Coalition launches petition to save Inland Rail

The federal coalition has released a Rescue Our Rial petition off the back of the federal government's decision to cancel the Queensland section of the project. The Inland Rail project was to be a nation-changing project, spanning 1600 kilometres from Melbourne to Brisbane, and connecting regional areas through Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. Senator for Victoria Bridget McKenzie joined a swag of Nationals MPs in Canberra on Wednesday and highlighted a project goal to remove 200,000 trucks of major highways. "This was a project to get 200,000 trucks off our freight route north and south, to reduce the human road toll, but importantly to also reduce emissions, something the government says they actually care about," Ms McKenzie said. "They didn't just cancel the Inland Rail and its benefits, they also cut almost five billion dollars from road funding from every state and territory and they also jacked up the price of flying out of the country and the passenger movement charge. "Less than 2 per cent of the federal budget's infrastructure funding goes to the regions. "We produce a hell of a lot of the wealth for this country through our mining and agriculture industry, through our brain and our hard work. "For this government to somehow assume we're going to continue to be able to do what we do in the regions for this country over the forward estimates but into the decades to come without Canberra recognising that and investing in us, just shows you how out of touch this government is. "They talk a lot about intergenerational advantage or disadvantage. "Well, the Inland Rail was an intergenerational project." Ms McKenzie noted that businesses had invested significant capital on the back of the Inland Rail connecting with Queensland. "On the back of that commitment over subsequent governments, these communities have invested," she said. "Their small businesses have ramped up. "Councils have used ratepayers' money to build precincts in these local communities to drive that economic advantage over the decades to come." Ms McKenzie vowed that they will overturn this decision and rescue Inland Rail. She urged people to sign the Coalition's petition to Rescue Our Rail at www.rescueourrail.com.

Coalition launches petition to save Inland Rail

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