Can Australia high speed rail overcome it's bumpy history?

The Australian Government has released an "implementation" study for high speed rail (or HSR) on the east coast with a further study to follow. The proposal looks at corridors between Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. It includes the option of three-hour travel times between Sydney and Melbourne, with tickets costing around $100. With the projected price of the project starting at around $60 billion, and Australia's chequered history with HSR, it is not unreasonable to ask whether the project will commence. In this case, would Sydney to Newcastle take preference over Sydney to Melbourne?