Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Minister for Emergency Management and National Recovery and Resilience) Share this | Hansard source

We know that, when the regions are strong, Australia is strong. A third of our population lives outside of capital cities, and a vast amount of our GDP is produced out there too. That's why we're investing in infrastructure, connectivity and resilience for the regions not just for building short-term impacts but for generations.

Take a project like the Inland Rail. More than 400 Australian businesses have already shared in the billions of dollars we're investing in that project. The ARTC, for example, has over $140 million of contracts out there that are building jobs in places like Rockhampton and Wagga Wagga as they produce the concrete sleepers. This project is going to boost our GDP by more than $18 billion over the next half a century. We've got a long-term vision for this country and for the regions. It's also going to reduce our emissions by 750,000 tonnes, which is great news as we put more product on rail and off road. (Time expired)