On Monday, the inquiry heard from Moree Plains Shire Council deputy mayor Greg Smith, who spoke about the positives and potential negatives of the scheme.

The rail line is set to go just east of the town, with 517 people currently working on the stretch between Narrabri and North Star.

One concern, raised by Member for Wyong David Harris, involved the competitiveness around jobs and whether the Inland Rail project had caused a skills shortage.

Cr Smith said it was a "double whammy" for some local businesses.

"First the drought," he said, and "then we came back when it rained and...Inland Rail came in and they're paying up to $45 an hour for people to work on the tracks."

Read more: Tamworth concrete company Humes gets jobs boost after Inland Rail Project contract win

"Now that's sort of set a base rate for what people want to be paid, so it has in that sense created a little bit of a labour shortage.

"But that is across the country, and I wouldn't just put that down to Inland Rail, I think it's down to a lack of backpackers and immigration at the moment."

READ ALSO:

Cr Smith was also quizzed about whether the region was facing a housing shortage due to the influx of workers, but, he said, due to the shire's increasing housing and shrinking population it was uniquely placed to handle that challenge.

Temporary accommodation facilities are also available to the workers in that region.

However, he did say more housing may be needed long-term, as council looks to capitalise on the "sugar hit" it will get after being named as a 'special activation precinct' by the NSW government.

One thing he revealed Moree council isn't satisfied with, is the lack of connectivity and internet coverage in the region given such a large project is being worked on, just on the outskirts of town.

"That's something that is an issue, away from the highways and major routes, out of town and even the western parts of town we do have very poor mobile coverage," he said.

"And it's a lot worse now since people have been locked in their homes and accessing streaming services etc.

"Now the Inland Rail is putting a 5G network right along the tracks we've been told, but it'll be focused up and down the tracks - now if you're putting the infrastructure in there, then why not expand the bandwidth to cover the entire area."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: