The joint Goulburn Mulwaree and Upper Lachlan Shire plan won plaudits when a funding submission was handed to government in November.

But high hopes of success were dashed last week. State regional tourism minister John Barilaro announced $50 million for two rail trail pilot projects - the disused Casino to Murwillumbah in the Northern Rivers and the Rosewood to Tumbarumba rail corridors.

Cr Kirk is not impressed.

“Despite all the promises and all the insinuations on how the rail trail program would be assessed, they have done a back flip and directed money to the Northern Rivers to prop up (fellow National Party) Don Page’s electorate,” Cr Kirk said.

“It’s clear they have tried to circumvent the process.”

The Deputy Mayor is chairman of Goulburn to Crookwell Rail Trail Inc, a seven-member group pushing to build a 56km tourism route along the disused line.

The $12 million project was to be built over three years and estimated to attract 30,000 users and generate $3.4 million in community spending annually.

Both councils allocated $15,000 to a feasibility study and private parties also contributed.

Some members have worked on the scheme for up to three years. They jumped at the chance for a slice of the State’s $110 million Regional Tourism Infrastructure Fund, announced in this year’s State budget.

Cr Kirk and Mayor Geoff Kettle personally handed the application to Goulburn MP Pru Goward at Parliament House in November.

Afterwards, Ms Goward said the bid stood out because it was a “sustainable proposal.”

“I spoke to Mr Barilaro and he was very impressed with both the application and the presentation,” she said at the time.

Cr Kirk said Mr Barilaro told him it was “the best proposal he had seen.”

“But at no point in the last 12 months that we’ve nurtured this and busted our arse, was there any suggestion these would run as pilot programs,” he said.

“This seems to be a way of diverting funds to the Northern Rivers. How is that equitable and what was the basis for selection?” The Deputy Mayor argues the $50m would fund at least three rail trail projects and still have $20 to $30m left over.

A spokesman for Mr Barilaro said expression of interest (EOI) guidelines stated that the NSW Government supported, in principle, the adaptation of disused rail lines as rail trails “where there was strong local community support.”

“As these are the first potential rail trails developed in NSW we need to make sure we get the process right,” the spokesperson said.

“Therefore, we have set the project up as a pilot covering two rail corridors which the government considers are most advanced in terms of community and organisational support for rail trails in NSW.

“The EOI guidelines, however, make it clear that this pilot process will help inform further investment in rail trails along other disused rail lines across the State.

“There is no reason why this couldn’t include an investment in the Goulburn-Upper Lachlan area in the future, if there is demonstrated community support.

We are always happy to discuss this issue with the two councils.”

But Cr Kirk maintained the local project had much less opposition than the Casino to Murwillumbah rail trail.

“I doubt these two (other) proposals were as advanced in their preparation, as comprehensive as ours or have as much tourism potential,” he said.

“We know our project stacks up and it’s hard to understand why we didn’t get a better outcome.”

Cr Kirk said the group might well have a chance to apply for funding but was disappointed it wasn’t in the current round.

He intends taking up the application’s failure with Ms Goward and Mr Barilaro.

Ms Goward had not returned requests for comment at the time of publication.