House debates

Monday, 22 February 2021

Private Members' Business

Perth Freight Link

11:01 am

Photo of Josh WilsonJosh Wilson (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for the Environment) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) the Perth Freight Link, announced by then Treasurer the Hon Joe Hockey in 2014, was comprehensively rejected by the people of Western Australia at the state election in March 2017, when it was the most prominent point of difference in terms of transport infrastructure policy between Liberal and Labor;

(b) in addition to a lack of any credible evidence to suggest it would improve road connectivity, the project which included the road reserves for Roe Highway Stage 8 and 9, did not actually reach the port of Fremantle, had no detailed planning or cost benefit analysis, was to be operated as a private toll road, and was designed to facilitate the privatisation of Fremantle Port;

(c) encouraged by federal Liberals, the Western Australian Government of the then Premier Barnett, ignored the advice of Main Roads Western Australia and in the shadow of an election wasted $20 million of taxpayers' funds in the pointless and bloody-minded smashing down of more than 100 hectares of fragile habitat, including hundred year-old heritage trees, in the Beeliar Wetlands;

(d) after the election, at the behest of the current Western Australian Government of Premier McGowan, $1.2 billion in federal funding that had been put aside for the so-called Perth Freight Link was redirected to a number of sensible and well-designed road, rail and public transport projects in the south-metro region, including the widening of the Kwinana Freeway and other freeway works, the new Armadale Road-North Lake Road bridge, the High Street Upgrade, and the Thomlie-Cockburn Metronet rail link; and

(e) the Commonwealth Government has since 2017, allocated a further $1.2 billion to fund what it describes as Roe 8/9, a project that no longer exists, while denying the people of Western Australia the much-needed funds to deliver properly planned transport infrastructure; and

(2) calls on the Government to:

(a) respect the wishes of the Western Australian public and the mandate of the Western Australian Government as clearly expressed at the election in March 2017;

(b) stop holding the people of Western Australia to ransom for a dead and discredited project; and

(c) work with the McGowan Labor Government if re-elected on 13 March 2021 to support jobs, business activity, transport infrastructure, and economic recovery as Western Australia seeks to emerge from the pandemic.

This motion is very simple. It's about fairness for Western Australia. It's about ensuring that WA is properly supported by the Morrison government as it seeks to emerge from the heavy impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It's totally unacceptable that the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison government continues to hold $1.2 billion of federal funding over the heads and out of the reach of the people of Western Australia for the sake of playing a silly political game. They've done that for four years, which is bad enough, and to continue holding WA to ransom for their own political vanity in future is simply ridiculous. To continue denying the people of WA the sensible use of those funds is the very definition of senselessness and selfishness.

In 2014 the Abbott government pledged $1.6 billion to the Perth Freight Link project, a road that didn't reach Fremantle port, had no cost benefit analysis, was to be operated as a private toll road and was designed to facilitate the privatisation of Fremantle port. When the money was announced, it took the Barnett government completely by surprise. Unfortunately, they've always been prepared to be pushed around by their federal liberal colleagues. They made it the centrepiece of their 2017 state election campaign, and, scandalously, against the advice of Main Roads Western Australia, in the shadow of that election the Barnett government wasted $20 million of taxpayers' funds and knocked over 100 hectares of the fragile Beeliar Wetlands. Not surprisingly, that kind of arrogance was repaid at the ballot box, and the people of Western Australia chose a different future: a future in which, thanks to the McGowan Labor government, port operations remain a public asset rather than being sold off; and a future in which rail, road and public transport projects are being delivered across the south metro region, the region I represent, after nine years in which the Barnett government delivered nothing.

That future is now being realised. We've already seen the widening of the freeway northbound from Russell Road. We've already seen a significant jump in freight rail, with a corresponding decrease in truck freight. We're now seeing the new Armidale Road-North Lake Road Bridge project well underway, which will improve connectivity and address congestion for my constituents in the City of Cockburn and for my colleague's, the member for Burt, constituents. We're seeing the long-awaited upgrade of High Street in Freemantle.

Sadly, the crystal clear choice made by the people of WA has fallen on deaf ears when it comes to the west Australian Liberals, because since 2018 this federal Liberal government has put aside another $1.2 billion for what they call 'Roe 8' and 'Roe 9'. That means that WA continues to be short-changed. It means that WA Liberals, sadly, keep dancing to the tune of their federal masters. Four years in the wilderness and they still put the interests of WA behind their blind loyalty to whatever they're told from Canberra.

Will they ever have the bottle to speak up about submarine maintenance and defence shipbuilding in Western Australia? Will they ever have the courage to call out the fact that WA has been lumped with the largest share of the worst NBN technology? Who knows. But, four years later, we are still waiting. Instead of speaking up and instead of having the courage to pressure the Morrison government, they're now doubling-down on a piece of madness that died four years ago. Nothing demonstrates the deep uselessness and irrelevance of the WA Liberals better than the fact that, after four years, in which you'd think they might have done some policy work and considered some new ideas, the self-described centrepiece of their 2021 campaign is, wait for it: Roe 8 and Roe 9.

I know the member for Tangney and his colleagues enjoy political games and stunts, and that's their choice. But they've also made a big song and dance in the past about the importance of respecting a political mandate. The people of Western Australia made a decisive choice in March 2017 that hasn't been respected by WA Liberals, state or federal. They continue to ignore the needs of Western Australians. They continue to put their vanity above the projects, services and jobs that WA needs to emerge from this health and economic crisis.

In three weeks time, we'll be on the other side of another Western Australian state election. If the people of Western Australia again reject the pointless, wasteful and harmful Roe 8 project, it will be utterly unacceptable for WA to be denied the opportunity to benefit from budgeted federal funds—$1.2 billion in federal funds. That funding should be applied to projects that support our community's needs and help Western Australia recover from the pandemic. That funding should not be held to ransom in the name of a political game—a silly set of political stunts that answer to the vanity and the selfishness of federal Liberals who continue to take Western Australia for granted.

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