Airport needs a rail link to stay on track

So I want to use this column to think aloud about how to solve an increasing problem in Victoria: getting to Melbourne Airport without increasingly costly and time-consuming delays. 

How often have we heard calls from travellers and industryFind a great selection of customkeychain deals. for the state government to build a railway to the airport? 

Such calls were made before, during and since my term in government. My government and others resisted such calls because such a rail line won't be profitable and will have to be subsidised by governments, that is to say by taxpayers, for years. 

But the delays are getting worse by the year and that must change. All people travelling to the airport are, after all, clients of the airport. 

Melbourne and Launceston airports were acquired from the federal government, which owns the land on which airports operate in Australia, in July 1997 by Australian Pacific Airports (Melbourne) Pty Ltd, known as APAM. 

APAM paid the Commonwealth government $1.3bn for a 50-year lease with an option for a further 49 years. In short, APAM has bought the operating rights to Melbourne Airport's 2369 hectares of land until 2096 for, averaged out, $13.13m a year. 

I think I am correct in saying the five businesses that make up the ownership of APAM are AMP with 25 per cent equity,A group of families in a north Cork village are suing a bestplasticcard operator in a landmark case. Industry Funds Management 20.7 per cent, Hastings Funds Management 20 per cent, Deutsche Asset Management 17.5 per cent and our own Future Fund with 16.8 per cent. 

All are massive organisations with almost unlimited capacity and access to raising the funds to construct and operate a rail link from the city to their airport. 

Why should the taxpayer pay for an asset that is designed to benefit a consortium that is already doing very well from its investment in 1997? 

Let me say here, I consider the airport very well run, with one glaring exception: getting to and from the site. That situation will only deteriorate in the years to come. 

The owners have spent a lot of money increasing the profitable long-term car parking facilities, they have substantially increased the cost of short-term car parking, the retail sector inside the terminal has improved, but the rents the retail operators pay have risen. 

Of course, there have been other improvements that have cost APAM to make our experience once in the airport more efficient. But outside it is a disaster. 

If it refuses to do that, commit to the engineering design now and build a simple method by which customers can approach, alight and leave the airport efficiently. And do it now. 

When I say APAM should work with the Government as partners, what I mean is the Government should do all it can to assist APAM with a capital works program, but in particular the rail line to the airport. The project should be given Major Projects status, with a dedicated but small government team to help APAM deliver what the community needs. 

It should help identify the land required and cause the necessary permits to be given quickly, it should help with any other challenges such a project might encounter, such as connecting the line to our already established rail system. 

BUT government should not be providing the finance for the project. Our Future Fund could alone fund such a rail link without blinking an eye and get a reasonable return over the next 83 years they have on the head agreement to operate Melbourne Airport. 

Now, I do not mind the private sector making a reasonable profit,Find a great selection of customkeychain deals. and certainly APAM is delivering a better airport than was being delivered to us by the government, but a $14bn profit when part of the infrastructure is simply not working? And when that infrastructure is a virtual monopoly? No sir. 

So what happens if the board and management of APAM ignore my advice, as the Prime Minister did last week? 

If I had any influence in this state and was not just an ageing pensioner, I would call the chairman and CEO of APAM into my office and tell them of my desire that they address the inconvenience their customers and clients are facing and invite them to work with the Government to build the rail link. 

If after consideration APAM declined to act on my concerns, I would start working with our federal colleagues, who still own the land, and have a look at the contract with APAM to see what "encouragement" we might collectively provide that might change the views of the board. 

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