Bitumen on the Birdsville Track

Gee Stephen I hope you're right, but I can not help but be a bit sceptical.

Our current gumby-ment has NO IDEA what is happening beyond the reaches of Gepps Cross and all it will take is a hint that a bitumen road is what the mining companies need and voila...it will happen.

Furthermore, if money is tight, Media Mike would have no hesitation in drawing funding from more essential rural services to redirect them towards his mining buddies.

After all, think of the endless possibilities..... an unused country hospital would make a really good detention centre :(

As a born and bred Whyalla boy , now living in Adelaide, it sickens me to see how narrow minded and selfish us city folk can be. I'm proud to say I was born in country SA...not so proud to say I live in Adelaide.

What this state needs is a person in tune with rural happenings that has no hesitation in calling a spade a spade and has the spine to back up their promises.....Joy Baluch has my vote.

Anyway...I'll get off my soap-box and retire to my garden (while I can still afford to water the veggies).

Fab.

Hi Fab
Well said and another vote for good old Joy, even for Prime Minister, she would soon sort them out, look what she has done for Port Augusta. If they can not look after the state of the Birdsville Track when it is dirt, it would be to me personally a very big ask to have it black top.

Good to see you are a country boy and your loyalties still lie there.

Cheers

Stephen

Remember the Stuart Highway as it was before they black topped it. The oldie roadhouses disappeared and were replaced by Mega stops. I can remember Marla Bore in 1984 Now look at it. A boring road to drive. What's next, The Anne Beadall Highway.

esarby,
Like you, I started thinking of the Anne Beadell highway.
It is so nicely isolated because they haven't spent a cent on maintenance since it was put thru. All those corrugations serve a purpose - they keep the GVD pristine, keep it nicely isolated.

Over the past 3 years, the mining exploration people have changed the landscape out there. Heaps of new tracks being put through. Its only a matter of time before the Anne Beadell Highway or the Cook road get "upgraded" and then the tourists follow. Like you say, it was like Marla Bore was before the bitumen went through.... like the Birdsville track was in 1977 when I had to gun the Corolla over sand dunes.....like the Strezlecki was before Moomba. Unfortunately these good things all seem to come to an end.

Cheers
phil

phil, as you would well know corragations are a sure sign of a major tourist route, when I was with you as soon as you got off the tourist route the corros stopped

I travel many off the tourist route tracks and they have NO corragations

What a stupid comment. I suppose you will only be happy when you can sell your now useless 4WD and camping equipment and buy a Hyundai Getz to transport you between over priced motels.

Errr wrong Rob. Who said anything about greenies, and that would have to be the first time I've ever seen greenies and tourists used in the same post with parallels drawn between them.

I have no objection to progress or roads been put in place by companies requiring quick and reliable portage' to thier work sites...but the Birdsville Track??? Surely there is a more direct, less prone to flooding route that could be used. Not to mention that the Birdsville Track passes through many rural holdings. Will these people be consulted like the good towns folk of Woodside were Re: the detention centre?

Compulsary Aquisition...... that's what will happen. This land was built on the hard work , blood sweat and tears of outback pastrolists. It's a timeless land that in perspective to European countries, has a very short history. Yet the governement of today thinks nothing about ripping up the rights of country folk like the ones at Etadunna, Clifton Hills, Pandie Pandie etc and destroying what little history we have.

Think of the indirect implications. Will this create an increase of traffic to satelite towns like Windorah, Hawker, etc? Will these towns have their infastructure upgraded to suit? I doubt it. Once the tar has been laid, it's a tick in the box and a pat on the back for the parlimenterians and that's it.

And don't get me started on Arkaroola either. So if that makes me a greenie...well, I'll live with that tag. Sure beats the hell out of being labelled an environmental vandal.

Fab.

Rob, I reckon what you've said here is harsh. Personally I don't want to stop the progress (we all know we won't anyway), but I want to enjoy my travels in the deserts as they are, as much as possible. Interesting thing you said is calling us greenies - reckon 4wdrivers are not accused of that too much but really I reckon that is accurate to a degree.

Are you a 4 wheeler, a miner or do you have some conflict of interest in commenting here?

Hi Rob
Like above, we are not Greenies, just live in SA and know the state of our State Government.

If we are now closing 3 more country hospitals because they are not going to fund them, why should the lives of the people that live in these country towns be used like pawns on a Chess Board. They were planning on closing The Parks Centre when it was leaked before making it official. The Public in Adelaide put that much outrage, that Mike Rann had to backtrack that hard and then said it was only on there list of closures and has now put it to Public Notice that it will never happen.

In reality, the only way that it happen is if it was funded by the Federal Government.

Stephen

Geez you blokes are bright!

Rob clearly finished his statement with a smiley face to show that he was having a bit of a lend of us yet you get all prissy saying it's a stupid comment and he's a bit harsh.

Hate to see your reaction if he actually said something offensive; there'd be tears before dinner.

Good point Kurd...sorry I missed that. Apologies Rob if your comment was meant in jest.

Progress and the econimic prosperity OMG are we really any better off for it all, i mean really how much is enough we have raped and pillaged this country enough so a few can get wealthier. I think our fathers and Grandfathers had just as good or better times than us and they didnt need all the fine trimmings we have today leave the outback as it is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so it can still be an outback for our children................

mullyman

I can only assume youve never been near the B T as its been traversable by a hyundai gets for a loooooong time

Sorry guys. I couldn't wrtire an upside down question mark so I just did a smiley.

R.

This cropped up again at a tourist conference in WA in the last few weeks. I think they mentioned Laverton to Winton.

but will we still need a permit to use it?

Fatso, IMHO that is a good and fair reply. I couldn't imagine any business house or landholder affected, should it become a reality, complaining about all the extra, never before seen, traffic and customers, not to mention all weather access.

It's called progress, a further opening up of this great country, and no amount of jumping up and down on our part will stop it. It is inevitable. The tourist bucks potential to be made out there by making it more accessible is enormous.

I don't necessarily like it, but unfortunately it is inevitable, whether I see it happen or my grandkids do.

If we didn't have progress, we'd all still be living around Circular Quay.

Fred.

Mr Fatso,

"Not sure if the locals will see this as a positive or not" ...that was a question and not my opinion, however I thank you for your opinion. It has been duely noted.

Where do you come from FAB72 .Well Whyalla actually, perhaps you should read my other comments on this same post.

"but also might spell the end of some of the towns and service centres along the way that benefit from the tourist trade. " Just like Highway 1 spelt the end of towns like Mambray Creek, Redhill, Snowtown and potentially Port Wakefield (if the by-pass goes ahaed).

I voiced my opinion and likewise have become educated in reading the opinions of others like yourself and Rob. This topic has certainly stirred some emotions and opinions, and as long as we acknowledge that and refrain from pesemistic comments, I think we're all in for a good debate, don't you?

Fab.

Awsome ...... i will agree on that "Fatso" ......
After all how many on this very Forum have had kids and how many did they have eh, Yep i hate it deep down but it it pretty dumb to stand up and complain as we need to improve where we live and we now live further out in what was the "bush" and those that have kids working on the mines making a killing should know that we would be screwed without it, to build that road to service a mine that brings income into the "stream" and gets up a better service in the citys then it just has to be .....
Australia is SOOOOO big, we have barly touched the outback and 1 million miles of roads could be sealed each year and we still will be able to drive in VERY remote areas, there are places the size of countrys we have not been to yet, i think we have been a little bit spoilt for to long and the country and outback towns have suffered from everything being thrown at citys and nothing spent out in the bush and that is where it is needed .......
Please build them roads, open it up to the "average" tourist and get some money back out in the bush, where after all, we started from ...... better services, better towns, better health, more people actually wanting to move back out bush ......
Or maybe i am dreaming ...
By the way, tourists have been tight as fishes bums over the last few years and getting worse, money is getting tighter and i dont blame them, if it continues most remote services will go within the next few years ..... please open it up again :-)