Inland rail: federal government won’t reassess business case despite cost blowout warnings

The federal government will not review its business case for the inland rail project, rejecting any reassessment as "not an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars", despite cost blowouts identified by a Senate inquiry into the major infrastructure project.

The Senate report, released in August 2021, called on the government to update the 2015 business case undertaken by the former Nationals leader John Anderson, which originally estimated the cost at $4.7bn.

The inland railway is now budgeted at $14.5bn, although the Senate inquiry heard expert opinion that costs could exceed $20bn.

A new business case was one of 26 recommendations from the Senate report. But the government supported only 10 recommendations in its response, released quietly in the week before Christmas.

However, the government response said it would not support the recommendation to update the 2015 business case, as it "does not accept that further review of the route or business case for Inland Rail is needed or would be an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars".

The government response said its project was driven by increasing freight needs over the next three decades.

"By 2050, it is estimated that almost 70% of the freight to be carried on Inland Rail will be for domestic use," it said.