New Australia

Rails Not Roads

NewAustralia supports a big shift in funding from roads to various mass transport systems. We also support shifting car subsidies to plug-in hybrid car production.

The NewAustralia Transport Plan

• Upgrade the Rail Network: Major improvements to the existing network.
• Extend the Rail Network: Major new extensions to the rail network in both urban and regional Australia.
• High Capacity Monorails: Roll out high capacity monorail systems in congested urban areas as a cost- effective alternative to rail subways.

• More Bike Paths: Increase funding of bicycle tracks and lanes.
• Tax Reform: Tax changes to remove incentives for driving (E.g. FBT vehicle tax breaks).
• No Rego: Replace flat vehicle 'rego' fees (~$570 in Victoria) with congestion charges.
• Ticketless Public Transport: See below.
• Gauge Conversion: Gradually converting mainland broad and narrow gauge rail lines to standard gauge to enable seamless transport of freight by rail.
• Overnight Sleeper Trains between the mainland capitals as an alternative to air transport.

This plan can be funded by cutting back the billions of dollars spent annually on new roads.

Ticketless Public Transport

Imagine being able to stroll on and off of public transport without having to worry about tickets! No barriers, no ticket police, no queues for ticket machines - just turn up and get on board.

Fare collection systems such as the proposed "Myki" system in Victoria cost about a billions to implement and maintain. By contrast adding a small surcharge to land tax or council rates costs nothing. This makes public transport far easier to use and frees up staff to assist passengers and improve security. In Melbourne public transport revenue could be replaced by adding an average of $3.00 per week to council rates. The actual amount paid would depend on property value and proximity to public transport. (See the "Ticketless Public Transport" page in Schedule.XLS.)

Governance

We recommend that all control of Transport matters be granted to the Federal government. (Other responsibilities such as Health, Education should go to the States)

This allows for:

• National drivers licences and vehicle registration.
• A national 'no fault' vehicle injury compensation scheme, possibly modelled on the TAC scheme in Victoria
• A national rail network operating on standard gauge - at least for the mainland.

The Monorail Alternative

The NewAustralia submission to the Victorian East - West Transport Needs Assessment enquiry.