"Once your Premier up there, Barry O'Farrell, made the announcement last Friday that he wanted to dismantle it, I've come out and said 'Listen, bequeath it; give it to us as a post-bicentennial gift, Barry,'" Mr Christie said today. Flashback ... the early years of the monorail in Sydney. Credit:Rick Stevens "I want Barry to give it to us. "We'll send our engineers up there and dismantle it for him, but if he gives it to us, that'll be nice." But Mr O’Farrell said today he was happy if the council or Tasmanian Government made him an offer for the monorail. However, ‘‘like most things in life, there are very few gifts’’, he added.

‘‘I think we’ve given Tasmania enough GST over the past 14 years,’’ Mr O’Farrell told reporters in Sydney. Asked what his asking price would be, Mr O’Farrell said it was up to Tasmania to put a price tag on it. ‘‘I don’t want to curtail their enthusiasm,’’ he said. ‘‘Offers from Hobart, offers from the Tasmanian Government, would be most welcome.’’ Mr Christie said Hobart was at a "critical stage" in terms of public transport and a monorail would ideally link Hobart's CBD with the waterfront and North Hobart's restaurant district.

The 3.6-kilometre-long track would loop the city perfectly, he said. "We're surrounded by hills here in Hobart and people don't like to walk up and down hills in the rain; this will be the ideal solution," he said. He said he was a "bit sick" of doing feasibility studies on transport projects for the Tasmanian capital that would cost in excess of $80 million. "I mean, if the Premier of NSW wants to get rid of this up there, we can certainly utilise it and if we can do it for a fraction of the cost, why wouldn't we look at it? "I've had some positive feedback this morning from members of the public and I've had some experts say it's wacky.

"But wacky is good, I love wacky." Mr Christie said he and Hobart's mayor Damon Thomas were keen to fly up to Sydney to discuss the options with Mr O'Farrell. Transport for NSW told Fairfax affected parties would be consulted while approval was obtained to remove the monorail. The department said it would cost between $10 and $15 million to remove the monorail. "However, it is too early to determine exactly how long this process will take. Loading

"Transport for NSW will explore a range of options for the future of the retired monorail." AAP and smh.com.au

