Call for Launceston councillors to put a stop to North East Rail Trail development

The rail trail has been an eight year battle over what to do with the trail since a proposal was brought to Dorset Council in 2014.

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The petition, which had just over 500 signatures, had six speakers from the public - including a councillor from another municipality.

The petition called on Launceston councillors to urge the mayor and councillors of Dorset Council to cease and desist from all plans and activities leading to the destruction of the integrity of the North East Rail Line

Speakers spoke of the dangers of the contamination over the sleepers - which are the large beams that support the rails of a railway track.

The first speaker, Wayne Venn, spoke about the water and contamination from his own experience. He worked on the maintenance team and has 30 years experience in the rail industry.

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Mr Venn worked on the trail, he said, when the workers had worked on the tunnel near Lilydale and Lebrina, it poisoned the water to Lilydale which took two years to clear - the railway carted water to the Lilydale community.

"We also stacked sleepers besides a tree near the Don River for three weeks, within two years the blackwood tree was dead and the tree was about half a metre wide," he said.

Mr Venn said he had needed about 300 "skin blemishes" burnt off.

"After we had been adding sleepers for a few years, they issued us protecting clothing," he said.

"They took that protective clothing away each week and gave us fresh clothing."

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Mr Venn said out of the four workers who worked at the Longford kiln where the sleepers were treated with creosote, within 15 years only one was still alive.

The disused rail corridor runs for more than 80 kilometres from Launceston to Scottsdale.

President of North East Residents and Farmers Tasmania Stuart Bryce said it "strongly oppose any change to the railway line except for trains."

He said new evidence showed "it's a desperate situation to even think about bringing that railway up."

Wendy McLennan is a sitting Dorset councillor and chair of the North East Railway Group, but said she was speaking at the meeting in her own capacity.

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She said everyone who signed the petition have expressed "major concerns about the proposed conversion of the railway".

"All railways are contaminated," she said.

"Major issues of environmental concerns have emerged during the appeal against the Dorset Council proposal.

"If the rail is left in the place the residues remain undisturbed."

She said samples found the removal and crushing of the ballast will release toxic poison, including possibly heavy metal arsenic, into the environment which could impact water, farming land and human health.

Launceston councillors accepted the petition and will wait on an officer's report within 42 days.

Any removal of rail trails must have the approval of Infrastructure Minister Michael Ferguson.

Dorset Council has put a planning application to City of Launceston council about a 14 kilometre bike trail between Wyena and Scottsdale.

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