Nationals sabotage $15b Inland Rail Project

Advertisement

Toowoomba businessman John Wagner has called on Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce to stand firm on the proposed route for the $15 billion Inland Rail project from Melbourne to Brisbane.

Wagner’s comments follow a call from Agriculture Minister David Littleproud for the route from NSW to Toowoomba to be changed, so as to appease irate farmers in his electorate in Queensland’s south-east:

The official plan of Australian Rail Track Corporation is for the 1700km freight line to run from Melbourne to Brisbane, but competing line deviations pushed by Nationals MPs have gained traction in recent months.

The full text of this article is available to MacroBusiness subscribers

$1 for your first month, then:
Cancel at any time through our billing provider, Stripe
About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.