When the railway first came to Wagga it ran through paddocks at the southern end of the village, in farmland with few dwellings nearby. The village was to the north.
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If the current argument regarding a bypass was being discussed 40-odd years ago, proponents might have said "...take it five kilometres south of the Bourkelands farm" - of course that's now all residential acreages.
Or they might have said ...."take it north near the Agricultural College" - again now the middle of suburbia!
So how far out do you go? Perhaps to the Gregadoo hills with tunnels, bridges and cuttings and how many farms would be bisected requiring level crossings for access.
Would the current railway station become redundant meaning a road trip to the new one. Would any new route encounter sensitive cultural sites?
Apparently the expected delays at the two level crossings will be approximately two minutes - less than it often takes to negotiate the Gobba Bridge now and a lot less than it will take in 2027.
The emergency services, tradies, school transport etc. seem to cope with the existing crossing delays, so I'm sure they will manage the future ones. Anyway a good local member might be able to arrange government funding if an underpass becomes necessary for the showground crossing.
Strangely, I haven't heard any mention from proponents about bypassing Culcairn, Henty, The Rock or Junee all of which are divided by the railway via level crossings also having to be negotiated by emergency services etc.
Finally, Wagga (and the whole region) has attained a massive economic advantage in the intermodal hub being developed at Bomen, the future benefits of which I'm sure most residents don't appreciate. Of course it has only been made possible by the inland rail.
Get behind the project, look at the benefits and not be so negative.
G Parker, Wagga
SPEAKING OUT ON SITTING IN
I would hope Jenny McKinnon, and I assume her Greens associates call for a ceasefire in Palestine and public Friday sit-ins, is a public condemnation of Hamas for the barbaric, inhumane acts committed against the Israeli's on October 7.
This should also include the immediate release of all Israeli hostages. Cr McKinnon and the Greens should also call for the Hamas leaders and participants of the Oct 7 declaration of war be handed over to the international criminal legal system.
Hamas murdered, raped, tortured innocent men, women and children.
These are indefensible barbaric acts by people I find hard to consider human.
This was a declaration of war against Israel by the elected Palestinian government, which is Hamas.
There had been a long standing cease fire and it was Hamas that broke the existing cease fire.
These people such as Cr McKinnon need to face the facts, and desist in this disgusting redirection of the actions of who is really responsible for the current situation in Gaza.
If Cr McKinnon, the Greens and other sympathisers are serious about a cease fire to free Palestinian people, they need to free the Palestinians from Hamas, not Israel.
Paul Funnell, Collingullie
HOPES FOR THE SYSTEM
Keeping Australians safe?
It is interesting to see Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil following the latest trend, i.e. focusing on an issue rather than answering the question.
She says that keeping Australians safe from danger is their primary focus, and they have implemented systems to ensure this.
The federal government then proceeds to release rapists, murderers and paedophiles loose into the community. Perhaps this is to test if their in-place systems are working.
Norman Alexander, Wagga
CONSTANTLY LEARNING
My perception is that the people of Australia are now far better informed concerning the terrible dangers attributable to human induced climate change, than they were only a few years ago.
The lack of action being taken by the federal government concerning the climate, particularly in relation to corporations burning large quantities of fossil fuels to create energy which is a prime cause of human induced climate change, is becoming very obvious and I am quite certain is of great concern to many Australians.
Brian Measday, Kingswood
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