House debates

Wednesday, 16 September 2015

Statements by Members

Forrest Electorate: Bunbury Port

1:31 pm

Photo of Nola MarinoNola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

The port of Bunbury is a vital part of economic life in the South West. There are some excellent plans afoot to expand the social aspects of the port of Bunbury, including proposals for a marina development and the expansion of the wonderful Dolphin Discovery Centre. Both are great projects worthy of support and are a step along the road to having Bunbury and its visitors re-engage with its beautiful water assets.

The port of Bunbury is also an active business, where more than 10 million tonnes of alumina and over a million tonnes of woodchips are exported every year. Bunbury is the biggest alumina exporting port in Australia, and one of the biggest in the world, with exports equating to over 12 per cent of world demand. It is part of the Southern Ports Authority, which also includes Esperance and Albany ports. Esperance port had a $54 million upgrade completed in 2002. In 2011, the WA state government opened a $42 million waterfront development at Albany to go with its new $70 million entertainment centre. So I really look forward to, and support, the local plans for expansion of the marina development and enhancing experiences and opportunities at the Dolphin Discovery Centre. This will help to extend the opportunities for locals and tourists to take advantage of the area between Casuarina Boat Harbour and Koombana Bay and improve the area for boat users and the general public.