The Queensland government is reviewing what parts of the state’s new commuter trains came from Chinese companies implicated in human rights abuse.

July 24, 2020

The Queensland government is investigating how many parts in the state’s new commuter trains were made by a Chinese company with alleged links to forced labour factories.

Transport Minister Mark Bailey says his department is urgently reviewing rail equipment manufacturer KTK Australia’s role in the New Generation Rollingstock (NGR) Project.

The massive Chinese rail equipment manufacturer, KTK Group, supplied passenger seats for the 75-train project, but the full extent of parts used by the fleet is still to be determined.

The investigation comes after the US government listed KTK Group as one of 11 Chinese companies implicated in alleged human rights abuses against minority Muslim Uyghurs from Xinjiang province.

The US Department of Commerce says the companies have been involved in the People’s Republic of China’s campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, forced labour and involuntary collection of biometric data.

“The Palaszczuk Government strongly condemns human rights abuses of any kind,” Mr Bailey said in a statement on Friday.

Mr Bailey said the transport department was working to understand “the current extent of the commercial agreements … with KTK, or its parent company”.

He has also ordered the company managing the maintenance of the NGR trains to source another supplier as soon as possible.

KTK Australia denied the human rights abuses allegations, saying they were baseless and the company had no operations in Xinjiang province.

It said KTK Group China has undergone a number of independent workplace audits, including checks for forced labour, discrimination, and abuse.

“These reviews all found that KTK Group achieved best practice outcomes across the business,” a spokesman said in a statement.

“KTK Group is a transparent company.”

NGR trains have been operating in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, and the Sunshine Coast since 2017.

The contract to design and construct Queensland’s NGR trains in India was signed by the former Newman LNP government in 2014.