Matt O'Sullivan (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I take this opportunity today to update the Senate on my recent travels in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, including my visit to the Djarindjin airport located 200 kilometres north of Broome, along the Cape Leveque Road. Djarindjin is a coastal community and home to around 390 residents. I'll touch on the Cape Leveque Road shortly but, suffice to say, the money that the federal government's committed to this project is money very well spent. I can attest to this personally. A few kilometres from the Djarindjin community is the Djarindjin airport, a joint venture between the Broome International Airport and the Djarindjin Aboriginal Corporation.

The operation has a fantastic story. The project began in 2010 when the Djarindjin Aboriginal Corporation entered into a partnership with the Broome International Airport. This partnership sought to build a facility that could provide refuelling for helicopters flying to and from the Browse Basin oil and gas fields. To establish such a facility, the Djarindjin Aboriginal Corporation needed to borrow $6 million, and the interest-free loan was facilitated by the Broome International Airport.

This facility was built in 2011, and by April 2018 they've fully paid off the loan. What an absolutely fantastic achievement. The airport now services up to 45,000 passengers per year with up to 20 helicopters per day passing through Djarindjin to be refuelled, with a record of 24 helicopters and 30,000 litres of fuel just in one single day. This is in a very remote part of our country. The airport has the capability to take small, twin-prop planes on its runway, and the RFDS use Djarindjin as its main Dampier Peninsula patient transfer station.

What makes this story even better—and the reason why I was particularly keen to visit—is that the airport is fully staffed by the local Aboriginal population who live on country. The fellas up there have no background in aviation, but they were trained to the absolute highest standards. As a result, they now operate the Southern Hemisphere's only civil hot-refuelling program—that is, where the rotors of the helicopter are still spinning while the staff are refuelling the helicopter. It's amazing. I got to see it for myself.

Because all the airport staff live on country, their wages go back into the local economy and they can spend the time that they aren't working with their families. They can continue to participate as part of their community, which allows them to mentor and train other members of their society, creating a positive cycle where no external assistance is required. The airport also has a zero tolerance to drugs and alcohol. Of course, this project provides opportunities employment and training in other than just the core responsibility of refuelling.

With the high risks of hot refuelling, Djarindjin has a fire truck on stand-by at all times. It's piloted by airport staff. Cleaning, gardening and day-to-day maintenance are also undertaken by the on-country staff. I think the airport may have the greenest lawn in the Kimberley—it's phenomenal! I believe that the initiative shown by the Djarindjin Airport community to build and operate Djarindjin Airport could serve as a model and inspiration not only for other Indigenous communities around Australia but for all businesses.

It would be remiss of me at this point to not mention Nathan, the chief executive of the Djarindjin Aboriginal Corporation. He's not only seeking to expand the airport to take direct flights from Perth but also taking the initiative to establish businesses in the Djarindjin community which can be passed on as a going concern to interested locals. These include a caravan park—to capitalise on the influx of tourists when the Cape Leveque Road is sealed—a coffee shop and a screen-printing business. It is some of the most beautiful parts of our country up there. Tourists want to be able to go and connect with it, and this organisation is looking to exploit every opportunity that that can create. In this sense, Nathan is using the Djarindjin Aboriginal Corporation as a business development vehicle. He's also diversifying the community's economy. Nathan is such a positive driving force.

I mentioned earlier the Cape Leveque Road. This is a 205-kilometre road stretching from just outside of Broome all the way to One Arm Point. I drove on it just last week. At present, 90 kilometres of this road remains unsealed. However, the sealing of this 90-kilometre stretch is currently underway and, having driven on it, I can assure you that it is absolutely necessary. I've been to many places, and it's one of the roughest gazetted roads that I've driven on. Thanks to a $52.5 million grant from the Commonwealth government, this project is underway. You can see where they've graded the new section.

The unsealed section is a rough and dusty section and it's only passable in a four-wheel drive, and that's only in dry season. If you go there in the wet, there's no way you'd get through. It can become a quagmire, and it's often completely impassable, cutting off vehicle access for the communities and the cape. The road is important for those who live there to be able to get in and out. It's also for tourists and other visitors who want to go up into that wonderful landscape, particularly in wet season. Tourists don't tend to go up there in wet season, but I've had the great fortune of going up there then. It's absolutely magical. The country just comes alive. This is going to enable all-year access into these places, except, of course, in extreme weather events. There are 71 Indigenous communities on the cape, as well as pastoral stations, pearl farms and tourist destinations. The sealing of this road is not only a tourist issue but, as I was saying, an important safety issue as well. The project is expected to be completed in 2021.

While I was in Broome, I was also pleased to meet with the president of the Broome Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Peter Taylor, and hear firsthand about the opportunities for the town and the region. Resources, agriculture and tourism continue to be driving forces behind this region's economy. The federal government is committed to supporting these industries, including projects such as the Sheffield Resources' Thunderbird Mineral Sands operation, which received a loan of up to $95 million from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund. This will provide employment and economic opportunities for the town. This project would not be possible without the support of the Commonwealth government. Further to this, the $3.5 billion Roads of Strategic Importance program and the Northern Australia Beef Roads Program are also contributing to the economic strength of the Kimberley, making infrastructure links in the region more durable and usable year-round.

On the tourism front, the Kimberley Marine Support Base has received state approval and is set to transform the industry in Broome. With tides as high as 10 metres, conventional docks just aren't cutting it for cruise ships. They simply can't get in and out. They're obviously subject to the natural flow of the tides, which doesn't always align with the schedule of the boats that are passing through. So this base will operate as a floating dock on a hinge—so it will move up and down with the tide. It's going to allow for longer stays for tourists in town and bring greater economic opportunity into a very important and beautiful part of our country. This is going to mean more local jobs for the local economy.

I'm very optimistic about the economy in Broome and the broader Kimberley. I've spent a lot of time up there over the last 10 years with my previous work. While employment won't change everything when it comes to some of the social challenges that many in these communities, sadly, face, the reality is that, without employment, nothing will change. So I'm very optimistic about what can happen in the Kimberley, and I look forward to being involved with its growth in the coming years.