❓ This WA parliamentary question concerns the Minister for Transport's decision to discontinue Westrail's charter services for private tour operators, specifically Kevin Pearce Promotions, due to increased demand on the Prospector train service. The Minister defends the decision, citing financial unviability and the availability of alternative options for private operators.
AnsweredQoN 760Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
(2) Why did the current Minister for Transport subsequently allow Westrail to refuse to continue these tours? (3) Does the Government subscribe to the view that Westrail has no brief to encourage tourism? Answered on 18 October 2000 The Minister
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
18 October 2000
Response time
28 days
(1) No. However, I am aware that in a letter dated 13 November 1997 the Hon Eric Charlton informed Mr Kevin Pearce of Kevin Pearce Promotions as follows: "As I advised in my letter of 27 August, the growing demand for scheduled Prospector services may result in railcars not being available for charter purposes. However, if possible, Westrail will release a railcar during off-peak times to accommodate two tours during the latter part of 1998." (2) The Prospector train was introduced over twenty-eight years ago to provide scheduled passenger services between Perth and Kalgoorlie. Over the years it had been possible for Westrail to: (a) Accommodate large group bookings, and (b) Charter railcars to private tour operators. However, in the mid 1990's there was a steady increase in the number of passengers using the regular Prospector services resulting in a greater demand being placed on the available rollingstock. With that demand and the additional demand created by the introduction of the AvonLink service between Perth and Northam, there were no surplus railcars available for private charter. Also, it had been necessary to restrict group bookings to twenty people. At a meeting with Mr Kevin Pearce of Kevin Pearce Promotions in my office in September 1998, Mr Pearce was informed that the October 1998 tour would be the last occasion on which Westrail's rollingstock would be available to his company. This information was again provided to him in a letter from me dated 21 December 1998. (3) As stated in (2) above, the purpose of the Prospector train is to provide scheduled passenger transport services between Perth and Kalgoorlie and the Government is committed to maintaining the quality of those services. That does not mean Westrail does not have a brief to encourage tourism. Many of Westrail's services both encourage and complement tourism. As you are aware, Mr Kevin Pearce is a tour promoter. It would not be appropriate for Westrail to acquire additional rollingstock for the sole purpose of catering to the occasional needs of tour operators such as Mr Pearce. From Westrail's previous experiences, the return from charter rates would fall far short of the actual cost of acquiring and operating that rollingstock. The cost to the State would result in taxpayers heavily subsidising (most likely to be in the region of hundreds of thousands of dollars each year) private enterprise tourist operators such as Mr Pearce, which, I am sure the Member for Armadale will agree, would be unacceptable. For the information of the Member, legislation was passed in the Parliament in late 1996 which will allow a third party tourist operator, such as Kevin Pearce Promotions, to operate its own train services using its own rollingstock and crews. Under this arrangement the operator would be required to pay a track access fee. This is an option available to Kevin Pearce Promotions, but one which the Company appears to not favour.
(3) Does the Government subscribe to the view that Westrail has no brief to encourage tourism? Answered on 18 October 2000 The Minister Replied: (1) No. However, I am aware that in a letter dated 13 November 1997 the Hon Eric Charlton informed Mr Kevin Pearce of Kevin Pearce Promotions as follows: "As I advised in my letter of 27 August, the growing demand for scheduled Prospector services may result in railcars not being available for charter purposes. However, if possible, Westrail will release a railcar during off-peak times to accommodate two tours during the latter part of 1998." (2) The Prospector train was introduced over twenty-eight years ago to provide scheduled passenger services between Perth and Kalgoorlie. Over the years it had been possible for Westrail to: (a) Accommodate large group bookings, and (b) Charter railcars to private tour operators. However, in the mid 1990's there was a steady increase in the number of passengers using the regular Prospector services resulting in a greater demand being placed on the available rollingstock. With that demand and the additional demand created by the introduction of the AvonLink service between Perth and Northam, there were no surplus railcars available for private charter. Also, it had been necessary to restrict group bookings to twenty people. At a meeting with Mr Kevin Pearce of Kevin Pearce Promotions in my office in September 1998, Mr Pearce was informed that the October 1998 tour would be the last occasion on which Westrail's rollingstock would be available to his company. This information was again provided to him in a letter from me dated 21 December 1998. (3) As stated in (2) above, the purpose of the Prospector train is to provide scheduled passenger transport services between Perth and Kalgoorlie and the Government is committed to maintaining the quality of those services. That does not mean Westrail does not have a brief to encourage tourism. Many of Westrail's services both encourage and complement tourism. As you are aware, Mr Kevin Pearce is a tour promoter. It would not be appropriate for Westrail to acquire additional rollingstock for the sole purpose of catering to the occasional needs of tour operators such as Mr Pearce. From Westrail's previous experiences, the return from charter rates would fall far short of the actual cost of acquiring and operating that rollingstock. The cost to the State would result in taxpayers heavily subsidising (most likely to be in the region of hundreds of thousands of dollars each year) private enterprise tourist operators such as Mr Pearce, which, I am sure the Member for Armadale will agree, would be unacceptable. For the information of the Member, legislation was passed in the Parliament in late 1996 which will allow a third party tourist operator, such as Kevin Pearce Promotions, to operate its own train services using its own rollingstock and crews. Under this arrangement the operator would be required to pay a track access fee. This is an option available to Kevin Pearce Promotions, but one which the Company appears to not favour.
Answered on 18 October 2000 The Minister Replied: (1) No. However, I am aware that in a letter dated 13 November 1997 the Hon Eric Charlton informed Mr Kevin Pearce of Kevin Pearce Promotions as follows: "As I advised in my letter of 27 August, the growing demand for scheduled Prospector services may result in railcars not being available for charter purposes. However, if possible, Westrail will release a railcar during off-peak times to accommodate two tours during the latter part of 1998." (2) The Prospector train was introduced over twenty-eight years ago to provide scheduled passenger services between Perth and Kalgoorlie. Over the years it had been possible for Westrail to: (a) Accommodate large group bookings, and (b) Charter railcars to private tour operators. However, in the mid 1990's there was a steady increase in the number of passengers using the regular Prospector services resulting in a greater demand being placed on the available rollingstock. With that demand and the additional demand created by the introduction of the AvonLink service between Perth and Northam, there were no surplus railcars available for private charter. Also, it had been necessary to restrict group bookings to twenty people. At a meeting with Mr Kevin Pearce of Kevin Pearce Promotions in my office in September 1998, Mr Pearce was informed that the October 1998 tour would be the last occasion on which Westrail's rollingstock would be available to his company. This information was again provided to him in a letter from me dated 21 December 1998. (3) As stated in (2) above, the purpose of the Prospector train is to provide scheduled passenger transport services between Perth and Kalgoorlie and the Government is committed to maintaining the quality of those services. That does not mean Westrail does not have a brief to encourage tourism. Many of Westrail's services both encourage and complement tourism. As you are aware, Mr Kevin Pearce is a tour promoter. It would not be appropriate for Westrail to acquire additional rollingstock for the sole purpose of catering to the occasional needs of tour operators such as Mr Pearce. From Westrail's previous experiences, the return from charter rates would fall far short of the actual cost of acquiring and operating that rollingstock. The cost to the State would result in taxpayers heavily subsidising (most likely to be in the region of hundreds of thousands of dollars each year) private enterprise tourist operators such as Mr Pearce, which, I am sure the Member for Armadale will agree, would be unacceptable. For the information of the Member, legislation was passed in the Parliament in late 1996 which will allow a third party tourist operator, such as Kevin Pearce Promotions, to operate its own train services using its own rollingstock and crews. Under this arrangement the operator would be required to pay a track access fee. This is an option available to Kevin Pearce Promotions, but one which the Company appears to not favour.
(3) Does the Government subscribe to the view that Westrail has no brief to encourage tourism? Answered on 18 October 2000 The Minister Replied: (1) No. However, I am aware that in a letter dated 13 November 1997 the Hon Eric Charlton informed Mr Kevin Pearce of Kevin Pearce Promotions as follows: "As I advised in my letter of 27 August, the growing demand for scheduled Prospector services may result in railcars not being available for charter purposes. However, if possible, Westrail will release a railcar during off-peak times to accommodate two tours during the latter part of 1998." (2) The Prospector train was introduced over twenty-eight years ago to provide scheduled passenger services between Perth and Kalgoorlie. Over the years it had been possible for Westrail to: (a) Accommodate large group bookings, and (b) Charter railcars to private tour operators. However, in the mid 1990's there was a steady increase in the number of passengers using the regular Prospector services resulting in a greater demand being placed on the available rollingstock. With that demand and the additional demand created by the introduction of the AvonLink service between Perth and Northam, there were no surplus railcars available for private charter. Also, it had been necessary to restrict group bookings to twenty people. At a meeting with Mr Kevin Pearce of Kevin Pearce Promotions in my office in September 1998, Mr Pearce was informed that the October 1998 tour would be the last occasion on which Westrail's rollingstock would be available to his company. This information was again provided to him in a letter from me dated 21 December 1998. (3) As stated in (2) above, the purpose of the Prospector train is to provide scheduled passenger transport services between Perth and Kalgoorlie and the Government is committed to maintaining the quality of those services. That does not mean Westrail does not have a brief to encourage tourism. Many of Westrail's services both encourage and complement tourism. As you are aware, Mr Kevin Pearce is a tour promoter. It would not be appropriate for Westrail to acquire additional rollingstock for the sole purpose of catering to the occasional needs of tour operators such as Mr Pearce. From Westrail's previous experiences, the return from charter rates would fall far short of the actual cost of acquiring and operating that rollingstock. The cost to the State would result in taxpayers heavily subsidising (most likely to be in the region of hundreds of thousands of dollars each year) private enterprise tourist operators such as Mr Pearce, which, I am sure the Member for Armadale will agree, would be unacceptable. For the information of the Member, legislation was passed in the Parliament in late 1996 which will allow a third party tourist operator, such as Kevin Pearce Promotions, to operate its own train services using its own rollingstock and crews. Under this arrangement the operator would be required to pay a track access fee. This is an option available to Kevin Pearce Promotions, but one which the Company appears to not favour.
Answered on 18 October 2000 The Minister Replied: (1) No. However, I am aware that in a letter dated 13 November 1997 the Hon Eric Charlton informed Mr Kevin Pearce of Kevin Pearce Promotions as follows: "As I advised in my letter of 27 August, the growing demand for scheduled Prospector services may result in railcars not being available for charter purposes. However, if possible, Westrail will release a railcar during off-peak times to accommodate two tours during the latter part of 1998." (2) The Prospector train was introduced over twenty-eight years ago to provide scheduled passenger services between Perth and Kalgoorlie. Over the years it had been possible for Westrail to: (a) Accommodate large group bookings, and (b) Charter railcars to private tour operators. However, in the mid 1990's there was a steady increase in the number of passengers using the regular Prospector services resulting in a greater demand being placed on the available rollingstock. With that demand and the additional demand created by the introduction of the AvonLink service between Perth and Northam, there were no surplus railcars available for private charter. Also, it had been necessary to restrict group bookings to twenty people. At a meeting with Mr Kevin Pearce of Kevin Pearce Promotions in my office in September 1998, Mr Pearce was informed that the October 1998 tour would be the last occasion on which Westrail's rollingstock would be available to his company. This information was again provided to him in a letter from me dated 21 December 1998. (3) As stated in (2) above, the purpose of the Prospector train is to provide scheduled passenger transport services between Perth and Kalgoorlie and the Government is committed to maintaining the quality of those services. That does not mean Westrail does not have a brief to encourage tourism. Many of Westrail's services both encourage and complement tourism. As you are aware, Mr Kevin Pearce is a tour promoter. It would not be appropriate for Westrail to acquire additional rollingstock for the sole purpose of catering to the occasional needs of tour operators such as Mr Pearce. From Westrail's previous experiences, the return from charter rates would fall far short of the actual cost of acquiring and operating that rollingstock. The cost to the State would result in taxpayers heavily subsidising (most likely to be in the region of hundreds of thousands of dollars each year) private enterprise tourist operators such as Mr Pearce, which, I am sure the Member for Armadale will agree, would be unacceptable. For the information of the Member, legislation was passed in the Parliament in late 1996 which will allow a third party tourist operator, such as Kevin Pearce Promotions, to operate its own train services using its own rollingstock and crews. Under this arrangement the operator would be required to pay a track access fee. This is an option available to Kevin Pearce Promotions, but one which the Company appears to not favour.
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