URBAN RAIL’S GROWING SIGNIFICANCE

摘要

Tony Abbott has created a new phrase that wonderfully describes a political tradition or paradigm: 'not in our knitting'. 'We have no history of funding urban rail and I think it's important that we stick to our knitting,' the Federal Opposition Leader declared. 'And the Commonwealth's knitting when it comes to funding infrastructure is roads.' The Commonwealth of Australia was born out of a rail issue: Western Australia was brought into the Federation on the proviso that the Trans Continental Railway was built to Perth. The Australian Constitution mentions rail but not roads. Post-war the Commonwealth set up a national highway program, as did the US, in response to a perceived security need. This is where the 'knitting' became roads-based, and it was all outside cities. In recent years this has become blurred as first urban roads and then urban rail became part of the Federal knitting.