—Minister for Small Business, Minister for Regulatory Reform, and Minister for Ports and Waterways) [10.07 a.m.]: I congratulate the member for Wollondilly on bringing the great developments occurring at the Thirlmere museum to the attention of the House. People from the local community are active participants in the volunteer workforce. As the member for Wollondilly mentioned, more than 300 people constitute the volunteer workforce. The museum has 2,000 members and every weekend there is an impressive level of general interest and activity by the public in this heritage effort. Their effort should be commended. I am sure it also provides a boost to local businesses in the area and the local community generally. It never ceases to amaze me how much interest there is in preserving this heritage and, more importantly, how the preservation of the heritage has occurred through the work of active, interested and highly motivated individuals and community members. I know that Minister Watkins has had a long interest in ensuring that progress occurs in the relocation and other investment activities. The Government expresses its support and appreciation to all the volunteers and members of the museum and wishes them the very best. GOULBURN WATER SUPPLY Ms PRU GOWARD (Goulburn) [10.08 a.m.]: The subject I bring to the attention of the House today will not be new to, or surprise, members on either side of this Chamber. It is water, and more specifically Goulburn water and the much-discussed Wingecarribee to Goulburn pipeline. Members will no doubt recall that I have raised this matter in this place on a number of occasions, first in my inaugural speech last year, then again in June, November and December. The pipeline is old news, but it needs a new commitment. The people of Goulburn endured and survived severe level 5 water restrictions in the face of the worst drought Goulburn, and indeed New South Wales, has ever known. In true country style, they took up the challenge and imposed on themselves their own methods of saving water. I have commended the people of Goulburn before in this place, and have no hesitation in doing so again. There was light at the end of the tunnel, however, in the lead-up to the State election in March 2007. Proposals were suggested by both major parties, plans were made, and the idea for the now famous Wingecarribee to Goulburn pipeline was born. There were, of course, other ideas but opponents of the proposal, who preferred a pipeline from Pejar to Sooley Dam—believing that this would result in the same economies of scale for water but with far less cost—were ignored and sadly derided. In the end, the Wingecarribee to Goulburn pipeline won the support of the Iemma Government. The Government made a commitment to providing $20 million towards the pipeline. The former Federal Government later matched that amount and, as I understand, design work began almost immediately. The Goulburn Mulwaree Council borrowed significant funds in the belief that the pipeline would be built, and it levied an immediate charge on ratepayers of $75 per household. We are not talking peanuts here. But it is desperate times and there really is no other choice for Goulburn. Goulburn ratepayers now expect to pay the special levy every year for the next 30 years, in line with inflation, as our contribution towards the pipeline. For a while Goulburn residents believed we had the solution to our water problem secured. We even started to enjoy less severe water restrictions, thanks to good summer rain, although certainly no-one I spoke to was cavalier about the use of water. Now, unfortunately, there seems to be a stalemate. There are mutterings about the new Labor Federal Government withdrawing its support for the Wingecarribee to Goulburn pipeline— and with it, its money. While the council is committed to the project and the State Government has continued its support for the $20 million, it seems that the Federal Government is having second thoughts. There is talk about the project not meeting the guidelines. The Government of New South Wales has publicly committed to its funding share of the Wingecarribee to Goulburn pipeline on a number of occasions, for which Goulburn citizens, including me, are grateful and relieved. The urgency of securing a guaranteed water supply to the city of Goulburn is well appreciated by the people of New South Wales and I do not believe this funding is begrudged by anyone. I believe there is also a public appreciation that an insecure water supply for Goulburn poses a significant economic risk not only for that city but also for the surrounding region. 9 April 2008 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY 6665 While Goulburn Mulwaree Council has received a draft funding agreement underpinning the Federal Government's $20 million pledge, Senator Penny Wong, the Federal Minister for Climate Change and Water, has not yet agreed it to. Goulburn Mulwaree Council Mayor Paul Stephenson does not see this as a problem and is convinced that the Federal Government will proceed with the joint funding. I applaud his optimism but nevertheless remain concerned. In light of this uncertainty, and on behalf of the people of Goulburn, it now falls to the Iemma State Government to do all in its power to ensure that the Federal Government signs on the dotted line.