THE Queensland infrastructure crisis has reached a new low, with Queensland Resources Council (QRC) chief executive Michael Roche announcing “new wave of industry activism” at an Australian Rail Summit in Sydney.
“Resource companies should not be hamstrung by their logistics suppliers,” he said.
“It is no longer acceptable for rail companies to be havens for engineers who dabble in the business side of operations as a second order of activity.
“There is embarrassment and major financial penalties for service users when infrastructure providers cannot manage to deliver contracted capacity.”
Roche’s comments have damaged the QRC’s already fragile relationship with Queensland Rail (QR).
“Queensland Rail is disappointed with some comments made by Michael Roche because QR and industry partners were midway through the independent review of the Goonyella Coal Supply Chain,” a QR spokesman told Australian Mining.
“QR has always accepted that we could have performed better, but like all industry players the size and scope of global demand for coal was not forecast,” the spokesperson said.
Rio Tinto boss Tom Albanese said Rio’s expansion plans would be directed offshore if the Queensland Government did not provide vital infrastructure.