Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to talk about the state of the roads in my electorate of Swan and how this government must do more to deliver on its promises. In my local area there are a number of significant roads and freight routes that are important to local communities and are important for the economic development of WA. The freight terminals are in my electorate. You could say that Swan is the freight hub of Western Australia, particularly with the airport which provides a gateway to the City of Perth when people first come into Western Australia.

I particularly want to mention four spots in my electorate of Swan which need to be addressed. The first is the Great Eastern Highway stretch between Kooyong Road and Tonkin Highway. I will admit that this has been an issue going back to 1999. So it is a decade now. But before the last election John Howard and the coalition committed to substantial funding for the Great Eastern Highway. The Labor Party later responded with a commitment of $180 million for the Kooyong Road to Tonkin Highway stretch of the Great Eastern Highway in a project to cost $225 million, with the WA government providing the balance. This stretch of road not only is an important local transport corridor but it also services the ever-expanding Perth airport and the north-east suburbs of Perth. It is now becoming so congested—it is not just airport traffic but also normal day-to-day traffic that is congesting the road. It needs addressing.

The people of my electorate of Swan continue to ask me about the progress of this project. Many of them use the road every day and know how dangerous and choked with congestion it is. They have seen no progress since 2007. When this year’s federal budget was passed, there was no mention of the project. In the WA budget that followed in the next week, the Barnett government announced that stage 1 would go ahead this year. Questioning from Senator Back at Senate estimates revealed that the federal government also would contribute some money this year. However, this was not in the budget and the government seems unwilling to provide the full information. Local people will be wondering whether, as with the Belmont Medicare office promise, the government is stalling on this issue. People cannot see any progress happening at this site, and there is no excuse for any delays.

The second issue I want to raise is the internodal links project at Perth Airport. All West Australians were disappointed to see that this project was not made an immediate priority for Infrastructure Australia in the budget. I do not need to tell members how essential it is for local families that the road, rail and other transport links around the airport are maintained and improved. It is vital that this airport, which services not only the eastern states and international services but also services the regions of Western Australia, is maintained and improved.

Thirdly, I want to raise an issue that the local MLA for South Perth, John McGrath, has been raising for some time. Manning Road is a major road that runs through the south of my electorate and connects with the Kwinana Freeway. While Manning Road intersects with the freeway, there is no on-ramp to take commuters from the Manning Road onto the freeway going south; they have to go through a dangerous overpass and back over to Canning Bridge to try and merge onto the south part of the freeway. It is a hotbed for accidents, and we also need to reduce the traffic that goes on to Canning Highway. This has been a constant cause of frustration and danger for commuters within my electorate. They are able to quickly and easily travel down Manning Road and up the Kwinana Freeway if they are going north, but must add up to 15 minutes extra to their trip if they choose to travel south because they need to drive up the freeway, turn off at the next exit and then turn back around onto the south on-ramp.

In addition to this big road infrastructure, there are many local road black spots that need attention. I have told the House before about my successful campaign to have speed restrictions put in place at the Orrong Road-Pilbara Street intersection at Welshpool. This road too is choked from dawn till dusk. My next priority is the Goddard Street-Howick Street intersection in Lathlain. Local resident Claire Goss has seen numerous accidents at this intersection and has been campaigning for improvements to road design in that area. The main problem is the design of the roundabout and the wide open roads. The site is just next to a primary school, and it must be a major priority for us to fix this. I have been to see the mayor and the chief planner of the town of Victoria Park, and I can ensure members that I will continue to pursue this issue as there was another accident there during the week.

While I have the chance, I would quickly like to congratulate a constituent of mine, Kim Beazley, who has been announced as the new ambassador to the US. Kim lives in the same suburb as me in South Perth. I also take this opportunity to congratulate Brendan Nelson, who has been announced as the new ambassador to the EU. He is a fine man and I wish him all the best.