Mark Coulton (Parkes, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Transport. Will the Deputy Prime Minister update the House on the government's progress on delivering the Inland Rail project? How is it creating jobs for hardworking Australians across the nation? Is he aware of any threats to the delivery of this project?

Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. I commend the honourable member for Parkes on his continued support for the Inland Rail going right back to his start in the political fray, where he was fighting for the Inland Rail. Now we are going to be part of a government that's actually delivering on the Inland Rail. We're delivering in a form that is ever present. During the break we went out and were unloading lengths of steel, 165 metres long, produced by Whyalla steelworkers—making sure we back them in—creating a corridor of commerce from Melbourne up to Brisbane. We are delivering an economic opportunity never seen before in their time to places such as Parkes, which is currently also attracting investment by Pacific National, with a $35 million facility going in there; for places such as Narrabri; and for Toowoomba. It was great to go to Toowoomba the other day and see how enthusiastic they are about connecting Wellcamp up to the Inland Rail to grow another centre of commerce to actually underpin the growth of the regional economies there.

We see that it is on this side of the House where the vision resides. It was this side of the House that had the capacity to find the money and to put it on the table to build the Inland Rail. For the Labor Party—and that's where the threat lies—it is no more than a valuable idea. It's like a Royal Doulton set for the local rugby club: a very valuable idea. But it's never going to happen under the Labor Party, and that's completely present. They don't believe in the workers at Whyalla. They don't believe in someone creating the steel for this Inland Rail. They don't believe in creating new centres of commerce at Parkes or at Wodonga. They don't have a vision for this nation.

We're happy to be part of a government that has committed in excess of $9 billion to fund the Inland Rail. We're happy to be part of a government that is standing behind the 16,000 direct and indirect jobs that will happen during construction. We're happy to be part of a government that stands behind the $16 billion boost to Australia's GDP by reason of this. We're happy to be part of a government that sees, in historic terms, the growth of places such as Fort Worth and Dallas that happened with the increase in rail connectivity there and what is currently happening in places such as Khorgos on the China-Kazakhstan border. We're happy to have a vision for this nation.

It is so vitally important if we are to grow this nation and if we are to take the next step to be a government of vision. We are doing precisely that. Whether it's Badgerys Creek, the inland rail, a duplication of the Pacific and Bruce Highways, the investment in the Warrego Highway that we saw the other day, it is all part of delivering for a nation that has a great future. But that future resides with the coalition government. It's been a compliment to work with the member for Parkes and the member for Riverina, the Deputy Leader of the House, in making sure that we build a stronger nation.