Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Mr President, the opposition do not like being reminded of the facts, but the facts are that we will have invested more in rail in the next 12 months than they did in the previous 12 years. We have doubled the federal roads budget. We have injected $1.2 billion into the Australian Rail Track Corporation to undertake 17 rail projects across the country. Three of these projects have been completed and a further seven are under construction. These stimulus measures are creating jobs and keeping people in employment. The thousands of people working on these projects have been able to support their families as a result of the stimulus. This has been vital for protecting jobs and vital for growing the economy, but also it has been investing in long-term productivity. These rail and road developments will allow us to continue to grow the economy through higher levels of productivity and allow us to enjoy continued economic growth. The stimulus package is working and it will be continued.