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

I thank the member for Indi for her question and her interest in rail and infrastructure more generally. I thank her for the meeting we had yesterday in my office about the wider infrastructure agenda that this government is putting into place for her electorate, for regional Australia and, indeed, right across the nation. We discussed the tragic accident at Wallan that occurred on 20 February and other rail related issues. I would certainly like to pay my respects and condolences to the families, colleagues and friends of the train driver, John Kennedy, and pilot, Sam Meintanis, who were tragically killed in that derailment. It's a tragedy that no family should have to go through. I know how important both of them were to the Australian railway community—I would say the Australian railway family, because it is a very close-knit family.

Rail is important to regional people, as the member for Indi and all regional members know, because of the vital passenger and freight links it provides to major centres and to markets for regional industry. I'm pleased to inform the member for Indi that rail, particularly regional rail, is very important to the government. It's this government that is building the historic Inland Rail between Melbourne and Brisbane. It's a project which will transform the way freight moves around this country and provide economic opportunities for regional Australians for generations. In Victoria, from where the member hails, Inland Rail is supporting 2,800 jobs—

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