❓ Hon. Julie Freeman questions the Minister for Transport regarding streetlight outages on Tonkin Highway and Kwinana Freeway due to cable theft. The Minister acknowledges the problem and outlines measures being taken to address it.
AnsweredQoN 351Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Main Roads—Streetlight outages351.Hon Julie Freemanto
the parliamentary secretary representing the Minister for Transport:I refer to the
ongoing street lighting outages along major traffic routes caused by cable
theft.(1) On what date did Main Roads Western Australia
first receive a report of streetlighting outages on Tonkin Highway between Muchea
and Ellenbrook?(2) On what date did Main Roads first receive a
report of streetlighting outages at the Kwinana Freeway intersections between
Pinjarra Road and Russell Road?
the parliamentary secretary representing the Minister for Transport:I refer to the
ongoing street lighting outages along major traffic routes caused by cable
theft.(1) On what date did Main Roads Western Australia
first receive a report of streetlighting outages on Tonkin Highway between Muchea
and Ellenbrook?(2) On what date did Main Roads first receive a
report of streetlighting outages at the Kwinana Freeway intersections between
Pinjarra Road and Russell Road?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
18 June 2025
Response time
0 days
Hon Samantha Rowe
replied:I thank the
honourable member for some notice of the question and provide the following
answer on behalf of the Minister for Transport.(1)–(2) Main Roads has experienced a
significant increase in the incidences of cable theft across its road network
over the past few years. The incidence of cable theft in the 2023–24
financial year increased by over 85% more than the prior financial year, and
indications are that 2024–25 may be worse. Main Roads is researching
and trialling different anti-theft measures to obstruct and deter thieves from
stealing thecables. Due to the extensive nature of
this issue, including re-cabled sites being targeted multiple times,Main
Roads is experiencing long lead times for the procurement of replacement cables
and subsequent resource availability constraints, which is causing delays to
the growing backlog of works. Given the large amount of cable to be replaced,
the reinstallation of lighting across the network is being prioritised with the
highest volume transport routes, the Kwinana and Mitchell Freeways as well as
Tonkin Highway being addressed first.
Main Roads—Streetlight outages
replied:I thank the
honourable member for some notice of the question and provide the following
answer on behalf of the Minister for Transport.(1)–(2) Main Roads has experienced a
significant increase in the incidences of cable theft across its road network
over the past few years. The incidence of cable theft in the 2023–24
financial year increased by over 85% more than the prior financial year, and
indications are that 2024–25 may be worse. Main Roads is researching
and trialling different anti-theft measures to obstruct and deter thieves from
stealing thecables. Due to the extensive nature of
this issue, including re-cabled sites being targeted multiple times,Main
Roads is experiencing long lead times for the procurement of replacement cables
and subsequent resource availability constraints, which is causing delays to
the growing backlog of works. Given the large amount of cable to be replaced,
the reinstallation of lighting across the network is being prioritised with the
highest volume transport routes, the Kwinana and Mitchell Freeways as well as
Tonkin Highway being addressed first.
Main Roads—Streetlight outages
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.