Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's a pleasure to rise and speak on the High Speed Rail Authority Bill 2022. As we look around this great country of ours, we see an enormous history of rail right across the country that has led to, and facilitated, the development of our country over the past couple of hundred years. I think the importance of rail today is no less diminished than it has been historically and, sadly, I think that over the years we've under-appreciated the value and importance of our rail systems right across this country, particularly in our urban areas. If I look back, historically, in South-East Queensland we used to have a rail line to Southport on the Gold Coast, and that was ripped up at one stage and then we had to build a whole new line. As the member for Bowman would know, there was a line to Cleveland that terminated at Wyndham which was ripped up and which has had to be rebuilt. And the member for Bonner would well know that as well, given that it goes through his part of the world. If I have a look now at the Gold Coast line, I look at the capacity constraints that are on that. In the western part of my electorate, I look at the massive developments going on in the south-west of Logan, at Flagstone and Yarrabilba—two priority development areas that were foisted on the City of Logan by the state government but with no provision or planning for public transport infrastructure.

I'm pleased to say that, when we were in government we committed some $10 million, in partnership with the state government, who put in another $10 million—so, a total of $20 million—to another study on passenger rail in the Salisbury-to-Beaudesert corridor, which would service the west of my electorate and those two key priority development areas I just mentioned, which are in the electorate of my colleague the member for Wright. I also remember having significant discussions with the then minister around the importance of inland rail, and the importance that inland rail doesn't cannibalise that existing corridor so we can put passenger rail in it.

As I look at this bill to create the High Speed Rail Authority, it reminds me of when I first came to this place and the work that the now Prime Minister was doing—when he was Minister for Infrastructure and Transport in the former Rudd-Gillard-Rudd governments—on a high-speed rail study which, in large part, identified a corridor from Brisbane to Melbourne. A number of pieces of work have been done subsequently over the years, trying to quantify the cost of such a rail system, and one of the latest figures I've seen is in the order of $140 billion. It does beg the question: how is that going to be funded? Is this another statutory body that does an enormous amount of what I think is good work? I see the minister is in the House. I believe that the purpose of this High Speed Rail Authority is first and foremost to look at a government commitment for high-speed rail between Newcastle and Sydney, which we know is a corridor that is growing enormously, the same as the south-east of Queensland is growing enormously. But the amount of money that is being provided for that—$500 million—is not even close to what would be required to facilitate that project.

If I have a look back in my home state of Queensland—and we have the member for Fisher here in the House. To the west of his electorate, he has the north coastline that runs from Brisbane all the way up to Cairns. As he would well know, one of the services that runs on that is the Tilt Train, and that is presently recognised as the fastest passenger rail train in Australia.

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