“Don’t rob Byron of future rail”

The Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) NSW has voiced strong concerns over the potential exclusion of future rail services in the Northern Rivers region, particularly in Byron, as local mayoral candidates outline their positions on the region’s rail and rail trail future. The RTBU is urging the community and candidates to keep the door open for accessible and affordable rail transport, which they argue should not be sacrifced in favour of rail trails.

Key Points:

• Future Rail Options: The RTBU, led by NSW Secretary Toby Warnes, stresses that any development of rail trails should not rule out the possibility of reinstating rail services in the future.

• Criticism of Mayoral Candidate: The union has expressed disappointment with the stance of a

Labor-aligned mayoral candidate who appears to be against the idea of reintroducing rail in the Northern Rivers region.

• Coexistence of Rail and Trails: The union believes that rail services and rail trails can coexist, benefting both transportation and recreational needs without compromising future public transport options.

• Environmental Considerations: Rail is highlighted as the cleanest and greenest public transport option, and the union argues that excluding rail would be counterproductive to environmental goals.

• NSW Labor’s Commitment: The RTBU successfully pushed for a motion at the ALP State Conference, which was adopted, committing NSW Labor to exploring the reopening of closed rail lines and expanding rail services in regional NSW.

• Union’s Stance:

The RTBU fnds it contradictory for a Labor candidate to oppose rail expansion, which is now a policy focus for NSW Labor. The union plans to advocate for the ALP Government to follow through on its commitment to regional rail development.

The RTBU’s message is clear: the region should not be “robbed” of the opportunity to beneft from future rail services, and any current decisions should keep these options open for the beneft of the community and the environment.

What do you think?.....

by Nigel Dawe

ACCORDING to science, our brains contain about 100 billion neurons (or in layperson’s terms, they are the tiny things that help us to think).

Which is about the same number of stars as there are in the Milky Way; but unlike the stars, which shine in different parts of the sky, each of our neurons are connected to hundreds, even thousands of other neurons, enabling us to think as broadly, albeit as ‘profoundly’ as we do.

If that gleaming morsel of grey matter fact wasn’t breath-taking enough, then how’s the one about our brains actually being able to send signals throughout itself at the same speed as Formula 1 cars (or around 360 km/hr)!

Which gives a whole new level of discredit to the notion that anyone could ever be considered in any way, a ‘slow thinker’.

So, if the internal makeup of our brains are much more alike than not, what is it that distinguishes the outright smart from the outright silly amongst us? Surely, it’s more than just a case of diet or environmental conditions, simple exposure and experiential differentiation. The answer – pure and simple, if I were to spend the first 25 years of my life looking at a blank wall when I wasn’t otherwise arguing with my neighbours, compared to someone who read one book a day and thought deeply about the world; then whose grey matter and thinking patterns do you think would be more refined?

It’s interesting, when you start to look at definitions of what