Ken Wyatt (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to talk on Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2010-2011 and cognate bill. I want to cover some key aspects that go to the appropriation process for the seat of Hasluck. Over a period of time I have not seen some significant developments that have needed to occur with respect to both infrastructure and the level of funding to organisations within my electorate.

I first want to turn to two election commitments given by the Prime Minister when she was campaigning in Western Australia. The first commitment was $450,000 for the Str8 Talk’n program in Thornlie and Langford. This is a program developed and managed by the City of Gosnells. The underpinning ethos of the program is for a youth forum that tackles and discusses issues that are very particular to the youth in that area. There is also a focus on reducing crime through the active participation of young people in determining some of the key issues that are of importance to them and using that forum to influence the way in which the City of Gosnells provides programs and services and considers the needs of young people. The program also has the capacity to reach into other youth forums. It would be a pity to see such a constructive model of engagement for young people diminished by a lack of funding.

The second commitment was $1.2 million for a road link between Kalamunda Road and the proposed Elmore Way in High Wycombe. It is essential work that is enabling traffic flow within High Wycombe between Kalamunda Road and the streets surrounding that shopping centre. It is important for the growth of that suburb, and it was a funding commitment that we on this side also matched during the election campaign. The shire of Kalamunda are undertaking the work but they are basing their planning around the fact that the appropriation and the handing down of the budget will see that commitment being honoured. In addition to that, there are a number of other key elements within Hasluck that have not been considered, although they are extremely important.

I now turn to the Kalamunda Districts Rugby Union Club. The club had a long involvement with the two previous members for Hasluck. They have developed a strategy for an eastern zone for the development of rugby union that engages young people and families. I was astounded to go down to their oval and see 200 young children playing and training for their rugby union games. The expansion takes in an area from Midland through to Armadale. What they want to do is to upgrade both the grounds and the facilities to enable the growth of the sport based around the families in the area. It covers the flat area—what they call the foothills region—and the team is very effective in winning finals within the competition. They have also included women in their rugby club. The women participate in both netball and rugby union. The facilities they have were developed and built out of their own funds. Their fundraising was then matched not only by the shire of Kalamunda but also by a major mining company, who also sponsored some of the work. They have a shortfall of about $1.8 million for their expansion. The expansion of that club will give some strength to the families involved right throughout Hasluck.

Another initiative that funding was sought for was the Machinery Preservation Club. It is based on the old Midland Railway Workshops, where men who trained and worked there for a period of time have come back together to restore old machines and bring them back to working condition. In the process, they teach skills that have been lost. They have a vision to have a stand-alone purpose-built facility in which they can continue to restore machinery that is part of the heritage of Western Australia. They have an engine from HMAS Sydney that was left on the wharf at Fremantle. They have restored that and they have got it back into working condition. They take the machines that they have repaired to local shows so that children can see the types of machines that were once part of the standard stock of equipment and vehicles that operated within WA over the last five or six decades. They have to move out of the location where they are, so they are seeking government support to enable them to continue the valuable work that they do.

The key initiative that requires significant funding is the Perth to Darwin highway. The mining sector to the north of Perth relies very heavily on the existing roads, and the amount of heavy equipment that is taken from Perth out of Forrestfield and out of Kewdale either comes in by ship or is freighted to Western Australia, assembled and then taken north. Among the equipment they take are the dumpsters that are used in the mining sites. When they move them it requires a considerable amount of the road. At the moment, if you are coming down through the Swan Valley, you are often held up because of the size of the dumpsters on the back of the trucks.

It is proposed that the road from Midland through to Muchea be widened to become a new highway that will take the new dumpsters to be imported into Western Australia, which are much bigger and wider than the current dumpsters. The new ones require the total width of a road, which will impede and inhibit the flow of traffic. It is a $480 million infrastructure need but it will be significant because it is the roadway that supports the mining sector of Western Australia, which, more importantly, is a sector that adds to the coffers of the Commonwealth from the taxes that it pays. If the Leader of the Australian Greens, Mr Bob Brown, is successful in the Senate in leveraging, in the manner that he is, Labor Party support for the mining tax then certainly I would expect to see funding allocated to that highway.

Another one is the Lloyd Street underpass, a road that will connect the Midland town site and the regions to the east of Midland to the new Midland campus hospital. At the moment there are boom gates there. The proposal of the City of Swan is to sink that road to enable, in particular, emergency vehicles to get through without being delayed by trains, which are quite long. All the freight that comes by rail passes through Midland, and the length of the trains, in an emergency situation, could delay an ambulance. The proposal has been on the drawing board for some time, and I know that representatives of the city have visited Canberra a number of times to lobby for funding to complete the underpass, which will both enable a smoother flow of traffic under the rail line and, more importantly, prevent delays to people requiring emergency services at the new Midland Health Campus.

Another significant infrastructure need in the seat of Hasluck is the Hazelmere rail realignment. If you live in the suburb of Guildford, which is on the edge of Midland, you know there is a significant curve in the rail line to enable the train to come through Midland and then branch out to Forrestfield-Kewdale. The impact of metal wheels on rail because of the tightness of the curve creates an irritating high-pitched noise. Also, if there were a derailment, it is likely that there would be spillage of chemicals into the Helena River, eventually flowing into the Swan River. So there are environmental factors that have to be considered. There are proposals in the long term to realign the line out of Midland and through Hazelmere, which would take it through an industrial area, into both Kewdale and Forrestfield, thereby reducing the danger of chemical spillage, which would be detrimental to people’s health and the environment.

The final thing I want to mention is the Italian club in my electorate. Over the last 32 years the Italian community have been progressively building a facility in which to come together. They are from the Abruzzo region in Italy. They decided they would purchase land and build a facility that would allow the continuation of their culture among the younger people. Over a period they have contributed to the building of the facility but it is still very much incomplete. On two occasions they sought funding for the club through the previous member for Hasluck.

When it is completed they will have a facility that will enable to the community in proximity to hire the facility to use it. They want to build a soccer ground that would give younger people in the area a recreational area in which they can play. They want it to be a social hub for the older Italians who are now starting to slow down through age. Historically, they contributed to the timber industry of Western Australia, to the southwest of Pemberton, and to the agricultural industry that was established post World War Two. Each of these people came out alone and eventually brought their families with them. To me it seems a travesty that we have not supported an initiative like this given the contribution that they have made to the economy of Western Australia and, more importantly, to the economy of Australia.

It has been interesting being elected to the seat of Hasluck because it is a diverse region. Its infrastructure needs are significant and those needs have not been met through subsequent budgets. I would hope to see, at a minimum, the two election commitments that were made included within the appropriation bills when the budget is delivered. Plans also need to be included for some significant infrastructure work around the top end of Midlands for the rail realignment because it is particularly important to the Western Australian economy and ultimately for our capacity as a country to be competitive in the industries associated with mining.

The work that is sometimes done offshore can be done within Western Australia to enable businesses around the Kewdale, Forestfield and Kenwick-Gosnells area to expand and provide the support that the mining and petroleum sectors will need. Those industries will build the capacities of young Australians and provide the pool of workers needed not only in Western Australia but across this nation as mining and resource initiatives continue to expand.

I am very keen to see that we give serious consideration to that end. As I said in my maiden speech, one of the things that I like about our democracy is that the ministers are ministers for all Australians, regardless of which party they belong to. Their work needs to encompass the enhanced opportunities that come from industries associated within these types of infrastructure. I certainly promote the concept that we have to build Australian industries to strengthen them and enable them to be competitive and grow within any economic climate. If we do not we will stifle the opportunities for the young people who come long after us. They will need to work in competitive industries that are supported by the type of infrastructure that is conducive to quality social and economic life.

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