Despite road transport being one of the most significant and growing sources of carbon emissions, the year began with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promising buckets of public money for new highways in regional Queensland — an election ploy Labor calculates will help it win back support in the recently-turned Coalition state.

While expenditure on road transport is necessary, even urgent in some places, the climate emergency also urgently demands alternatives to road and air transportation for people and goods in a continent as vast as Australia.

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This requires a radical shift to rail freight and an expansion and renewal of regional and interstate passenger rail services, including a high-speed network serving population centres in eastern and southern Australia, and very fast intercity trains.

Despite its promises, Labor has squandered the opportunity to set down the structural changes needed to........

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