It is not a lie that Tweed Shire Council (TSC) pushed through the rail trail on the railway formation, pulling up the tracks, while they could have taken the cheaper option, according to initial projections by contractors Hazell Bros, of building it off formation to the side, giving us a chance to reinstate rail services.
The council was told by John Barilaro that the tracks must be pulled up otherwise they wouldn’t get their funding! This was not true either and councillors had been earlier assured that either option would gain the funds.
Also, in their application for funding TSC committed to speaking with 70,000 residents at all the local markets as part of the agreement. This was never done, and former mayor Katie Milne stated that in her five years as mayor she had never seen any real community consultation. One day, 40 hand-picked people were personally invited to a meeting, out of the 90,000 residents who were never asked! A majority of councillors voted to not pursue community consultation.
Our Casino-Murwillumbah railway, before the Rail Trail Bill was introduced in October 2020, was one of the most protected lines and could not have been sold off, but the legislation has thrown that into question.
The Echo kindly publishing my letter shows balance, on behalf of so many people who would rather have a regular train service with a bike trail beside it.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
