Labor says it will swallow more than $2 billion in “sunk costs” and press ahead with the former government’s inland rail project despite a tripling of the expected bill and no completion date in sight because the investment will ultimately cut emissions by reducing truck freight.

Speaking after the release of a damning report by former Energy Security Board head Kerry Schott, Infrastructure Minister Catherine King said on Thursday that the government would halt development on the 1700-kilometre project’s section between Parkes in NSW and outside Brisbane until a final decision was made on the northern terminus.