Mark Vaile (Lyne, National Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

If we have a look at federal Labor’s platform on this there is no mention of it. The federal Labor platform commits Labor to working with the states on an extension of the interstate rail line. Clearly, Mr Watkins will tell the federal Labor Party to come and invest money in Sydney, to fix up where they have failed and to not plan and invest for the future, so that that is what the Leader of the Opposition will do. Whereas we have a futuristic vision for rail in Australia and for the rail task that will put downward pressure on grocery prices, as has been indicated by Michael Luscombe, we know that a Rudd led Labor government would be a puppet to the unions that are controlling the rail system in Sydney, a puppet to the unions across the rest of the country and, most importantly, and to the detriment of Australia, a puppet to the state Labor premiers.

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