Robert Oakeshott (Lyne, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, it has been 100 years since rail arrived in the towns of Gloucester and Taree. At the time, they were very vital pieces of infrastructure, made possible by the government of the day spending more than one million pounds to deliver just over 100 kilometres of track. With this history in mind, can the Prime Minister outline the next steps for improved rail freight and very fast passenger travel between Sydney and Brisbane and how rail can play an even more important role in building a better Australia for the next century?

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Lyne for his question. I am aware from discussions with him that there is much excitement at this 100-year anniversary in his electorate in towns like Gloucester and Taree, including people coming to the train stations for some special celebrations wearing period costumes and the like. I hope people enjoy those celebrations, as 100 years of rail is worth celebrating.

I can assure the member for Lyne, as he enjoys those celebrations, that we are getting on with the job of building for the next century. We are rolling out the largest, most extensive modernisation of the nation's interstate rail network in almost a century. Our unprecedented capital works program is currently rebuilding more than a third of the 10,000-kilometre interstate rail freight network. Indeed, we have increased rail spending tenfold compared to the days of the Howard government.

I will give you some examples of what has been and is being achieved. On the Perth to east coast line, we have already cut travel times by nine hours. As a result of that, Star Track Express and Australia Post are now moving things from road to rail—a great development. On the north-south line, we are on track to cut travel times by seven hours between Melbourne and Brisbane. Just last week, we opened the Southern Sydney Freight Line. This week, contracts are being let for the Northern Sydney Freight Line. All of this means that we have seen supermarket chains, like Woolworths, decide to transfer 34,000 tonnes of dry goods, once again, from road to rail—a great development.

I know that the member is very supportive of further public transport projects. I can assure him that this federal Labor government is committed to public transport. Indeed, we have committed more resources to public transport than all other previous federal governments since Federation combined. We are getting on with the appropriate studies of high-speed rail, because we understand that this could be a game changer for our nation—that is, a high-speed rail network that could potentially service Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane and is of importance in New South Wales, including the people that the member for Lyne represents in this place. We have already released the first part of that study. The second part of that study will be released later this year. This shows that we are planning for the nation's future, not just for the next five years but for the next five decades.