Beth Shelley, Booerie Creek
Last week the NSW parliament passed a Bill to close sections of the Casino to Murwillumbah railway line for a rail trail, which is a huge loss to the Northern Rivers.
We have been consistently told, for years, that we don’t have the population to cover the cost of repair to our railway line. Although public transport doesn’t pay for itself in Sydney.
Rural and regional areas have low populations because the land is needed in order to grow food. It is unfair to expect people to live in rural areas without the same access to services as the city. For decades we’ve seen the loss of government departments and services [to rural and regional areas].
Ross Gittins ([ITAL]SMH, No ‘bang for buck’, Budget is big on political correctness, weak on job creation) says that the best way to stimulate the economy is with direct spending on locally made goods and services and infrastructure. Liberal governments prefer user pays systems supporting big companies and shareholders. ‘Money you transfer to a firm or individual may be saved rather than spent’ so therefore it’s not stimulating the economy.
Our community misses out on services, the economy gets weaker, and the rich get richer. In future we need to vote against politicians who want to take away our services. The parliament has closed the Casino to Bentley section and the Murwillumbah to Crabbes Creek section. Now it’s up to Richmond Valley and Tweed councils to decide whether to rip up the railway tracks or put the rail trail beside the track. Let’s tell them what we want. Keep the railway track for the future.
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. 
