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The Lonie Report

Victorian Transport Study 1980

In June 1979, the Minister of Transport in the Liberal/National Party coalition, Mr. R. Maclellan, appointed former B.H.P. Coal General Manager, Mr. M. Lonie, to study all freight and passenger transport within Victoria, and to and from Victoria, in order to produce a co-ordinated transport system capable of meeting the needs of all residents in Victoria. The report was tabled in parliament on 26-9-1980 and dramatically changed the face of Victorian transport over the next decade and more.

The report was quickly labelled a "disaster for country Victoria" by country politicians including the Members for North-Western Province Mr. B. Dunn and Mr. K. Wright.

Both Minister Maclellan and Mr. Lonie were clearly advocates in favour of the motor car and other forms of road transport and not public transport advocates. The report was clearly biased at giving the government an opportunity to avoid committing the huge investment required to bring public transport up to the standard the public expected.

There were 27 separate Study Reports, but overall the report created great controversy, were widely criticised by the media and politicians sensitive to any cut backs proposed in their electorate. The reports were criticised for their superficial approach.

This history is not intended to discuss in detail the far-reaching study, but rather to show some points made in the report in passenger services that ultimately had a direct bearing on the future blueprint for mallee railway and transport services. Whilst most of the Lonie Report recommendations were not directly implemented, they were implemented by opportunistic stealth in an underhand manner influenced by the political climate of the time. Points from the Lonie Report on non-metropolitan passenger services:

* Since 1959 country and interstate Vicrail passenger journeys fell from 4.87 million to 4.07 million in 1978/79 or by 16%;

* Of the country journeys in 1978/79, 150,000 were on a contracted bus service or 4%;

* Between 1973 and 1980 country rail fares increased by an average of 42%. Further increases of 25% were introduced in August 1980;

The Study recommended:

* The introduction of road coach services throughout Victoria as the principal passenger services to meet the needs of country residents in the State, as soon as possible;

* The staged and co-ordinated elimination of the rail passenger transport services offered by the Victorian Railways Board to ensure that all country passenger services will transfer to road coach services within three years;

* That the Victorian Railways Board produce a planned scheme to cater for the inevitable reduction in the numbers of people employed by the Board as a result of declining patronage, and the changes likely to eventuate as a result of the substitution of road based services.

Ultimate outcomes that were recommended in the Lonie Report:

* Closure of the Redcliffs to Meringur branch line - now seen as a bad decision in the light of modern grain handling and train operation economies;

* Introduction of major sub-terminals for receipt of grain and block train movements of modern high capacity bogie wagons;

* Cessation of the Melbourne to Mildura passenger train service. A massive political error which ultimately was a principal contributing factor in the demise of the Kennett-led coalition government in 1999.