Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

As I was saying, this will create a corridor of commerce in inland towns through our country. The CSIRO has estimated that this project will cut $76 a tonne off freight costs between Melbourne and Brisbane; it will allow it to be transported in under 24 hours. For the first time we'll have rail journeys between Melbourne and Brisbane taking less than a full day.

It is a shame that the speaker of Queensland is no longer with us, because I know he takes a keen interest in rail projects in his home state. Last week we signed a bilateral agreement with the Queensland government to finally get this project going in Queensland, and a big part of the spend—about $6 billion of the $9 billion project—will be spent in Queensland—in your home state, Senator Rennick, and my home state. This fantastic project is supporting more than 7,000 jobs in Queensland; around 15,000 jobs will be created through the life of this project. But it's not just about the jobs that are created during construction; it is about opening up our nation for commerce, it is about connecting up rural towns for better freight options, and it is supporting agriculture and the expansion of agricultural industries, because the closer they are to port then the closer they are to their customers in Asia, which will mean more production and more jobs here in Australia.