High-speed rail - for too long people have said that it would never happen, that it was a dream, that it was just a line in the map. But under the leadership of the Albanese Labor government high-speed rail is not just talk; it's moving into its next development phase. The establishment of the High Speed Rail Authority in 2023 marked a turning point. For the first time in our nation's history there is a dedicated body tasked with turning high-speed rail from a concept into construction.

The next stage of work between Newcastle and Sydney is now underway: detailed planning, corridor preservation, station precinct planning—the serious work that turns ambition into reality. For the people of Newcastle this is transformative. It means travel times of around one hour between Newcastle and Sydney. It means students can access greater education opportunities with ease. It means workers having access to job markets without uprooting their families. It means being able to travel to a concert, a sporting event or a business meeting and be home again on the same night. But more than that, it means economic development for our city, it means jobs during construction, it means new industries and new housing opportunities and it means investment confidence. Let's be clear: this is happening because Labor made a choice. We choose to invest in nation-building infrastructure, we choose to back regional Australia, we choose to deliver and we are delivering.