Senate Inquiry into the investment of Commonwealth and State funds in public passenger transport infrastructure and services

Terms of reference

On 4 December 2008 the Senate referred the following matter to the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee for inquiry and report by 18 June 2009:

The investment of Commonwealth and State funds in public passenger transport infrastructure and services, with reference to the August 2005 report of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Environment and Heritage, Sustainable Cities, and the February 2007 report of the Senate Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee, Australia's future oil supply and alternative transport fuels, including:

an audit of the state of public passenger transport in Australia;

current and historical levels of public investment in private vehicle and public passenger transport services and infrastructure;

an assessment of the benefits of public passenger transport, including integration with bicycle and pedestrian initiatives;

measures by which the Commonwealth Government could facilitate improvement in public passenger transport services and infrastructure;

the role of Commonwealth Government legislation, taxation, subsidies, policies and other mechanisms that either discourage or encourage public passenger transport; and

best practice international examples of public passenger transport services and infrastructure.

The inquiry will be advertised in the Australian on 17 December 2008 and the committee has invited submissions by Friday 27 February 2009. No dates for hearings have been set as yet.

The Secretary
Senate Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

The Committee prefers to receive submissions electronically as an attached document - email: rrat.sen@aph.gov.au

Submissions become Committee documents and are made public only after a decision by the Committee. Once submissions are authorised for publication by the committee, they are posted on the committee's website and become public documents. Please ensure that any submissions or attachments you wish to remain confidential are clearly marked as such and contact the secretariat if you require further advice.

Persons making submissions must not release them without the approval of the Committee. Submissions are covered by parliamentary privilege but the unauthorised release of them is not.

Following consideration of submissions, the Committee is proposing to hold a public hearings. The Committee will consider all submissions and may invite individuals and organisations to give evidence at the public hearings.

Inquiries from hearing and speech impaired people should be directed to the Parliament House TTY number (02) 6277 7799. Adobe also provides tools for the blind and visually impaired to access PDF documents. These tools are available at: http://access.adobe.com/. If you require any special arrangements in order to enable you to participate in a committee inquiry, please contact the committee secretary.

For further information, contact:

Committee Secretary
Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee
Department of the Senate
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
AustraliaPhone: +61 2 6277 3511
Fax: +61 2 6277 5811
Email: rrat.sen@aph.gov.au