House debates

Wednesday, 25 June 2014

Statements by Members

Pearce Electorate: Road Funding

1:50 pm

Photo of Christian PorterChristian Porter (Pearce, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

I rise to acknowledge the unprecedented road infrastructure investment being delivered by the coalition government in my electorate of Pearce. One part of this record investment will occur in the north of my electorate. Drivers travelling to and from Chittering will benefit under this government's Black Spot Program funding, with significant road improvements along a six-kilometre stretch of Muchea Road East. $174,000 is being invested for a particularly unfortunate stretch of road that has had several tragic incidents and has needed attention for quite some time. Muchea Road East will receive significant upgrades, including improvements to its intersections, the creation of new slip lanes, improvements to street lighting and road markings.

Few other electorates in Australia could boast roads that have done as much to grow the national wealth than those in Pearce, but equally it has been well known for many years that roads inside the 14,000 square kilometres of Pearce have been in need of major investment. Before the election I committed myself to fighting for a fairer share for WA and it is very pleasing that the coalition's first budget recognises the enormous weight Western Australian roads carry in terms of helping to grow our national economy.

As part of the 2014 federal budget the government has committed to funding a record $50 billion to building and improving the infrastructure of the 21st century. The Black Spot Program gives priority to locations with a history of serious road accidents. That funding increases by $200 million to $500 million out to 2018-19. In WA alone there are 32 projects that are being funded under this program. (Time expired)