POPULAR WORDS

A rail/road taskforce established by the New South Wales Farmers' Association will look at long term planning for the state's transport system. President Mal Peters says the recent sale of Freightcorp and the $1.2 billion spent on upgrading rail in the next five years means transport is a key issue for the agricultural sector. The taskforce, which will be headed by former National Party leader Ian Sinclair, will work to ensure money is spent on infrastructure to help growers, local communities and industry. "The key issues for the taskforce to investigate are the current state of the road and rail system, possible changes in grains handling and transport systems over the next 5 years, and the likely impact of these changes on rural communities," Peters says. "It's essential that growers and the wider community understand the potential impacts of any changes, and we want to encourage local involvement and debate." The taskforce, which will include three growers' representatives and two NSWFA representatives, will release an issues paper in October to develop into policies.