Ms HALL (1:07 PM) —I understand that the issues raised by the member for Hinkler arise out of an inquiry conducted by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Communications, Transport and Micro Economic Reform into the role of rail in the national transport network. My predecessor the Hon. Peter Morris was deputy chair of that committee and he has emphasised to me the importance of upgrading our rail infrastructure. It is of vital importance not only to Australia as a whole, but also to the Hunter and Central Coast regions within my electorate. My predecessor also mentioned to me that the member for Hinkler has a great interest in rail and is very committed to seeing that we get the national rail network, as was my predecessor.

The current national rail network is not meeting the needs of Australia. It is creating a problem for regional areas like the ones I represent. It is inhibiting the transfer of goods to and from the regions and impacting on the economic viability of the industries operating in the regions. Its inadequacies are forcing companies to transport their goods by road, which in turn is forcing government to invest more money in upgrading road infrastructure. It is essential that this government act now to upgrade the track between Sydney and Melbourne. This section of track needs straightening and all sections of the track must be upgraded to a dual tracking system.

Another major problem area is Sydney where there is a bottleneck that causes major problems for goods travelling from Newcastle to Melbourne. Trains are regularly delayed for up to six hours. Sydney is a major problem as far as a seamless rail system is concerned. These problems must be addressed as a priority. There needs to be a major investment into this infrastructure because the delays are currently a major disincentive to the use of rail.

While this government has committed $250 million to rail infrastructure Australia wide over four years, this does little to solve the bottleneck at Sydney where in the vicinity of $600 million is required to be spent to ensure the smooth transit of freight. The commitment to rail infrastructure must be expanded. I can understand the member for Hinkler calling for the $250 million to be extended—$250 million is only a drop in the bucket. If our national rail infrastructure is to be upgraded, then the government must show some leadership. It must make a substantial financial commitment to the upgrade. If it does not show this leadership and does not make a more substantial commitment, our national road infrastructure will collapse.

The Tracking Australia report recommended that in addition to the $250 million committed to the national rail infrastructure there should be a further $750 million over three years. I can understand why the member for Hinkler is encouraging this money to be committed. It is essential that we have this investment. The $750 million would be spent on priorities developed between the state and Commonwealth government. There would be a further $2 billion over 10 years from the year 2001. It is very evident that an enormous financial commitment is needed and it is beholden on this government to ensure the future viability of our national rail infrastructure by making this substantial commitment to the upgrading of the rail network. It is quite obvious that $250 million will do little to upgrade our national rail infrastructure. It is essential that the government address the need for a standard gauge, as has already been mentioned, from Brisbane to Perth. There is a chronic deficiency that needs to be addressed to stop the irretrievable deterioration of the system.

As the member for Hinkler would agree, the current investment is totally inadequate, even with the $250 million. The government needs to do much more in terms of effective investment in Australia's public rail infrastructure. It is essential that the government show leadership and assist in the development of an integrated, funded transport plan with a strategy to address the needs of the nation's rail. If this does not happen, it will collapse. The government must show leadership and address the imbalance that exists between road and rail funding. (Time expired)