Who in their right mind is going to consider Melbourne-Dubbo a viable passenger service? V/Line sure isn't going to pay for the rollingstock, and why would CountryLink provide a service from regional NSW to another state's capital? And if you asked me if I want to take the train, vs drive the Newell, I'll drive, thank you very much - particularly if it's the family going. Just me? Then I'll fly.
I am all for introducing new rail services, but, by and large, passenger services
lose money, no matter their patronage level. Unless there is some serious pork-barreling to be had, Governments won't spend one cent more than they have to on rail services as they only benefit those that actually use them. You might never drive on the Hume Highway, but the Government can sway your opinion to improvements to it by saying "But it'll reduce transit times for freight, and you'll pay less at the supermarkets". How can they use this argument to fund a passenger train? Simply put, they can't, no matter how wishful your thinking may be.
Rightly or wrongly, in this day and age, any new service needs to be able to stand on its' own two feet, be it freight, or passenger.