Tim Watts (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak tonight on the Railway Agreement (Western Australia) Amendment Bill 2014, which is before the House. This is, sadly, one of very few bills that the Abbott government will ever introduce with the word 'railway' in the title. This is a rare opportunity and one that I will not miss. Labor supports the bill under consideration as it is one that fixes an administrative loophole. This bill that is fairly prosaic on its face addresses the end of a 1961 loan by the federal government to the Western Australian government to undertake construction of a standard gauge railway line mainly from Perth to Kalgoorlie. Under the current act the full repayment of the loan was not possible until 2041. The bill before us today amends the Railway Agreement (Western Australia) Act 1961 to allow the Western Australian government to repay the balance of that loan when they choose to.

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