Stuart Henry (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tonight I rise to speak against the proposed brickworks on land at the Perth airport in my electorate of Hasluck. This is the fifth time I have spoken on this and the fifth time that I have called on Minister Truss and the Howard government in this place to stop this brickworks from being built. Yet there are still members of the Labor Party who question my commitment to stopping the brickworks—members of the Labor Party, like the Leader of the Opposition, who engage in cheap political point scoring and scaremongering of the worst kind instead of working to get the best outcome for the people of Hasluck.

This comes as no surprise. I have lived in my electorate for 20 years. I have raised my children in Hasluck. I work in Hasluck. I visit the homes of my constituents in Hasluck. I have written to the residents of Hasluck and they have written to me. I talk to the people in Hasluck every day. The best interests of the people of Hasluck are at the forefront of my mind. The Leader of the Opposition does not even live in his own state, let alone in his own electorate. The member for Brand is happy to fly in to my electorate, have a so-called community meeting with another Labor member, Senator Sterle—attracting only 24 people in High Wycombe—and peddle the most extraordinary and far-fetched lies and then fly out again. How would either of these two know what was going on in Hasluck?

Senator Sterle, the Johnny-come-lately senator, the senator who stands for nothing, has made one speech in the other place—just one—in which he criticised my efforts to stop the proposed brickworks. Then, when Senator Sterle was asked to speak at a public rally against the brickworks, he refused the opportunity. When at that same public rally I invited all of the concerned state and local government representatives to form a delegation to Canberra to address our concerns to Minister Truss, I was overwhelmed with respondents. Did Senator Sterle offer to assist? Did the Labor state Treasurer, Eric Ripper, whose electorate covers High Wycombe and other areas around the airport, offer to join me? Did Michelle Roberts, another state Labor minister, whose electorate of Midland will be most affected by the brickworks, offer to come to Canberra and help convince Minister Truss that the brickworks should not go ahead at the airport site? Not one Labor politician had the decency to even respond. Indeed, did the Labor government of Western Australia propose an alternative site? No. Only one local government councillor offered to come to Canberra.

I am implacably opposed to this proposed brickworks, as are thousands of constituents in my electorate. They are opposed to the brickworks being located at the Perth airport. While I respect BGC and the employment opportunities that they have created in WA, this is not the right place to build a brickworks in Perth. But let me say this: Senator Sterle should start looking at his Labor colleagues for actions and answers. Why has Alannah MacTiernan refused to provide a proper site for the BGC brickworks? This would not be an issue today if the Labor government in WA took its job seriously and provided for industry growth and development in a responsible way. There is a chronic brick shortage in WA. BGC is a major builder and simply cannot get bricks quickly enough. The WA Labor government should recognise this shortage and provide appropriate locations for additional brickworks to be built to meet this need.

But it seems that the Labor Party is just a hotbed of hypocrisy. Despite Senator Sterle’s supposed concern for the wellbeing of the residents of Hasluck—concern expressed in just one speech in parliament—what does he have to say about the two new brick kilns approved by the Labor minister Alannah MacTiernan, in Midland, without any public consultation? There has been not a squeak from Senator Sterle, not a squeak from the Leader of the Opposition and not a squeak from anyone in the Labor Party. Why? Because they do not actually care about the people who live in Hasluck, who will be affected by this proposed brickworks. I care about my constituents. That is why I will continue to say no to the brickworks at Perth airport.