❓ The Minister for Regional Development outlines the Pilbara Cities Initiative's efforts to improve infrastructure and amenity in the North West, aiming to attract defence personnel and investment, while criticising the opposition's stance.
AnsweredQoN 412Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
PILBARA CITIES INITIATIVE — DEFENCE PLANNING
I understand that the federal government is investigating plans to shift more troops and military resources to the north west of Western Australia. Can the minister inform the house how the state government’s Pilbara Cities initiative is working to provide the infrastructure and amenity that could facilitate this proposal? Mr B.J. GRYLLS
I understand that the federal government is investigating plans to shift more troops and military resources to the north west of Western Australia. Can the minister inform the house how the state government’s Pilbara Cities initiative is working to provide the infrastructure and amenity that could facilitate this proposal? Mr B.J. GRYLLS
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for North West for the question and his very real interest in growing Pilbara Cities and the north west. Having more defence personnel based there will obviously be very exciting. The state government’s Pilbara Cities project is about transforming the north west of this state by creating livable, affordable and attractive communities. Under the previous government, this did not happen. Under the previous government, there was total neglect of Karratha and Port Hedland, and the Department of Defence would not have thought twice about looking to relocate any of its assets there because essentially the previous government had allowed those towns to develop into fly in, fly out camps. We are certainly not of that will. We are looking forward to seeing very strong growth in the Pilbara over the coming years. Just last week we announced phase 2 of the South Hedland town centre revitalisation; an additional $53.1 million has been allocated to continue the expansion of the South Hedland town centre. The member for Pilbara does not get to ask many questions any more, but in his electorate, which he has served for a long time, we are very determined to grow the livability and amenity of the communities. It is interesting to note that this last couple of years has probably been the member’s most successful term in Parliament in what he has been able to deliver to his local community. Stage 1 of the South Hedland redevelopment was a $23.1 million project. It funded the realignment of the main street, a new town square with amphitheatre, a shaded market walk, a water play area, public art and three mixed-use sites providing a diversity of residential and commercial opportunities. Already, Humfrey Land Developments is bringing to market apartments on those three sites from the first phase of the project. Under stage 2, vacant land in the centre of town will be transformed into seven medium-density commercial and residential lots to improve housing availability and social amenity. It will also include a new library, council offices and an expansion of the aquatics centre. It will open up land for a dedicated entertainment precinct, which could feature cinemas, restaurants, cafes, bars and boutique shops. It sounds like the sort of place that defence personnel would like to live in. This project will attract new investors to town and will provide more housing choice through a further 750 dwellings. Private developers will have access to a total of 100 hectares. Apart from mixed-use commercial and residential land, we are also looking at the possibility of hotel and short-stay accommodation. This is about making South Hedland a place where people want to live, work and raise a family and a place where people have a wide choice in housing and a range of leisure options. It is communities like these that provide the opportunity for the Australian Defence Force when looking at the protection of our assets in the north west, which are absolutely vital to not only our economy but also the national economy and the world economy, given the huge reliance on Western Australian natural resources to power and help build all the developments across the globe. We are very keen to see defence take up a stronger presence in the north west. In media commentary yesterday the Premier was very supportive of this, and he is obviously looking to facilitate this in any way, and welcomed the announcement of the federal Minister for Defence to look at this. That is why we were absolutely shocked today to read that the opposition spokesperson for regional development, the member for Rockingham, criticised the Premier’s proposal, saying soldiers and their families would prefer to live in the city. He criticised the Premier because he thinks that the whole of the Defence Force capability should be based in the city. I say to the shadow Minister for Regional Development, if he wishes to gain some credibility in regional WA, he actually has to support the development of regional WA. When the federal government at last starts to talk about regional development, the member for Rockingham says, “No, stop! We don’t want to see that.” The member for Rockingham wants to support a fly in, fly out defence presence in the north. Should something go wrong, they could muster that support down in Rockingham, get those people together, drive up them to the airport and load them onto the plane. The terrorists would be well and truly gone by then, but the Defence Force would be heading that way! Hopefully there would not be an ash cloud to stop the plane from taking off! Defence personnel are located in the north of Australia and the north west of Queensland. They have a very strong presence in Darwin; Darwin is a city that was almost built around defence. The member for Rockingham, as the shadow spokesperson for regional development, cannot seriously say that he does not support a stronger military presence in the Pilbara. This is unbelievable. The spokesperson for regional development opposes regional development, opposes the growth of the Pilbara and opposes a defence capability in the Pilbara. That sort of city-centric thinking is not the way to drive regional development. It is not the way to deliver an outcome for the good people of the Pilbara. The Mayor of Port Hedland will be very interested to read the member’s comments on this issue. The member for Pilbara is a very passionate advocate for his community. He is somewhat sidelined by the government at the moment but he is still a passionate advocate and doing pretty well. He is welcome to sit over here whenever he wants, because there is more work to be done, but we are on the right track! I say to the member for Rockingham that, if he has any designs on being a senior member of a government in the future, his support for Pilbara Cities will be vital. Given that the member has said in his statement that soldiers and their families would prefer to live in cities, is it not welcome that the Liberal–National state government, with the wonderful support of the member for North West, has a program called Pilbara Cities?
Mr B.J. GRYLLS replied: I thank the member for North West for the question and his very real interest in growing Pilbara Cities and the north west. Having more defence personnel based there will obviously be very exciting. The state government’s Pilbara Cities project is about transforming the north west of this state by creating livable, affordable and attractive communities. Under the previous government, this did not happen. Under the previous government, there was total neglect of Karratha and Port Hedland, and the Department of Defence would not have thought twice about looking to relocate any of its assets there because essentially the previous government had allowed those towns to develop into fly in, fly out camps. We are certainly not of that will. We are looking forward to seeing very strong growth in the Pilbara over the coming years. Just last week we announced phase 2 of the South Hedland town centre revitalisation; an additional $53.1 million has been allocated to continue the expansion of the South Hedland town centre. The member for Pilbara does not get to ask many questions any more, but in his electorate, which he has served for a long time, we are very determined to grow the livability and amenity of the communities. It is interesting to note that this last couple of years has probably been the member’s most successful term in Parliament in what he has been able to deliver to his local community. Stage 1 of the South Hedland redevelopment was a $23.1 million project. It funded the realignment of the main street, a new town square with amphitheatre, a shaded market walk, a water play area, public art and three mixed-use sites providing a diversity of residential and commercial opportunities. Already, Humfrey Land Developments is bringing to market apartments on those three sites from the first phase of the project. Under stage 2, vacant land in the centre of town will be transformed into seven medium-density commercial and residential lots to improve housing availability and social amenity. It will also include a new library, council offices and an expansion of the aquatics centre. It will open up land for a dedicated entertainment precinct, which could feature cinemas, restaurants, cafes, bars and boutique shops. It sounds like the sort of place that defence personnel would like to live in. This project will attract new investors to town and will provide more housing choice through a further 750 dwellings. Private developers will have access to a total of 100 hectares. Apart from mixed-use commercial and residential land, we are also looking at the possibility of hotel and short-stay accommodation. This is about making South Hedland a place where people want to live, work and raise a family and a place where people have a wide choice in housing and a range of leisure options. It is communities like these that provide the opportunity for the Australian Defence Force when looking at the protection of our assets in the north west, which are absolutely vital to not only our economy but also the national economy and the world economy, given the huge reliance on Western Australian natural resources to power and help build all the developments across the globe. We are very keen to see defence take up a stronger presence in the north west. In media commentary yesterday the Premier was very supportive of this, and he is obviously looking to facilitate this in any way, and welcomed the announcement of the federal Minister for Defence to look at this. That is why we were absolutely shocked today to read that the opposition spokesperson for regional development, the member for Rockingham, criticised the Premier’s proposal, saying soldiers and their families would prefer to live in the city. He criticised the Premier because he thinks that the whole of the Defence Force capability should be based in the city. I say to the shadow Minister for Regional Development, if he wishes to gain some credibility in regional WA, he actually has to support the development of regional WA. When the federal government at last starts to talk about regional development, the member for Rockingham says, “No, stop! We don’t want to see that.” The member for Rockingham wants to support a fly in, fly out defence presence in the north. Should something go wrong, they could muster that support down in Rockingham, get those people together, drive up them to the airport and load them onto the plane. The terrorists would be well and truly gone by then, but the Defence Force would be heading that way! Hopefully there would not be an ash cloud to stop the plane from taking off! Defence personnel are located in the north of Australia and the north west of Queensland. They have a very strong presence in Darwin; Darwin is a city that was almost built around defence. The member for Rockingham, as the shadow spokesperson for regional development, cannot seriously say that he does not support a stronger military presence in the Pilbara. This is unbelievable. The spokesperson for regional development opposes regional development, opposes the growth of the Pilbara and opposes a defence capability in the Pilbara. That sort of city-centric thinking is not the way to drive regional development. It is not the way to deliver an outcome for the good people of the Pilbara. The Mayor of Port Hedland will be very interested to read the member’s comments on this issue. The member for Pilbara is a very passionate advocate for his community. He is somewhat sidelined by the government at the moment but he is still a passionate advocate and doing pretty well. He is welcome to sit over here whenever he wants, because there is more work to be done, but we are on the right track! I say to the member for Rockingham that, if he has any designs on being a senior member of a government in the future, his support for Pilbara Cities will be vital. Given that the member has said in his statement that soldiers and their families would prefer to live in cities, is it not welcome that the Liberal–National state government, with the wonderful support of the member for North West, has a program called Pilbara Cities?
I thank the member for North West for the question and his very real interest in growing Pilbara Cities and the north west. Having more defence personnel based there will obviously be very exciting. The state government’s Pilbara Cities project is about transforming the north west of this state by creating livable, affordable and attractive communities. Under the previous government, this did not happen. Under the previous government, there was total neglect of Karratha and Port Hedland, and the Department of Defence would not have thought twice about looking to relocate any of its assets there because essentially the previous government had allowed those towns to develop into fly in, fly out camps. We are certainly not of that will. We are looking forward to seeing very strong growth in the Pilbara over the coming years. Just last week we announced phase 2 of the South Hedland town centre revitalisation; an additional $53.1 million has been allocated to continue the expansion of the South Hedland town centre. The member for Pilbara does not get to ask many questions any more, but in his electorate, which he has served for a long time, we are very determined to grow the livability and amenity of the communities. It is interesting to note that this last couple of years has probably been the member’s most successful term in Parliament in what he has been able to deliver to his local community. Stage 1 of the South Hedland redevelopment was a $23.1 million project. It funded the realignment of the main street, a new town square with amphitheatre, a shaded market walk, a water play area, public art and three mixed-use sites providing a diversity of residential and commercial opportunities. Already, Humfrey Land Developments is bringing to market apartments on those three sites from the first phase of the project. Under stage 2, vacant land in the centre of town will be transformed into seven medium-density commercial and residential lots to improve housing availability and social amenity. It will also include a new library, council offices and an expansion of the aquatics centre. It will open up land for a dedicated entertainment precinct, which could feature cinemas, restaurants, cafes, bars and boutique shops. It sounds like the sort of place that defence personnel would like to live in. This project will attract new investors to town and will provide more housing choice through a further 750 dwellings. Private developers will have access to a total of 100 hectares. Apart from mixed-use commercial and residential land, we are also looking at the possibility of hotel and short-stay accommodation. This is about making South Hedland a place where people want to live, work and raise a family and a place where people have a wide choice in housing and a range of leisure options. It is communities like these that provide the opportunity for the Australian Defence Force when looking at the protection of our assets in the north west, which are absolutely vital to not only our economy but also the national economy and the world economy, given the huge reliance on Western Australian natural resources to power and help build all the developments across the globe. We are very keen to see defence take up a stronger presence in the north west. In media commentary yesterday the Premier was very supportive of this, and he is obviously looking to facilitate this in any way, and welcomed the announcement of the federal Minister for Defence to look at this. That is why we were absolutely shocked today to read that the opposition spokesperson for regional development, the member for Rockingham, criticised the Premier’s proposal, saying soldiers and their families would prefer to live in the city. He criticised the Premier because he thinks that the whole of the Defence Force capability should be based in the city. I say to the shadow Minister for Regional Development, if he wishes to gain some credibility in regional WA, he actually has to support the development of regional WA. When the federal government at last starts to talk about regional development, the member for Rockingham says, “No, stop! We don’t want to see that.” The member for Rockingham wants to support a fly in, fly out defence presence in the north. Should something go wrong, they could muster that support down in Rockingham, get those people together, drive up them to the airport and load them onto the plane. The terrorists would be well and truly gone by then, but the Defence Force would be heading that way! Hopefully there would not be an ash cloud to stop the plane from taking off! Defence personnel are located in the north of Australia and the north west of Queensland. They have a very strong presence in Darwin; Darwin is a city that was almost built around defence. The member for Rockingham, as the shadow spokesperson for regional development, cannot seriously say that he does not support a stronger military presence in the Pilbara. This is unbelievable. The spokesperson for regional development opposes regional development, opposes the growth of the Pilbara and opposes a defence capability in the Pilbara. That sort of city-centric thinking is not the way to drive regional development. It is not the way to deliver an outcome for the good people of the Pilbara. The Mayor of Port Hedland will be very interested to read the member’s comments on this issue. The member for Pilbara is a very passionate advocate for his community. He is somewhat sidelined by the government at the moment but he is still a passionate advocate and doing pretty well. He is welcome to sit over here whenever he wants, because there is more work to be done, but we are on the right track! I say to the member for Rockingham that, if he has any designs on being a senior member of a government in the future, his support for Pilbara Cities will be vital. Given that the member has said in his statement that soldiers and their families would prefer to live in cities, is it not welcome that the Liberal–National state government, with the wonderful support of the member for North West, has a program called Pilbara Cities?
The state government’s Pilbara Cities project is about transforming the north west of this state by creating livable, affordable and attractive communities. Under the previous government, this did not happen. Under the previous government, there was total neglect of Karratha and Port Hedland, and the Department of Defence would not have thought twice about looking to relocate any of its assets there because essentially the previous government had allowed those towns to develop into fly in, fly out camps. We are certainly not of that will. We are looking forward to seeing very strong growth in the Pilbara over the coming years. Just last week we announced phase 2 of the South Hedland town centre revitalisation; an additional $53.1 million has been allocated to continue the expansion of the South Hedland town centre. The member for Pilbara does not get to ask many questions any more, but in his electorate, which he has served for a long time, we are very determined to grow the livability and amenity of the communities. It is interesting to note that this last couple of years has probably been the member’s most successful term in Parliament in what he has been able to deliver to his local community. Stage 1 of the South Hedland redevelopment was a $23.1 million project. It funded the realignment of the main street, a new town square with amphitheatre, a shaded market walk, a water play area, public art and three mixed-use sites providing a diversity of residential and commercial opportunities. Already, Humfrey Land Developments is bringing to market apartments on those three sites from the first phase of the project. Under stage 2, vacant land in the centre of town will be transformed into seven medium-density commercial and residential lots to improve housing availability and social amenity. It will also include a new library, council offices and an expansion of the aquatics centre. It will open up land for a dedicated entertainment precinct, which could feature cinemas, restaurants, cafes, bars and boutique shops. It sounds like the sort of place that defence personnel would like to live in. This project will attract new investors to town and will provide more housing choice through a further 750 dwellings. Private developers will have access to a total of 100 hectares. Apart from mixed-use commercial and residential land, we are also looking at the possibility of hotel and short-stay accommodation. This is about making South Hedland a place where people want to live, work and raise a family and a place where people have a wide choice in housing and a range of leisure options. It is communities like these that provide the opportunity for the Australian Defence Force when looking at the protection of our assets in the north west, which are absolutely vital to not only our economy but also the national economy and the world economy, given the huge reliance on Western Australian natural resources to power and help build all the developments across the globe. We are very keen to see defence take up a stronger presence in the north west. In media commentary yesterday the Premier was very supportive of this, and he is obviously looking to facilitate this in any way, and welcomed the announcement of the federal Minister for Defence to look at this. That is why we were absolutely shocked today to read that the opposition spokesperson for regional development, the member for Rockingham, criticised the Premier’s proposal, saying soldiers and their families would prefer to live in the city. He criticised the Premier because he thinks that the whole of the Defence Force capability should be based in the city. I say to the shadow Minister for Regional Development, if he wishes to gain some credibility in regional WA, he actually has to support the development of regional WA. When the federal government at last starts to talk about regional development, the member for Rockingham says, “No, stop! We don’t want to see that.” The member for Rockingham wants to support a fly in, fly out defence presence in the north. Should something go wrong, they could muster that support down in Rockingham, get those people together, drive up them to the airport and load them onto the plane. The terrorists would be well and truly gone by then, but the Defence Force would be heading that way! Hopefully there would not be an ash cloud to stop the plane from taking off! Defence personnel are located in the north of Australia and the north west of Queensland. They have a very strong presence in Darwin; Darwin is a city that was almost built around defence. The member for Rockingham, as the shadow spokesperson for regional development, cannot seriously say that he does not support a stronger military presence in the Pilbara. This is unbelievable. The spokesperson for regional development opposes regional development, opposes the growth of the Pilbara and opposes a defence capability in the Pilbara. That sort of city-centric thinking is not the way to drive regional development. It is not the way to deliver an outcome for the good people of the Pilbara. The Mayor of Port Hedland will be very interested to read the member’s comments on this issue. The member for Pilbara is a very passionate advocate for his community. He is somewhat sidelined by the government at the moment but he is still a passionate advocate and doing pretty well. He is welcome to sit over here whenever he wants, because there is more work to be done, but we are on the right track! I say to the member for Rockingham that, if he has any designs on being a senior member of a government in the future, his support for Pilbara Cities will be vital. Given that the member has said in his statement that soldiers and their families would prefer to live in cities, is it not welcome that the Liberal–National state government, with the wonderful support of the member for North West, has a program called Pilbara Cities?
Just last week we announced phase 2 of the South Hedland town centre revitalisation; an additional $53.1 million has been allocated to continue the expansion of the South Hedland town centre. The member for Pilbara does not get to ask many questions any more, but in his electorate, which he has served for a long time, we are very determined to grow the livability and amenity of the communities. It is interesting to note that this last couple of years has probably been the member’s most successful term in Parliament in what he has been able to deliver to his local community. Stage 1 of the South Hedland redevelopment was a $23.1 million project. It funded the realignment of the main street, a new town square with amphitheatre, a shaded market walk, a water play area, public art and three mixed-use sites providing a diversity of residential and commercial opportunities. Already, Humfrey Land Developments is bringing to market apartments on those three sites from the first phase of the project. Under stage 2, vacant land in the centre of town will be transformed into seven medium-density commercial and residential lots to improve housing availability and social amenity. It will also include a new library, council offices and an expansion of the aquatics centre. It will open up land for a dedicated entertainment precinct, which could feature cinemas, restaurants, cafes, bars and boutique shops. It sounds like the sort of place that defence personnel would like to live in. This project will attract new investors to town and will provide more housing choice through a further 750 dwellings. Private developers will have access to a total of 100 hectares. Apart from mixed-use commercial and residential land, we are also looking at the possibility of hotel and short-stay accommodation. This is about making South Hedland a place where people want to live, work and raise a family and a place where people have a wide choice in housing and a range of leisure options. It is communities like these that provide the opportunity for the Australian Defence Force when looking at the protection of our assets in the north west, which are absolutely vital to not only our economy but also the national economy and the world economy, given the huge reliance on Western Australian natural resources to power and help build all the developments across the globe. We are very keen to see defence take up a stronger presence in the north west. In media commentary yesterday the Premier was very supportive of this, and he is obviously looking to facilitate this in any way, and welcomed the announcement of the federal Minister for Defence to look at this. That is why we were absolutely shocked today to read that the opposition spokesperson for regional development, the member for Rockingham, criticised the Premier’s proposal, saying soldiers and their families would prefer to live in the city. He criticised the Premier because he thinks that the whole of the Defence Force capability should be based in the city. I say to the shadow Minister for Regional Development, if he wishes to gain some credibility in regional WA, he actually has to support the development of regional WA. When the federal government at last starts to talk about regional development, the member for Rockingham says, “No, stop! We don’t want to see that.” The member for Rockingham wants to support a fly in, fly out defence presence in the north. Should something go wrong, they could muster that support down in Rockingham, get those people together, drive up them to the airport and load them onto the plane. The terrorists would be well and truly gone by then, but the Defence Force would be heading that way! Hopefully there would not be an ash cloud to stop the plane from taking off! Defence personnel are located in the north of Australia and the north west of Queensland. They have a very strong presence in Darwin; Darwin is a city that was almost built around defence. The member for Rockingham, as the shadow spokesperson for regional development, cannot seriously say that he does not support a stronger military presence in the Pilbara. This is unbelievable. The spokesperson for regional development opposes regional development, opposes the growth of the Pilbara and opposes a defence capability in the Pilbara. That sort of city-centric thinking is not the way to drive regional development. It is not the way to deliver an outcome for the good people of the Pilbara. The Mayor of Port Hedland will be very interested to read the member’s comments on this issue. The member for Pilbara is a very passionate advocate for his community. He is somewhat sidelined by the government at the moment but he is still a passionate advocate and doing pretty well. He is welcome to sit over here whenever he wants, because there is more work to be done, but we are on the right track! I say to the member for Rockingham that, if he has any designs on being a senior member of a government in the future, his support for Pilbara Cities will be vital. Given that the member has said in his statement that soldiers and their families would prefer to live in cities, is it not welcome that the Liberal–National state government, with the wonderful support of the member for North West, has a program called Pilbara Cities?
Stage 1 of the South Hedland redevelopment was a $23.1 million project. It funded the realignment of the main street, a new town square with amphitheatre, a shaded market walk, a water play area, public art and three mixed-use sites providing a diversity of residential and commercial opportunities. Already, Humfrey Land Developments is bringing to market apartments on those three sites from the first phase of the project. Under stage 2, vacant land in the centre of town will be transformed into seven medium-density commercial and residential lots to improve housing availability and social amenity. It will also include a new library, council offices and an expansion of the aquatics centre. It will open up land for a dedicated entertainment precinct, which could feature cinemas, restaurants, cafes, bars and boutique shops. It sounds like the sort of place that defence personnel would like to live in. This project will attract new investors to town and will provide more housing choice through a further 750 dwellings. Private developers will have access to a total of 100 hectares. Apart from mixed-use commercial and residential land, we are also looking at the possibility of hotel and short-stay accommodation. This is about making South Hedland a place where people want to live, work and raise a family and a place where people have a wide choice in housing and a range of leisure options. It is communities like these that provide the opportunity for the Australian Defence Force when looking at the protection of our assets in the north west, which are absolutely vital to not only our economy but also the national economy and the world economy, given the huge reliance on Western Australian natural resources to power and help build all the developments across the globe. We are very keen to see defence take up a stronger presence in the north west. In media commentary yesterday the Premier was very supportive of this, and he is obviously looking to facilitate this in any way, and welcomed the announcement of the federal Minister for Defence to look at this. That is why we were absolutely shocked today to read that the opposition spokesperson for regional development, the member for Rockingham, criticised the Premier’s proposal, saying soldiers and their families would prefer to live in the city. He criticised the Premier because he thinks that the whole of the Defence Force capability should be based in the city. I say to the shadow Minister for Regional Development, if he wishes to gain some credibility in regional WA, he actually has to support the development of regional WA. When the federal government at last starts to talk about regional development, the member for Rockingham says, “No, stop! We don’t want to see that.” The member for Rockingham wants to support a fly in, fly out defence presence in the north. Should something go wrong, they could muster that support down in Rockingham, get those people together, drive up them to the airport and load them onto the plane. The terrorists would be well and truly gone by then, but the Defence Force would be heading that way! Hopefully there would not be an ash cloud to stop the plane from taking off! Defence personnel are located in the north of Australia and the north west of Queensland. They have a very strong presence in Darwin; Darwin is a city that was almost built around defence. The member for Rockingham, as the shadow spokesperson for regional development, cannot seriously say that he does not support a stronger military presence in the Pilbara. This is unbelievable. The spokesperson for regional development opposes regional development, opposes the growth of the Pilbara and opposes a defence capability in the Pilbara. That sort of city-centric thinking is not the way to drive regional development. It is not the way to deliver an outcome for the good people of the Pilbara. The Mayor of Port Hedland will be very interested to read the member’s comments on this issue. The member for Pilbara is a very passionate advocate for his community. He is somewhat sidelined by the government at the moment but he is still a passionate advocate and doing pretty well. He is welcome to sit over here whenever he wants, because there is more work to be done, but we are on the right track! I say to the member for Rockingham that, if he has any designs on being a senior member of a government in the future, his support for Pilbara Cities will be vital. Given that the member has said in his statement that soldiers and their families would prefer to live in cities, is it not welcome that the Liberal–National state government, with the wonderful support of the member for North West, has a program called Pilbara Cities?
This is about making South Hedland a place where people want to live, work and raise a family and a place where people have a wide choice in housing and a range of leisure options. It is communities like these that provide the opportunity for the Australian Defence Force when looking at the protection of our assets in the north west, which are absolutely vital to not only our economy but also the national economy and the world economy, given the huge reliance on Western Australian natural resources to power and help build all the developments across the globe. We are very keen to see defence take up a stronger presence in the north west. In media commentary yesterday the Premier was very supportive of this, and he is obviously looking to facilitate this in any way, and welcomed the announcement of the federal Minister for Defence to look at this. That is why we were absolutely shocked today to read that the opposition spokesperson for regional development, the member for Rockingham, criticised the Premier’s proposal, saying soldiers and their families would prefer to live in the city. He criticised the Premier because he thinks that the whole of the Defence Force capability should be based in the city. I say to the shadow Minister for Regional Development, if he wishes to gain some credibility in regional WA, he actually has to support the development of regional WA. When the federal government at last starts to talk about regional development, the member for Rockingham says, “No, stop! We don’t want to see that.” The member for Rockingham wants to support a fly in, fly out defence presence in the north. Should something go wrong, they could muster that support down in Rockingham, get those people together, drive up them to the airport and load them onto the plane. The terrorists would be well and truly gone by then, but the Defence Force would be heading that way! Hopefully there would not be an ash cloud to stop the plane from taking off! Defence personnel are located in the north of Australia and the north west of Queensland. They have a very strong presence in Darwin; Darwin is a city that was almost built around defence. The member for Rockingham, as the shadow spokesperson for regional development, cannot seriously say that he does not support a stronger military presence in the Pilbara. This is unbelievable. The spokesperson for regional development opposes regional development, opposes the growth of the Pilbara and opposes a defence capability in the Pilbara. That sort of city-centric thinking is not the way to drive regional development. It is not the way to deliver an outcome for the good people of the Pilbara. The Mayor of Port Hedland will be very interested to read the member’s comments on this issue. The member for Pilbara is a very passionate advocate for his community. He is somewhat sidelined by the government at the moment but he is still a passionate advocate and doing pretty well. He is welcome to sit over here whenever he wants, because there is more work to be done, but we are on the right track! I say to the member for Rockingham that, if he has any designs on being a senior member of a government in the future, his support for Pilbara Cities will be vital. Given that the member has said in his statement that soldiers and their families would prefer to live in cities, is it not welcome that the Liberal–National state government, with the wonderful support of the member for North West, has a program called Pilbara Cities?
Defence personnel are located in the north of Australia and the north west of Queensland. They have a very strong presence in Darwin; Darwin is a city that was almost built around defence. The member for Rockingham, as the shadow spokesperson for regional development, cannot seriously say that he does not support a stronger military presence in the Pilbara. This is unbelievable. The spokesperson for regional development opposes regional development, opposes the growth of the Pilbara and opposes a defence capability in the Pilbara. That sort of city-centric thinking is not the way to drive regional development. It is not the way to deliver an outcome for the good people of the Pilbara. The Mayor of Port Hedland will be very interested to read the member’s comments on this issue. The member for Pilbara is a very passionate advocate for his community. He is somewhat sidelined by the government at the moment but he is still a passionate advocate and doing pretty well. He is welcome to sit over here whenever he wants, because there is more work to be done, but we are on the right track! I say to the member for Rockingham that, if he has any designs on being a senior member of a government in the future, his support for Pilbara Cities will be vital. Given that the member has said in his statement that soldiers and their families would prefer to live in cities, is it not welcome that the Liberal–National state government, with the wonderful support of the member for North West, has a program called Pilbara Cities?
The member for Pilbara is a very passionate advocate for his community. He is somewhat sidelined by the government at the moment but he is still a passionate advocate and doing pretty well. He is welcome to sit over here whenever he wants, because there is more work to be done, but we are on the right track! I say to the member for Rockingham that, if he has any designs on being a senior member of a government in the future, his support for Pilbara Cities will be vital. Given that the member has said in his statement that soldiers and their families would prefer to live in cities, is it not welcome that the Liberal–National state government, with the wonderful support of the member for North West, has a program called Pilbara Cities?
I say to the member for Rockingham that, if he has any designs on being a senior member of a government in the future, his support for Pilbara Cities will be vital. Given that the member has said in his statement that soldiers and their families would prefer to live in cities, is it not welcome that the Liberal–National state government, with the wonderful support of the member for North West, has a program called Pilbara Cities?
Mr B.J. GRYLLS replied: I thank the member for North West for the question and his very real interest in growing Pilbara Cities and the north west. Having more defence personnel based there will obviously be very exciting. The state government’s Pilbara Cities project is about transforming the north west of this state by creating livable, affordable and attractive communities. Under the previous government, this did not happen. Under the previous government, there was total neglect of Karratha and Port Hedland, and the Department of Defence would not have thought twice about looking to relocate any of its assets there because essentially the previous government had allowed those towns to develop into fly in, fly out camps. We are certainly not of that will. We are looking forward to seeing very strong growth in the Pilbara over the coming years. Just last week we announced phase 2 of the South Hedland town centre revitalisation; an additional $53.1 million has been allocated to continue the expansion of the South Hedland town centre. The member for Pilbara does not get to ask many questions any more, but in his electorate, which he has served for a long time, we are very determined to grow the livability and amenity of the communities. It is interesting to note that this last couple of years has probably been the member’s most successful term in Parliament in what he has been able to deliver to his local community. Stage 1 of the South Hedland redevelopment was a $23.1 million project. It funded the realignment of the main street, a new town square with amphitheatre, a shaded market walk, a water play area, public art and three mixed-use sites providing a diversity of residential and commercial opportunities. Already, Humfrey Land Developments is bringing to market apartments on those three sites from the first phase of the project. Under stage 2, vacant land in the centre of town will be transformed into seven medium-density commercial and residential lots to improve housing availability and social amenity. It will also include a new library, council offices and an expansion of the aquatics centre. It will open up land for a dedicated entertainment precinct, which could feature cinemas, restaurants, cafes, bars and boutique shops. It sounds like the sort of place that defence personnel would like to live in. This project will attract new investors to town and will provide more housing choice through a further 750 dwellings. Private developers will have access to a total of 100 hectares. Apart from mixed-use commercial and residential land, we are also looking at the possibility of hotel and short-stay accommodation. This is about making South Hedland a place where people want to live, work and raise a family and a place where people have a wide choice in housing and a range of leisure options. It is communities like these that provide the opportunity for the Australian Defence Force when looking at the protection of our assets in the north west, which are absolutely vital to not only our economy but also the national economy and the world economy, given the huge reliance on Western Australian natural resources to power and help build all the developments across the globe. We are very keen to see defence take up a stronger presence in the north west. In media commentary yesterday the Premier was very supportive of this, and he is obviously looking to facilitate this in any way, and welcomed the announcement of the federal Minister for Defence to look at this. That is why we were absolutely shocked today to read that the opposition spokesperson for regional development, the member for Rockingham, criticised the Premier’s proposal, saying soldiers and their families would prefer to live in the city. He criticised the Premier because he thinks that the whole of the Defence Force capability should be based in the city. I say to the shadow Minister for Regional Development, if he wishes to gain some credibility in regional WA, he actually has to support the development of regional WA. When the federal government at last starts to talk about regional development, the member for Rockingham says, “No, stop! We don’t want to see that.” The member for Rockingham wants to support a fly in, fly out defence presence in the north. Should something go wrong, they could muster that support down in Rockingham, get those people together, drive up them to the airport and load them onto the plane. The terrorists would be well and truly gone by then, but the Defence Force would be heading that way! Hopefully there would not be an ash cloud to stop the plane from taking off! Defence personnel are located in the north of Australia and the north west of Queensland. They have a very strong presence in Darwin; Darwin is a city that was almost built around defence. The member for Rockingham, as the shadow spokesperson for regional development, cannot seriously say that he does not support a stronger military presence in the Pilbara. This is unbelievable. The spokesperson for regional development opposes regional development, opposes the growth of the Pilbara and opposes a defence capability in the Pilbara. That sort of city-centric thinking is not the way to drive regional development. It is not the way to deliver an outcome for the good people of the Pilbara. The Mayor of Port Hedland will be very interested to read the member’s comments on this issue. The member for Pilbara is a very passionate advocate for his community. He is somewhat sidelined by the government at the moment but he is still a passionate advocate and doing pretty well. He is welcome to sit over here whenever he wants, because there is more work to be done, but we are on the right track! I say to the member for Rockingham that, if he has any designs on being a senior member of a government in the future, his support for Pilbara Cities will be vital. Given that the member has said in his statement that soldiers and their families would prefer to live in cities, is it not welcome that the Liberal–National state government, with the wonderful support of the member for North West, has a program called Pilbara Cities?
I thank the member for North West for the question and his very real interest in growing Pilbara Cities and the north west. Having more defence personnel based there will obviously be very exciting. The state government’s Pilbara Cities project is about transforming the north west of this state by creating livable, affordable and attractive communities. Under the previous government, this did not happen. Under the previous government, there was total neglect of Karratha and Port Hedland, and the Department of Defence would not have thought twice about looking to relocate any of its assets there because essentially the previous government had allowed those towns to develop into fly in, fly out camps. We are certainly not of that will. We are looking forward to seeing very strong growth in the Pilbara over the coming years. Just last week we announced phase 2 of the South Hedland town centre revitalisation; an additional $53.1 million has been allocated to continue the expansion of the South Hedland town centre. The member for Pilbara does not get to ask many questions any more, but in his electorate, which he has served for a long time, we are very determined to grow the livability and amenity of the communities. It is interesting to note that this last couple of years has probably been the member’s most successful term in Parliament in what he has been able to deliver to his local community. Stage 1 of the South Hedland redevelopment was a $23.1 million project. It funded the realignment of the main street, a new town square with amphitheatre, a shaded market walk, a water play area, public art and three mixed-use sites providing a diversity of residential and commercial opportunities. Already, Humfrey Land Developments is bringing to market apartments on those three sites from the first phase of the project. Under stage 2, vacant land in the centre of town will be transformed into seven medium-density commercial and residential lots to improve housing availability and social amenity. It will also include a new library, council offices and an expansion of the aquatics centre. It will open up land for a dedicated entertainment precinct, which could feature cinemas, restaurants, cafes, bars and boutique shops. It sounds like the sort of place that defence personnel would like to live in. This project will attract new investors to town and will provide more housing choice through a further 750 dwellings. Private developers will have access to a total of 100 hectares. Apart from mixed-use commercial and residential land, we are also looking at the possibility of hotel and short-stay accommodation. This is about making South Hedland a place where people want to live, work and raise a family and a place where people have a wide choice in housing and a range of leisure options. It is communities like these that provide the opportunity for the Australian Defence Force when looking at the protection of our assets in the north west, which are absolutely vital to not only our economy but also the national economy and the world economy, given the huge reliance on Western Australian natural resources to power and help build all the developments across the globe. We are very keen to see defence take up a stronger presence in the north west. In media commentary yesterday the Premier was very supportive of this, and he is obviously looking to facilitate this in any way, and welcomed the announcement of the federal Minister for Defence to look at this. That is why we were absolutely shocked today to read that the opposition spokesperson for regional development, the member for Rockingham, criticised the Premier’s proposal, saying soldiers and their families would prefer to live in the city. He criticised the Premier because he thinks that the whole of the Defence Force capability should be based in the city. I say to the shadow Minister for Regional Development, if he wishes to gain some credibility in regional WA, he actually has to support the development of regional WA. When the federal government at last starts to talk about regional development, the member for Rockingham says, “No, stop! We don’t want to see that.” The member for Rockingham wants to support a fly in, fly out defence presence in the north. Should something go wrong, they could muster that support down in Rockingham, get those people together, drive up them to the airport and load them onto the plane. The terrorists would be well and truly gone by then, but the Defence Force would be heading that way! Hopefully there would not be an ash cloud to stop the plane from taking off! Defence personnel are located in the north of Australia and the north west of Queensland. They have a very strong presence in Darwin; Darwin is a city that was almost built around defence. The member for Rockingham, as the shadow spokesperson for regional development, cannot seriously say that he does not support a stronger military presence in the Pilbara. This is unbelievable. The spokesperson for regional development opposes regional development, opposes the growth of the Pilbara and opposes a defence capability in the Pilbara. That sort of city-centric thinking is not the way to drive regional development. It is not the way to deliver an outcome for the good people of the Pilbara. The Mayor of Port Hedland will be very interested to read the member’s comments on this issue. The member for Pilbara is a very passionate advocate for his community. He is somewhat sidelined by the government at the moment but he is still a passionate advocate and doing pretty well. He is welcome to sit over here whenever he wants, because there is more work to be done, but we are on the right track! I say to the member for Rockingham that, if he has any designs on being a senior member of a government in the future, his support for Pilbara Cities will be vital. Given that the member has said in his statement that soldiers and their families would prefer to live in cities, is it not welcome that the Liberal–National state government, with the wonderful support of the member for North West, has a program called Pilbara Cities?
The state government’s Pilbara Cities project is about transforming the north west of this state by creating livable, affordable and attractive communities. Under the previous government, this did not happen. Under the previous government, there was total neglect of Karratha and Port Hedland, and the Department of Defence would not have thought twice about looking to relocate any of its assets there because essentially the previous government had allowed those towns to develop into fly in, fly out camps. We are certainly not of that will. We are looking forward to seeing very strong growth in the Pilbara over the coming years. Just last week we announced phase 2 of the South Hedland town centre revitalisation; an additional $53.1 million has been allocated to continue the expansion of the South Hedland town centre. The member for Pilbara does not get to ask many questions any more, but in his electorate, which he has served for a long time, we are very determined to grow the livability and amenity of the communities. It is interesting to note that this last couple of years has probably been the member’s most successful term in Parliament in what he has been able to deliver to his local community. Stage 1 of the South Hedland redevelopment was a $23.1 million project. It funded the realignment of the main street, a new town square with amphitheatre, a shaded market walk, a water play area, public art and three mixed-use sites providing a diversity of residential and commercial opportunities. Already, Humfrey Land Developments is bringing to market apartments on those three sites from the first phase of the project. Under stage 2, vacant land in the centre of town will be transformed into seven medium-density commercial and residential lots to improve housing availability and social amenity. It will also include a new library, council offices and an expansion of the aquatics centre. It will open up land for a dedicated entertainment precinct, which could feature cinemas, restaurants, cafes, bars and boutique shops. It sounds like the sort of place that defence personnel would like to live in. This project will attract new investors to town and will provide more housing choice through a further 750 dwellings. Private developers will have access to a total of 100 hectares. Apart from mixed-use commercial and residential land, we are also looking at the possibility of hotel and short-stay accommodation. This is about making South Hedland a place where people want to live, work and raise a family and a place where people have a wide choice in housing and a range of leisure options. It is communities like these that provide the opportunity for the Australian Defence Force when looking at the protection of our assets in the north west, which are absolutely vital to not only our economy but also the national economy and the world economy, given the huge reliance on Western Australian natural resources to power and help build all the developments across the globe. We are very keen to see defence take up a stronger presence in the north west. In media commentary yesterday the Premier was very supportive of this, and he is obviously looking to facilitate this in any way, and welcomed the announcement of the federal Minister for Defence to look at this. That is why we were absolutely shocked today to read that the opposition spokesperson for regional development, the member for Rockingham, criticised the Premier’s proposal, saying soldiers and their families would prefer to live in the city. He criticised the Premier because he thinks that the whole of the Defence Force capability should be based in the city. I say to the shadow Minister for Regional Development, if he wishes to gain some credibility in regional WA, he actually has to support the development of regional WA. When the federal government at last starts to talk about regional development, the member for Rockingham says, “No, stop! We don’t want to see that.” The member for Rockingham wants to support a fly in, fly out defence presence in the north. Should something go wrong, they could muster that support down in Rockingham, get those people together, drive up them to the airport and load them onto the plane. The terrorists would be well and truly gone by then, but the Defence Force would be heading that way! Hopefully there would not be an ash cloud to stop the plane from taking off! Defence personnel are located in the north of Australia and the north west of Queensland. They have a very strong presence in Darwin; Darwin is a city that was almost built around defence. The member for Rockingham, as the shadow spokesperson for regional development, cannot seriously say that he does not support a stronger military presence in the Pilbara. This is unbelievable. The spokesperson for regional development opposes regional development, opposes the growth of the Pilbara and opposes a defence capability in the Pilbara. That sort of city-centric thinking is not the way to drive regional development. It is not the way to deliver an outcome for the good people of the Pilbara. The Mayor of Port Hedland will be very interested to read the member’s comments on this issue. The member for Pilbara is a very passionate advocate for his community. He is somewhat sidelined by the government at the moment but he is still a passionate advocate and doing pretty well. He is welcome to sit over here whenever he wants, because there is more work to be done, but we are on the right track! I say to the member for Rockingham that, if he has any designs on being a senior member of a government in the future, his support for Pilbara Cities will be vital. Given that the member has said in his statement that soldiers and their families would prefer to live in cities, is it not welcome that the Liberal–National state government, with the wonderful support of the member for North West, has a program called Pilbara Cities?
Just last week we announced phase 2 of the South Hedland town centre revitalisation; an additional $53.1 million has been allocated to continue the expansion of the South Hedland town centre. The member for Pilbara does not get to ask many questions any more, but in his electorate, which he has served for a long time, we are very determined to grow the livability and amenity of the communities. It is interesting to note that this last couple of years has probably been the member’s most successful term in Parliament in what he has been able to deliver to his local community. Stage 1 of the South Hedland redevelopment was a $23.1 million project. It funded the realignment of the main street, a new town square with amphitheatre, a shaded market walk, a water play area, public art and three mixed-use sites providing a diversity of residential and commercial opportunities. Already, Humfrey Land Developments is bringing to market apartments on those three sites from the first phase of the project. Under stage 2, vacant land in the centre of town will be transformed into seven medium-density commercial and residential lots to improve housing availability and social amenity. It will also include a new library, council offices and an expansion of the aquatics centre. It will open up land for a dedicated entertainment precinct, which could feature cinemas, restaurants, cafes, bars and boutique shops. It sounds like the sort of place that defence personnel would like to live in. This project will attract new investors to town and will provide more housing choice through a further 750 dwellings. Private developers will have access to a total of 100 hectares. Apart from mixed-use commercial and residential land, we are also looking at the possibility of hotel and short-stay accommodation. This is about making South Hedland a place where people want to live, work and raise a family and a place where people have a wide choice in housing and a range of leisure options. It is communities like these that provide the opportunity for the Australian Defence Force when looking at the protection of our assets in the north west, which are absolutely vital to not only our economy but also the national economy and the world economy, given the huge reliance on Western Australian natural resources to power and help build all the developments across the globe. We are very keen to see defence take up a stronger presence in the north west. In media commentary yesterday the Premier was very supportive of this, and he is obviously looking to facilitate this in any way, and welcomed the announcement of the federal Minister for Defence to look at this. That is why we were absolutely shocked today to read that the opposition spokesperson for regional development, the member for Rockingham, criticised the Premier’s proposal, saying soldiers and their families would prefer to live in the city. He criticised the Premier because he thinks that the whole of the Defence Force capability should be based in the city. I say to the shadow Minister for Regional Development, if he wishes to gain some credibility in regional WA, he actually has to support the development of regional WA. When the federal government at last starts to talk about regional development, the member for Rockingham says, “No, stop! We don’t want to see that.” The member for Rockingham wants to support a fly in, fly out defence presence in the north. Should something go wrong, they could muster that support down in Rockingham, get those people together, drive up them to the airport and load them onto the plane. The terrorists would be well and truly gone by then, but the Defence Force would be heading that way! Hopefully there would not be an ash cloud to stop the plane from taking off! Defence personnel are located in the north of Australia and the north west of Queensland. They have a very strong presence in Darwin; Darwin is a city that was almost built around defence. The member for Rockingham, as the shadow spokesperson for regional development, cannot seriously say that he does not support a stronger military presence in the Pilbara. This is unbelievable. The spokesperson for regional development opposes regional development, opposes the growth of the Pilbara and opposes a defence capability in the Pilbara. That sort of city-centric thinking is not the way to drive regional development. It is not the way to deliver an outcome for the good people of the Pilbara. The Mayor of Port Hedland will be very interested to read the member’s comments on this issue. The member for Pilbara is a very passionate advocate for his community. He is somewhat sidelined by the government at the moment but he is still a passionate advocate and doing pretty well. He is welcome to sit over here whenever he wants, because there is more work to be done, but we are on the right track! I say to the member for Rockingham that, if he has any designs on being a senior member of a government in the future, his support for Pilbara Cities will be vital. Given that the member has said in his statement that soldiers and their families would prefer to live in cities, is it not welcome that the Liberal–National state government, with the wonderful support of the member for North West, has a program called Pilbara Cities?
Stage 1 of the South Hedland redevelopment was a $23.1 million project. It funded the realignment of the main street, a new town square with amphitheatre, a shaded market walk, a water play area, public art and three mixed-use sites providing a diversity of residential and commercial opportunities. Already, Humfrey Land Developments is bringing to market apartments on those three sites from the first phase of the project. Under stage 2, vacant land in the centre of town will be transformed into seven medium-density commercial and residential lots to improve housing availability and social amenity. It will also include a new library, council offices and an expansion of the aquatics centre. It will open up land for a dedicated entertainment precinct, which could feature cinemas, restaurants, cafes, bars and boutique shops. It sounds like the sort of place that defence personnel would like to live in. This project will attract new investors to town and will provide more housing choice through a further 750 dwellings. Private developers will have access to a total of 100 hectares. Apart from mixed-use commercial and residential land, we are also looking at the possibility of hotel and short-stay accommodation. This is about making South Hedland a place where people want to live, work and raise a family and a place where people have a wide choice in housing and a range of leisure options. It is communities like these that provide the opportunity for the Australian Defence Force when looking at the protection of our assets in the north west, which are absolutely vital to not only our economy but also the national economy and the world economy, given the huge reliance on Western Australian natural resources to power and help build all the developments across the globe. We are very keen to see defence take up a stronger presence in the north west. In media commentary yesterday the Premier was very supportive of this, and he is obviously looking to facilitate this in any way, and welcomed the announcement of the federal Minister for Defence to look at this. That is why we were absolutely shocked today to read that the opposition spokesperson for regional development, the member for Rockingham, criticised the Premier’s proposal, saying soldiers and their families would prefer to live in the city. He criticised the Premier because he thinks that the whole of the Defence Force capability should be based in the city. I say to the shadow Minister for Regional Development, if he wishes to gain some credibility in regional WA, he actually has to support the development of regional WA. When the federal government at last starts to talk about regional development, the member for Rockingham says, “No, stop! We don’t want to see that.” The member for Rockingham wants to support a fly in, fly out defence presence in the north. Should something go wrong, they could muster that support down in Rockingham, get those people together, drive up them to the airport and load them onto the plane. The terrorists would be well and truly gone by then, but the Defence Force would be heading that way! Hopefully there would not be an ash cloud to stop the plane from taking off! Defence personnel are located in the north of Australia and the north west of Queensland. They have a very strong presence in Darwin; Darwin is a city that was almost built around defence. The member for Rockingham, as the shadow spokesperson for regional development, cannot seriously say that he does not support a stronger military presence in the Pilbara. This is unbelievable. The spokesperson for regional development opposes regional development, opposes the growth of the Pilbara and opposes a defence capability in the Pilbara. That sort of city-centric thinking is not the way to drive regional development. It is not the way to deliver an outcome for the good people of the Pilbara. The Mayor of Port Hedland will be very interested to read the member’s comments on this issue. The member for Pilbara is a very passionate advocate for his community. He is somewhat sidelined by the government at the moment but he is still a passionate advocate and doing pretty well. He is welcome to sit over here whenever he wants, because there is more work to be done, but we are on the right track! I say to the member for Rockingham that, if he has any designs on being a senior member of a government in the future, his support for Pilbara Cities will be vital. Given that the member has said in his statement that soldiers and their families would prefer to live in cities, is it not welcome that the Liberal–National state government, with the wonderful support of the member for North West, has a program called Pilbara Cities?
This is about making South Hedland a place where people want to live, work and raise a family and a place where people have a wide choice in housing and a range of leisure options. It is communities like these that provide the opportunity for the Australian Defence Force when looking at the protection of our assets in the north west, which are absolutely vital to not only our economy but also the national economy and the world economy, given the huge reliance on Western Australian natural resources to power and help build all the developments across the globe. We are very keen to see defence take up a stronger presence in the north west. In media commentary yesterday the Premier was very supportive of this, and he is obviously looking to facilitate this in any way, and welcomed the announcement of the federal Minister for Defence to look at this. That is why we were absolutely shocked today to read that the opposition spokesperson for regional development, the member for Rockingham, criticised the Premier’s proposal, saying soldiers and their families would prefer to live in the city. He criticised the Premier because he thinks that the whole of the Defence Force capability should be based in the city. I say to the shadow Minister for Regional Development, if he wishes to gain some credibility in regional WA, he actually has to support the development of regional WA. When the federal government at last starts to talk about regional development, the member for Rockingham says, “No, stop! We don’t want to see that.” The member for Rockingham wants to support a fly in, fly out defence presence in the north. Should something go wrong, they could muster that support down in Rockingham, get those people together, drive up them to the airport and load them onto the plane. The terrorists would be well and truly gone by then, but the Defence Force would be heading that way! Hopefully there would not be an ash cloud to stop the plane from taking off! Defence personnel are located in the north of Australia and the north west of Queensland. They have a very strong presence in Darwin; Darwin is a city that was almost built around defence. The member for Rockingham, as the shadow spokesperson for regional development, cannot seriously say that he does not support a stronger military presence in the Pilbara. This is unbelievable. The spokesperson for regional development opposes regional development, opposes the growth of the Pilbara and opposes a defence capability in the Pilbara. That sort of city-centric thinking is not the way to drive regional development. It is not the way to deliver an outcome for the good people of the Pilbara. The Mayor of Port Hedland will be very interested to read the member’s comments on this issue. The member for Pilbara is a very passionate advocate for his community. He is somewhat sidelined by the government at the moment but he is still a passionate advocate and doing pretty well. He is welcome to sit over here whenever he wants, because there is more work to be done, but we are on the right track! I say to the member for Rockingham that, if he has any designs on being a senior member of a government in the future, his support for Pilbara Cities will be vital. Given that the member has said in his statement that soldiers and their families would prefer to live in cities, is it not welcome that the Liberal–National state government, with the wonderful support of the member for North West, has a program called Pilbara Cities?
Defence personnel are located in the north of Australia and the north west of Queensland. They have a very strong presence in Darwin; Darwin is a city that was almost built around defence. The member for Rockingham, as the shadow spokesperson for regional development, cannot seriously say that he does not support a stronger military presence in the Pilbara. This is unbelievable. The spokesperson for regional development opposes regional development, opposes the growth of the Pilbara and opposes a defence capability in the Pilbara. That sort of city-centric thinking is not the way to drive regional development. It is not the way to deliver an outcome for the good people of the Pilbara. The Mayor of Port Hedland will be very interested to read the member’s comments on this issue. The member for Pilbara is a very passionate advocate for his community. He is somewhat sidelined by the government at the moment but he is still a passionate advocate and doing pretty well. He is welcome to sit over here whenever he wants, because there is more work to be done, but we are on the right track! I say to the member for Rockingham that, if he has any designs on being a senior member of a government in the future, his support for Pilbara Cities will be vital. Given that the member has said in his statement that soldiers and their families would prefer to live in cities, is it not welcome that the Liberal–National state government, with the wonderful support of the member for North West, has a program called Pilbara Cities?
The member for Pilbara is a very passionate advocate for his community. He is somewhat sidelined by the government at the moment but he is still a passionate advocate and doing pretty well. He is welcome to sit over here whenever he wants, because there is more work to be done, but we are on the right track! I say to the member for Rockingham that, if he has any designs on being a senior member of a government in the future, his support for Pilbara Cities will be vital. Given that the member has said in his statement that soldiers and their families would prefer to live in cities, is it not welcome that the Liberal–National state government, with the wonderful support of the member for North West, has a program called Pilbara Cities?
I say to the member for Rockingham that, if he has any designs on being a senior member of a government in the future, his support for Pilbara Cities will be vital. Given that the member has said in his statement that soldiers and their families would prefer to live in cities, is it not welcome that the Liberal–National state government, with the wonderful support of the member for North West, has a program called Pilbara Cities?
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