John McVeigh (Groom, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today I want to inform the chamber of a subject about which I am particularly bullish, and that is that, at seven o'clock this morning, a freight train at Quilpie, in Western Queensland, began to be loaded with some 880 fat bullocks and cows. Freighting livestock in Queensland is not unusual, but in this instance there was added significance to this early morning muster, as these cattle will arrive tomorrow in Oakey, in our electorate of Groom, some 800 kilometres to the east.

This is the first time in 23 years that a train load of cattle from the west will be unloaded at Oakey for processing, and I wish I could be there to stand alongside the 500-odd workers from Oakey Beef Exports and watch history in the making. I take this opportunity therefore, as the federal representative for Groom, to inform the parliament of Australia of yet another success story coming out of the Darling Downs, a region intent on forging its own future through the endeavour and vision of its local leaders.

Oakey Beef Exports general manager Pat Gleeson has been working for many years on putting this plan into action. As an agribusiness professional, local councillor, state agriculture minister and now federal member, I have advocated for this project for many years, given what it means for jobs, the beef industry and other sectors including grain on the Darling Downs.

In my time as agriculture minister, we developed a blueprint for agricultural transport with subsequent budget commitments that would include a focus on the western line and other upgrades down the Toowoomba range towards the Port of Brisbane. In this project, it is expected that reactivation of these rail sidings on the western line will deliver more than 4,300 jobs and about $1.3 billion in economic activity across the region. And credit where credit is due: the current Queensland government has come to the party, proceeding with these planned upgrades at Quilpie and Morven, in the electorate of Maranoa, and of course the all-important Oakey siding, in Groom.

The arrival of this train tomorrow is also the symbolic start of more to come for Oakey Beef Exports. With an imminent $60 million upgrade of the abattoir, that will lead to expansion of its workforce from about 750 people to 1,300 and almost triple its capacity to process beef.

Rail freight will continue to play a central role in bringing goods to market all around our country, with a focus on timeliness, cost-effectiveness and of course improved community safety. That is why I continue to advocate for the vital Melbourne-to-Brisbane inland rail project that means so much to the electorate of Groom as well as the whole eastern seaboard. It is an investment in strategic planning for the future, providing capacity to serve the east coast freight market well into the next century.

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