The Western Australian Farmers Federation (Inc.) (WAFarmers) welcomes Premier Colin Barnett’s and the State Government’s application for Infrastructure Australia funding for Western Australia’s Grain Freight Network; a piece of critical infrastructure underpinning the State’s $4 billion grains industry.

WAFarmers President, Mike Norton, said the State Government’s acknowledgement of the importance of the Grain Freight Network was positive.

“WAFarmers is now calling on the Federal Government, through Infrastructure Australia, to support this request for funding,” said Mr Norton.

“The State’s grain rail and road network is in urgent need of significant investment, as identified by the Strategic Grain Network Committee.

“It is absolutely essential that some of the investment into the State’s Grain Freight Network comes from the Federal Government in a timely manner, to give confidence to key industry stakeholders and growers.

“The industry is facing extremely tight timelines over the future use of the grain freight network, which means the Federal Government’s response to funding needs to be swift and meaningful,” concluded Mr Norton.

The Grain Freight Network is one of seven priorities identified by the State Government, according to Premier Colin Barnett’s Brief Ministerial Statement released November 18, 2009.