Helen Haines (Indi, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development. The North East rail line upgrade is due for completion in June next year. Currently, there is no plan to provide extra funding for its ongoing maintenance. If there is no funding for maintenance, it will again fall below the class-2 passenger standard and the entire $235 million upgrade will be for nothing. Will the government commit to providing maintenance funding for the North East rail line to keep it safe and at the class-2 passenger standard?

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to 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—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Indi on a point of order?

Helen Haines (Indi, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Relevance. The question was in regard to the maintenance of the North East rail line after the upgrade.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I just say to the Deputy Prime Minister that, whilst the question did have some preamble to it, it was specifically about that issue. Whilst he has had a preamble himself on matters more generally, he now needs to bring himself to the question.

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

The Victorian section of this nation-building project is going to benefit from a $235 million upgrade between Melbourne and Albury, the North East rail line. For this upgrade funded entirely by the Commonwealth, delivered by the Australian Rail Track Corporation, the John Holland Group has been contracted. Work is already underway, and major works are scheduled to begin as well, following on from that, later this month.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd just say to the Deputy Prime Minister that that wasn't the question that was asked.

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

But it's—

Opposition members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Members on my left! I'm not going to negotiate; the Deputy Prime Minister needs to address himself to the question.

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

The result of this investment will be to lift the track standard to Victorian class 2, as the member for Indi asked me about—Victorian class 2 standard—allowing more reliable and faster passenger services.

The ongoing maintenance for the North East rail line has been funded from within the usual ARTC budget and is averaged at around $6 million per year, and, as the North East rail line upgrade progresses towards completion by mid next year, the ongoing maintenance of the track is an important consideration for the commercial lease negotiations between the ARTC and the Victorian government. I have discussions with ministers Jacinta Allan and Jaala Pulford all the time about maintenance, ongoing funding and other rail related issues. This investment in the North East rail line—I know the member for Indi is particularly interested in that; it goes through her electorate—forms part of a broader $1.6 billion Commonwealth investment in the Regional Rail Revival package that is upgrading critical regional rail infrastructure in Victoria.