Albanese say he didn’t make train comments

Albanese say he didn’t make train comments

AAPMarch 20, 2013, 8:01 pm

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Federal Transport Minister Anthony Albanese says he did not say pollution from coal trains is not significantly higher than from passenger trains.

An AAP story published on Saturday said Mr Albanese and a spokesman said the level of particulate matter emitted by coal trains was not statistically significantly different to passenger trains.

Those comments came from an Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) 2012 report, Mr Albanese told parliament on Wednesday.

“I made no such statement nor did my spokesperson,” he said in parliament.

“The quotes that are attributed to me in the article are in fact from the ARTC report, not from myself.”

The ARTC is an independent corporate entity responsible for managing more than 8500km of rail track around the country.

Mr Albanese said he did not want to comment on a statement made by Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon on Saturday.

“I make it a policy to not respond to all of Lee Rhiannon’s obsessive comments about me because I have a real job to do,” he told parliament.

“But with regard to this, I did not make a statement, any such statement.

“My spokesperson made no statement whatsoever to AAP.”

An AAP reporter did speak to Mr Albanese’s spokesman on Saturday. But the coal dust comment was mistakenly attributed to Mr Albanese instead of the ARTC report.
A correction has since been issued.

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