What is it with these rednecks from over the range?

The Daily Examiner on the 5^th March 2012 ran with this:

“A PROPOSED two-way railway line from Moree to Yamba could ease the bottleneck experienced by coal exporters in north-west NSW, its proponents say.

Preliminary plans are afoot to build a two-way double-height railway line from Moree to Goodwood Island to speed the export of coal from the Gunnedah coal basin and overcome the congestion in the state's two major coal ports - Port Kembla and Newcastle.

According to one proponent, Inverell Shire councillor and civil engineer David Jones, it would require a 12m deep channel to be dredged from the river mouth at Yamba to a fully redeveloped Goodwood Island about 5km upriver.

The channel is around 4m deep at low tide.

The total cost of the ambitious project is estimated at $6 billion.

Though the proposal is in its infancy and has been touted and dismissed in the past, funding ($1-$2 million) is being sought by the northern inland committee of Regional Development Australia (RDA, NINSW) to complete a feasibility study on the idea.

It is being championed by RDA, NINSW chairman Mal Peters, who is also the head of the newly established Regional Institute, a former NSW Farmers president and mayor of Inverell…”

A 12m deep dredge field all the way up to Goodwood Island? In one of the best family tourism and fishing areas on the NSW North Coast? 
It's a safe bet that the Yaegl community won't be too impressed with this plan either as the Dirrangun Reef spiritual site is smack bang in the firing line.

What is it with these New England rednecks? First they want to steal our fresh water and now they want to permanently wreck the lower Clarence River.

Fair dinkum – it’s enough to make a bloke chunder!

I agree with Clarence Valley Mayor Richie Williamson - "In the words of Darryl Kerrigan (in The Castle), 'tell 'em they're dreaming' - it's not going to happen".