Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Hansard source

It is important to have empathy for rural communities. We are investing $9.3 billion in the Inland Rail. It is a 1,700 kilometre corridor of commerce between Melbourne and Brisbane. The report that the CSIRO did last year predicated the building of this on a $10 per tonne saving. It is now going to be up to $94 per tonne—indeed, a $76 per tonne average.

But it is going to impact on farmers' properties—and we understand that. Indeed, even in my electorate, in Illabo and Stockinbingal, there are farmers for whom the Inland Rail is going to intersect their properties and intersect their lives. Obviously, we need to get out there and inform those people about their options, as we construct this Inland Rail project, which is already creating thousands of jobs and is going to create thousands of opportunities for those farmers to get their product to port and to make sure that we take advantage of the free trade agreements that this government has been able to broker with South Korea, Japan and China—and we are of course working on one with Indonesia and one with India. We want to get more farmers' product to plate. We want to get more farmers' product to port within 24 hours, and that is what the Inland Rail will do. But we have been asked about money that is being spent on advertising campaigns.

Ms Catherine King interjecting—

I am being—

Ms Catherine King interjecting—

Well, I'll just keep going.

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