❓ Mrs. Clarke asks about the Alkimos desalination plant and WA manufacturing. The Minister responds, highlighting the project's progress, local manufacturing using Pilbara iron ore, and job creation.
AnsweredQoN 714Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Seawater desalination plant—Alkimos
714. Mrs Lorna Clarke to
the Minister for Water:
I refer to the Cook
Labor government's commitment to delivering quality infrastructure across
Western Australia. Can the minister update the house on how this government is
securing Perth's water future and prioritising manufacturing here in WA?
714. Mrs Lorna Clarke to
the Minister for Water:
I refer to the Cook
Labor government's commitment to delivering quality infrastructure across
Western Australia. Can the minister update the house on how this government is
securing Perth's water future and prioritising manufacturing here in WA?
AnswerView source ↗
I certainly can, and
I thank the member for her question and her incredible advocacy in her
electorate for new opportunities. Of course, we are living in a time of climate
change. The drying climate means that we have to source new sources of water.
That is why the Cook Labor government is delivering on the new Alkimos seawater
desalination plant and, importantly, its associated infrastructure. We have
reached an important major milestone. The largest steel water main ever made in
Western Australia is now being made in the northern suburbs. The pipeline is
33.5 kilometres long, connecting Alkimos to the Water Corporation's Wanneroo
reservoir. It is made up of 3,000 pipe sections, each 12 metres long and 1.6 metres
in diameter—as the member for Butler knows, as we stood in one!—and
weighing nearly nine tonnes. They are built to last 120 years, and, once
buried, they will deliver drinking water for generations to come.
Mr Peter Rundle: What about the Pilbara?
The Speaker: Member for Roe!
Mr Don Punch: You have some special interests in the
Pilbara, member!
Importantly, it is
made right here in WA!
Several members
interjected.
Mr Don Punch: It is manufactured in Kwinana—
Several members
interjected.
Mr Don Punch: —using Pilbara iron ore and
Cockburn Cement. Previously, these pipes were made in Victoria and trucked
across the Nullarbor. Now, thanks to a $58 million contract with Steel Mains,
we have brought that capability home. That means that Steel Mains invested in
manufacturing its own equipment to roll these pipes and its own equipment and
innovation to create new coatings and seals to make them corrosion free. That
is innovation and made in Western Australia—what more could you want?
I am fascinated by
pipes. On 10 October, I was onsite to see those enormous structures being laid
in the ground. It is an incredible sight. Members might even spot them along
the freeway soon. Members might wonder why these pipes are on the freeway. They
are being trucked. The point of interest is, of course, the pipes that are made
in WA, not the very young smart bloke standing in front of them in this photograph
here! That is what we are doing in WA; we are building infrastructure for the
future. We are meeting the challenge of a drying climate to make sure that our
communities and industries are safeguarded in the future. We are investing now
through local manufacturing and local innovation,
supporting local jobs and local families. That is what the Cook Labor government
is all about.
The Speaker: The member for Nedlands with the last
question.
I thank the member for her question and her incredible advocacy in her
electorate for new opportunities. Of course, we are living in a time of climate
change. The drying climate means that we have to source new sources of water.
That is why the Cook Labor government is delivering on the new Alkimos seawater
desalination plant and, importantly, its associated infrastructure. We have
reached an important major milestone. The largest steel water main ever made in
Western Australia is now being made in the northern suburbs. The pipeline is
33.5 kilometres long, connecting Alkimos to the Water Corporation's Wanneroo
reservoir. It is made up of 3,000 pipe sections, each 12 metres long and 1.6 metres
in diameter—as the member for Butler knows, as we stood in one!—and
weighing nearly nine tonnes. They are built to last 120 years, and, once
buried, they will deliver drinking water for generations to come.
Mr Peter Rundle: What about the Pilbara?
The Speaker: Member for Roe!
Mr Don Punch: You have some special interests in the
Pilbara, member!
Importantly, it is
made right here in WA!
Several members
interjected.
Mr Don Punch: It is manufactured in Kwinana—
Several members
interjected.
Mr Don Punch: —using Pilbara iron ore and
Cockburn Cement. Previously, these pipes were made in Victoria and trucked
across the Nullarbor. Now, thanks to a $58 million contract with Steel Mains,
we have brought that capability home. That means that Steel Mains invested in
manufacturing its own equipment to roll these pipes and its own equipment and
innovation to create new coatings and seals to make them corrosion free. That
is innovation and made in Western Australia—what more could you want?
I am fascinated by
pipes. On 10 October, I was onsite to see those enormous structures being laid
in the ground. It is an incredible sight. Members might even spot them along
the freeway soon. Members might wonder why these pipes are on the freeway. They
are being trucked. The point of interest is, of course, the pipes that are made
in WA, not the very young smart bloke standing in front of them in this photograph
here! That is what we are doing in WA; we are building infrastructure for the
future. We are meeting the challenge of a drying climate to make sure that our
communities and industries are safeguarded in the future. We are investing now
through local manufacturing and local innovation,
supporting local jobs and local families. That is what the Cook Labor government
is all about.
The Speaker: The member for Nedlands with the last
question.
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