❓ The Minister outlines the significant financial consequences of the Opposition's pledge to scrap the Perth to Mandurah rail project, estimating it would cost taxpayers $1 billion to not build the railway, including payouts and alternative transport solutions.
AnsweredQoN 22Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
A report in yesterday’s The West Australian claims that the Opposition’s transport spokesperson has pledged that a Liberal Government will scrap the Perth to Mandurah rail project. Can the minister outline the financial consequences of such a commitment? Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: I call the member for Ningaloo to order. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It is a pity that the member for Dawesville is not in the Chamber to report to the House the rapturous applause that the member for Mandurah and I received in Mandurah a fortnight ago when we opened the second stage of the Mandurah marina. The opinion of the people in Mandurah on the need for the railway is absolutely unequivocal. Their anger at the various claims by operatives in the Liberal Party that there are only cow paddocks in the south west suburbs was absolutely palpable. We were not entirely taken by surprise by the statement that was reported in The West Australian . It appears that the opposition spokesperson on transport has said that the rail project - surprisingly even her beloved Kenwick deviation - should be scrapped. At the risk of being unparliamentary, I will state that the member for Carine is quoted in The West Australian as saying that the Government should “can the whole bloody project”. Those are fighting words. The member has pledged to do just that if the Opposition comes to government. She has indicated she is prepared to pay $200 million of taxpayers’ money to achieve this scrapping. She justifies this on the basis that the Government paid out a number of contracts when it came to power. She cites the busway project and work on the Kenwick rail line. Predictably, that is completely without foundation. We did not pay out a single cent on a single contract. All contracted work was completed, and that work will be used as part of the New MetroRail 2003 project. I am happy to leave it to the voters to assess whether flushing $200 million down the toilet to not build a rail system represents vision or value for money. It is very similar to the European Union paying farmers to not produce; the Opposition will not pay people to build a railway but will pay them to not build a railway. The $200 million is pretty extraordinary in itself, but we need to ensure that the community is fully aware of the real economic consequences of this new Liberal Party-National Party coalition position. Mr J.N. Hyde: There will be a blow-out. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: There will be a blow-out in not building it - absolutely. I thank the member for Perth for that very helpful interjection, because that is precisely what will happen. By mid February 2005 the following works will be completed: the northern suburbs rail extension, which was much promised by the other side and will now be delivered by us, costing $58 million; and the Perth to Thornlie spur, including all the upgrade works on the Kenwick line, completed at a cost of $85 million. By mid February 2005 we will have received, or be in the process of having delivered, approximately 70 of the 93 new railcars, and we will have the construction of the Nowergup depot at a cost of $216 million. I do not know what we are supposed to do with all the trains without a rail. That is about $358 million worth of work on parts of the project that will have been completed. In addition to that $358 million, we will have paid out $131 million on package F, $40 million on package A, $44 million on package E and $8.5 million on the other packages. When we include other completed works and the administration costs, by February 2005 we will have spent in the order of $665 million. To that we can add a $200 million payout figure, but I doubt whether the Opposition will get out of it for $200 million. On that basis the Opposition will spend $865 million and there will be no southern railway. We will have to revive the busway. It will cost about $90 million to build the busway and we will need about 100 new buses at a cost of about $50 million. Therefore, the Opposition’s plan is to spend $1 billion to not build a railway. That is vision!
Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN replied: I thank the member for the question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: I call the member for Ningaloo to order. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It is a pity that the member for Dawesville is not in the Chamber to report to the House the rapturous applause that the member for Mandurah and I received in Mandurah a fortnight ago when we opened the second stage of the Mandurah marina. The opinion of the people in Mandurah on the need for the railway is absolutely unequivocal. Their anger at the various claims by operatives in the Liberal Party that there are only cow paddocks in the south west suburbs was absolutely palpable. We were not entirely taken by surprise by the statement that was reported in The West Australian . It appears that the opposition spokesperson on transport has said that the rail project - surprisingly even her beloved Kenwick deviation - should be scrapped. At the risk of being unparliamentary, I will state that the member for Carine is quoted in The West Australian as saying that the Government should “can the whole bloody project”. Those are fighting words. The member has pledged to do just that if the Opposition comes to government. She has indicated she is prepared to pay $200 million of taxpayers’ money to achieve this scrapping. She justifies this on the basis that the Government paid out a number of contracts when it came to power. She cites the busway project and work on the Kenwick rail line. Predictably, that is completely without foundation. We did not pay out a single cent on a single contract. All contracted work was completed, and that work will be used as part of the New MetroRail 2003 project. I am happy to leave it to the voters to assess whether flushing $200 million down the toilet to not build a rail system represents vision or value for money. It is very similar to the European Union paying farmers to not produce; the Opposition will not pay people to build a railway but will pay them to not build a railway. The $200 million is pretty extraordinary in itself, but we need to ensure that the community is fully aware of the real economic consequences of this new Liberal Party-National Party coalition position. Mr J.N. Hyde: There will be a blow-out. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: There will be a blow-out in not building it - absolutely. I thank the member for Perth for that very helpful interjection, because that is precisely what will happen. By mid February 2005 the following works will be completed: the northern suburbs rail extension, which was much promised by the other side and will now be delivered by us, costing $58 million; and the Perth to Thornlie spur, including all the upgrade works on the Kenwick line, completed at a cost of $85 million. By mid February 2005 we will have received, or be in the process of having delivered, approximately 70 of the 93 new railcars, and we will have the construction of the Nowergup depot at a cost of $216 million. I do not know what we are supposed to do with all the trains without a rail. That is about $358 million worth of work on parts of the project that will have been completed. In addition to that $358 million, we will have paid out $131 million on package F, $40 million on package A, $44 million on package E and $8.5 million on the other packages. When we include other completed works and the administration costs, by February 2005 we will have spent in the order of $665 million. To that we can add a $200 million payout figure, but I doubt whether the Opposition will get out of it for $200 million. On that basis the Opposition will spend $865 million and there will be no southern railway. We will have to revive the busway. It will cost about $90 million to build the busway and we will need about 100 new buses at a cost of about $50 million. Therefore, the Opposition’s plan is to spend $1 billion to not build a railway. That is vision!
I thank the member for the question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: I call the member for Ningaloo to order. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It is a pity that the member for Dawesville is not in the Chamber to report to the House the rapturous applause that the member for Mandurah and I received in Mandurah a fortnight ago when we opened the second stage of the Mandurah marina. The opinion of the people in Mandurah on the need for the railway is absolutely unequivocal. Their anger at the various claims by operatives in the Liberal Party that there are only cow paddocks in the south west suburbs was absolutely palpable. We were not entirely taken by surprise by the statement that was reported in The West Australian . It appears that the opposition spokesperson on transport has said that the rail project - surprisingly even her beloved Kenwick deviation - should be scrapped. At the risk of being unparliamentary, I will state that the member for Carine is quoted in The West Australian as saying that the Government should “can the whole bloody project”. Those are fighting words. The member has pledged to do just that if the Opposition comes to government. She has indicated she is prepared to pay $200 million of taxpayers’ money to achieve this scrapping. She justifies this on the basis that the Government paid out a number of contracts when it came to power. She cites the busway project and work on the Kenwick rail line. Predictably, that is completely without foundation. We did not pay out a single cent on a single contract. All contracted work was completed, and that work will be used as part of the New MetroRail 2003 project. I am happy to leave it to the voters to assess whether flushing $200 million down the toilet to not build a rail system represents vision or value for money. It is very similar to the European Union paying farmers to not produce; the Opposition will not pay people to build a railway but will pay them to not build a railway. The $200 million is pretty extraordinary in itself, but we need to ensure that the community is fully aware of the real economic consequences of this new Liberal Party-National Party coalition position. Mr J.N. Hyde: There will be a blow-out. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: There will be a blow-out in not building it - absolutely. I thank the member for Perth for that very helpful interjection, because that is precisely what will happen. By mid February 2005 the following works will be completed: the northern suburbs rail extension, which was much promised by the other side and will now be delivered by us, costing $58 million; and the Perth to Thornlie spur, including all the upgrade works on the Kenwick line, completed at a cost of $85 million. By mid February 2005 we will have received, or be in the process of having delivered, approximately 70 of the 93 new railcars, and we will have the construction of the Nowergup depot at a cost of $216 million. I do not know what we are supposed to do with all the trains without a rail. That is about $358 million worth of work on parts of the project that will have been completed. In addition to that $358 million, we will have paid out $131 million on package F, $40 million on package A, $44 million on package E and $8.5 million on the other packages. When we include other completed works and the administration costs, by February 2005 we will have spent in the order of $665 million. To that we can add a $200 million payout figure, but I doubt whether the Opposition will get out of it for $200 million. On that basis the Opposition will spend $865 million and there will be no southern railway. We will have to revive the busway. It will cost about $90 million to build the busway and we will need about 100 new buses at a cost of about $50 million. Therefore, the Opposition’s plan is to spend $1 billion to not build a railway. That is vision!
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: I call the member for Ningaloo to order. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It is a pity that the member for Dawesville is not in the Chamber to report to the House the rapturous applause that the member for Mandurah and I received in Mandurah a fortnight ago when we opened the second stage of the Mandurah marina. The opinion of the people in Mandurah on the need for the railway is absolutely unequivocal. Their anger at the various claims by operatives in the Liberal Party that there are only cow paddocks in the south west suburbs was absolutely palpable. We were not entirely taken by surprise by the statement that was reported in The West Australian . It appears that the opposition spokesperson on transport has said that the rail project - surprisingly even her beloved Kenwick deviation - should be scrapped. At the risk of being unparliamentary, I will state that the member for Carine is quoted in The West Australian as saying that the Government should “can the whole bloody project”. Those are fighting words. The member has pledged to do just that if the Opposition comes to government. She has indicated she is prepared to pay $200 million of taxpayers’ money to achieve this scrapping. She justifies this on the basis that the Government paid out a number of contracts when it came to power. She cites the busway project and work on the Kenwick rail line. Predictably, that is completely without foundation. We did not pay out a single cent on a single contract. All contracted work was completed, and that work will be used as part of the New MetroRail 2003 project. I am happy to leave it to the voters to assess whether flushing $200 million down the toilet to not build a rail system represents vision or value for money. It is very similar to the European Union paying farmers to not produce; the Opposition will not pay people to build a railway but will pay them to not build a railway. The $200 million is pretty extraordinary in itself, but we need to ensure that the community is fully aware of the real economic consequences of this new Liberal Party-National Party coalition position. Mr J.N. Hyde: There will be a blow-out. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: There will be a blow-out in not building it - absolutely. I thank the member for Perth for that very helpful interjection, because that is precisely what will happen. By mid February 2005 the following works will be completed: the northern suburbs rail extension, which was much promised by the other side and will now be delivered by us, costing $58 million; and the Perth to Thornlie spur, including all the upgrade works on the Kenwick line, completed at a cost of $85 million. By mid February 2005 we will have received, or be in the process of having delivered, approximately 70 of the 93 new railcars, and we will have the construction of the Nowergup depot at a cost of $216 million. I do not know what we are supposed to do with all the trains without a rail. That is about $358 million worth of work on parts of the project that will have been completed. In addition to that $358 million, we will have paid out $131 million on package F, $40 million on package A, $44 million on package E and $8.5 million on the other packages. When we include other completed works and the administration costs, by February 2005 we will have spent in the order of $665 million. To that we can add a $200 million payout figure, but I doubt whether the Opposition will get out of it for $200 million. On that basis the Opposition will spend $865 million and there will be no southern railway. We will have to revive the busway. It will cost about $90 million to build the busway and we will need about 100 new buses at a cost of about $50 million. Therefore, the Opposition’s plan is to spend $1 billion to not build a railway. That is vision!
The SPEAKER: I call the member for Ningaloo to order. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It is a pity that the member for Dawesville is not in the Chamber to report to the House the rapturous applause that the member for Mandurah and I received in Mandurah a fortnight ago when we opened the second stage of the Mandurah marina. The opinion of the people in Mandurah on the need for the railway is absolutely unequivocal. Their anger at the various claims by operatives in the Liberal Party that there are only cow paddocks in the south west suburbs was absolutely palpable. We were not entirely taken by surprise by the statement that was reported in The West Australian . It appears that the opposition spokesperson on transport has said that the rail project - surprisingly even her beloved Kenwick deviation - should be scrapped. At the risk of being unparliamentary, I will state that the member for Carine is quoted in The West Australian as saying that the Government should “can the whole bloody project”. Those are fighting words. The member has pledged to do just that if the Opposition comes to government. She has indicated she is prepared to pay $200 million of taxpayers’ money to achieve this scrapping. She justifies this on the basis that the Government paid out a number of contracts when it came to power. She cites the busway project and work on the Kenwick rail line. Predictably, that is completely without foundation. We did not pay out a single cent on a single contract. All contracted work was completed, and that work will be used as part of the New MetroRail 2003 project. I am happy to leave it to the voters to assess whether flushing $200 million down the toilet to not build a rail system represents vision or value for money. It is very similar to the European Union paying farmers to not produce; the Opposition will not pay people to build a railway but will pay them to not build a railway. The $200 million is pretty extraordinary in itself, but we need to ensure that the community is fully aware of the real economic consequences of this new Liberal Party-National Party coalition position. Mr J.N. Hyde: There will be a blow-out. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: There will be a blow-out in not building it - absolutely. I thank the member for Perth for that very helpful interjection, because that is precisely what will happen. By mid February 2005 the following works will be completed: the northern suburbs rail extension, which was much promised by the other side and will now be delivered by us, costing $58 million; and the Perth to Thornlie spur, including all the upgrade works on the Kenwick line, completed at a cost of $85 million. By mid February 2005 we will have received, or be in the process of having delivered, approximately 70 of the 93 new railcars, and we will have the construction of the Nowergup depot at a cost of $216 million. I do not know what we are supposed to do with all the trains without a rail. That is about $358 million worth of work on parts of the project that will have been completed. In addition to that $358 million, we will have paid out $131 million on package F, $40 million on package A, $44 million on package E and $8.5 million on the other packages. When we include other completed works and the administration costs, by February 2005 we will have spent in the order of $665 million. To that we can add a $200 million payout figure, but I doubt whether the Opposition will get out of it for $200 million. On that basis the Opposition will spend $865 million and there will be no southern railway. We will have to revive the busway. It will cost about $90 million to build the busway and we will need about 100 new buses at a cost of about $50 million. Therefore, the Opposition’s plan is to spend $1 billion to not build a railway. That is vision!
Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It is a pity that the member for Dawesville is not in the Chamber to report to the House the rapturous applause that the member for Mandurah and I received in Mandurah a fortnight ago when we opened the second stage of the Mandurah marina. The opinion of the people in Mandurah on the need for the railway is absolutely unequivocal. Their anger at the various claims by operatives in the Liberal Party that there are only cow paddocks in the south west suburbs was absolutely palpable. We were not entirely taken by surprise by the statement that was reported in The West Australian . It appears that the opposition spokesperson on transport has said that the rail project - surprisingly even her beloved Kenwick deviation - should be scrapped. At the risk of being unparliamentary, I will state that the member for Carine is quoted in The West Australian as saying that the Government should “can the whole bloody project”. Those are fighting words. The member has pledged to do just that if the Opposition comes to government. She has indicated she is prepared to pay $200 million of taxpayers’ money to achieve this scrapping. She justifies this on the basis that the Government paid out a number of contracts when it came to power. She cites the busway project and work on the Kenwick rail line. Predictably, that is completely without foundation. We did not pay out a single cent on a single contract. All contracted work was completed, and that work will be used as part of the New MetroRail 2003 project. I am happy to leave it to the voters to assess whether flushing $200 million down the toilet to not build a rail system represents vision or value for money. It is very similar to the European Union paying farmers to not produce; the Opposition will not pay people to build a railway but will pay them to not build a railway. The $200 million is pretty extraordinary in itself, but we need to ensure that the community is fully aware of the real economic consequences of this new Liberal Party-National Party coalition position. Mr J.N. Hyde: There will be a blow-out. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: There will be a blow-out in not building it - absolutely. I thank the member for Perth for that very helpful interjection, because that is precisely what will happen. By mid February 2005 the following works will be completed: the northern suburbs rail extension, which was much promised by the other side and will now be delivered by us, costing $58 million; and the Perth to Thornlie spur, including all the upgrade works on the Kenwick line, completed at a cost of $85 million. By mid February 2005 we will have received, or be in the process of having delivered, approximately 70 of the 93 new railcars, and we will have the construction of the Nowergup depot at a cost of $216 million. I do not know what we are supposed to do with all the trains without a rail. That is about $358 million worth of work on parts of the project that will have been completed. In addition to that $358 million, we will have paid out $131 million on package F, $40 million on package A, $44 million on package E and $8.5 million on the other packages. When we include other completed works and the administration costs, by February 2005 we will have spent in the order of $665 million. To that we can add a $200 million payout figure, but I doubt whether the Opposition will get out of it for $200 million. On that basis the Opposition will spend $865 million and there will be no southern railway. We will have to revive the busway. It will cost about $90 million to build the busway and we will need about 100 new buses at a cost of about $50 million. Therefore, the Opposition’s plan is to spend $1 billion to not build a railway. That is vision!
The member has pledged to do just that if the Opposition comes to government. She has indicated she is prepared to pay $200 million of taxpayers’ money to achieve this scrapping. She justifies this on the basis that the Government paid out a number of contracts when it came to power. She cites the busway project and work on the Kenwick rail line. Predictably, that is completely without foundation. We did not pay out a single cent on a single contract. All contracted work was completed, and that work will be used as part of the New MetroRail 2003 project. I am happy to leave it to the voters to assess whether flushing $200 million down the toilet to not build a rail system represents vision or value for money. It is very similar to the European Union paying farmers to not produce; the Opposition will not pay people to build a railway but will pay them to not build a railway. The $200 million is pretty extraordinary in itself, but we need to ensure that the community is fully aware of the real economic consequences of this new Liberal Party-National Party coalition position. Mr J.N. Hyde: There will be a blow-out. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: There will be a blow-out in not building it - absolutely. I thank the member for Perth for that very helpful interjection, because that is precisely what will happen. By mid February 2005 the following works will be completed: the northern suburbs rail extension, which was much promised by the other side and will now be delivered by us, costing $58 million; and the Perth to Thornlie spur, including all the upgrade works on the Kenwick line, completed at a cost of $85 million. By mid February 2005 we will have received, or be in the process of having delivered, approximately 70 of the 93 new railcars, and we will have the construction of the Nowergup depot at a cost of $216 million. I do not know what we are supposed to do with all the trains without a rail. That is about $358 million worth of work on parts of the project that will have been completed. In addition to that $358 million, we will have paid out $131 million on package F, $40 million on package A, $44 million on package E and $8.5 million on the other packages. When we include other completed works and the administration costs, by February 2005 we will have spent in the order of $665 million. To that we can add a $200 million payout figure, but I doubt whether the Opposition will get out of it for $200 million. On that basis the Opposition will spend $865 million and there will be no southern railway. We will have to revive the busway. It will cost about $90 million to build the busway and we will need about 100 new buses at a cost of about $50 million. Therefore, the Opposition’s plan is to spend $1 billion to not build a railway. That is vision!
I am happy to leave it to the voters to assess whether flushing $200 million down the toilet to not build a rail system represents vision or value for money. It is very similar to the European Union paying farmers to not produce; the Opposition will not pay people to build a railway but will pay them to not build a railway. The $200 million is pretty extraordinary in itself, but we need to ensure that the community is fully aware of the real economic consequences of this new Liberal Party-National Party coalition position. Mr J.N. Hyde: There will be a blow-out. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: There will be a blow-out in not building it - absolutely. I thank the member for Perth for that very helpful interjection, because that is precisely what will happen. By mid February 2005 the following works will be completed: the northern suburbs rail extension, which was much promised by the other side and will now be delivered by us, costing $58 million; and the Perth to Thornlie spur, including all the upgrade works on the Kenwick line, completed at a cost of $85 million. By mid February 2005 we will have received, or be in the process of having delivered, approximately 70 of the 93 new railcars, and we will have the construction of the Nowergup depot at a cost of $216 million. I do not know what we are supposed to do with all the trains without a rail. That is about $358 million worth of work on parts of the project that will have been completed. In addition to that $358 million, we will have paid out $131 million on package F, $40 million on package A, $44 million on package E and $8.5 million on the other packages. When we include other completed works and the administration costs, by February 2005 we will have spent in the order of $665 million. To that we can add a $200 million payout figure, but I doubt whether the Opposition will get out of it for $200 million. On that basis the Opposition will spend $865 million and there will be no southern railway. We will have to revive the busway. It will cost about $90 million to build the busway and we will need about 100 new buses at a cost of about $50 million. Therefore, the Opposition’s plan is to spend $1 billion to not build a railway. That is vision!
Mr J.N. Hyde: There will be a blow-out. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: There will be a blow-out in not building it - absolutely. I thank the member for Perth for that very helpful interjection, because that is precisely what will happen. By mid February 2005 the following works will be completed: the northern suburbs rail extension, which was much promised by the other side and will now be delivered by us, costing $58 million; and the Perth to Thornlie spur, including all the upgrade works on the Kenwick line, completed at a cost of $85 million. By mid February 2005 we will have received, or be in the process of having delivered, approximately 70 of the 93 new railcars, and we will have the construction of the Nowergup depot at a cost of $216 million. I do not know what we are supposed to do with all the trains without a rail. That is about $358 million worth of work on parts of the project that will have been completed. In addition to that $358 million, we will have paid out $131 million on package F, $40 million on package A, $44 million on package E and $8.5 million on the other packages. When we include other completed works and the administration costs, by February 2005 we will have spent in the order of $665 million. To that we can add a $200 million payout figure, but I doubt whether the Opposition will get out of it for $200 million. On that basis the Opposition will spend $865 million and there will be no southern railway. We will have to revive the busway. It will cost about $90 million to build the busway and we will need about 100 new buses at a cost of about $50 million. Therefore, the Opposition’s plan is to spend $1 billion to not build a railway. That is vision!
Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: There will be a blow-out in not building it - absolutely. I thank the member for Perth for that very helpful interjection, because that is precisely what will happen. By mid February 2005 the following works will be completed: the northern suburbs rail extension, which was much promised by the other side and will now be delivered by us, costing $58 million; and the Perth to Thornlie spur, including all the upgrade works on the Kenwick line, completed at a cost of $85 million. By mid February 2005 we will have received, or be in the process of having delivered, approximately 70 of the 93 new railcars, and we will have the construction of the Nowergup depot at a cost of $216 million. I do not know what we are supposed to do with all the trains without a rail. That is about $358 million worth of work on parts of the project that will have been completed. In addition to that $358 million, we will have paid out $131 million on package F, $40 million on package A, $44 million on package E and $8.5 million on the other packages. When we include other completed works and the administration costs, by February 2005 we will have spent in the order of $665 million. To that we can add a $200 million payout figure, but I doubt whether the Opposition will get out of it for $200 million. On that basis the Opposition will spend $865 million and there will be no southern railway. We will have to revive the busway. It will cost about $90 million to build the busway and we will need about 100 new buses at a cost of about $50 million. Therefore, the Opposition’s plan is to spend $1 billion to not build a railway. That is vision!
Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN replied: I thank the member for the question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: I call the member for Ningaloo to order. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It is a pity that the member for Dawesville is not in the Chamber to report to the House the rapturous applause that the member for Mandurah and I received in Mandurah a fortnight ago when we opened the second stage of the Mandurah marina. The opinion of the people in Mandurah on the need for the railway is absolutely unequivocal. Their anger at the various claims by operatives in the Liberal Party that there are only cow paddocks in the south west suburbs was absolutely palpable. We were not entirely taken by surprise by the statement that was reported in The West Australian . It appears that the opposition spokesperson on transport has said that the rail project - surprisingly even her beloved Kenwick deviation - should be scrapped. At the risk of being unparliamentary, I will state that the member for Carine is quoted in The West Australian as saying that the Government should “can the whole bloody project”. Those are fighting words. The member has pledged to do just that if the Opposition comes to government. She has indicated she is prepared to pay $200 million of taxpayers’ money to achieve this scrapping. She justifies this on the basis that the Government paid out a number of contracts when it came to power. She cites the busway project and work on the Kenwick rail line. Predictably, that is completely without foundation. We did not pay out a single cent on a single contract. All contracted work was completed, and that work will be used as part of the New MetroRail 2003 project. I am happy to leave it to the voters to assess whether flushing $200 million down the toilet to not build a rail system represents vision or value for money. It is very similar to the European Union paying farmers to not produce; the Opposition will not pay people to build a railway but will pay them to not build a railway. The $200 million is pretty extraordinary in itself, but we need to ensure that the community is fully aware of the real economic consequences of this new Liberal Party-National Party coalition position. Mr J.N. Hyde: There will be a blow-out. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: There will be a blow-out in not building it - absolutely. I thank the member for Perth for that very helpful interjection, because that is precisely what will happen. By mid February 2005 the following works will be completed: the northern suburbs rail extension, which was much promised by the other side and will now be delivered by us, costing $58 million; and the Perth to Thornlie spur, including all the upgrade works on the Kenwick line, completed at a cost of $85 million. By mid February 2005 we will have received, or be in the process of having delivered, approximately 70 of the 93 new railcars, and we will have the construction of the Nowergup depot at a cost of $216 million. I do not know what we are supposed to do with all the trains without a rail. That is about $358 million worth of work on parts of the project that will have been completed. In addition to that $358 million, we will have paid out $131 million on package F, $40 million on package A, $44 million on package E and $8.5 million on the other packages. When we include other completed works and the administration costs, by February 2005 we will have spent in the order of $665 million. To that we can add a $200 million payout figure, but I doubt whether the Opposition will get out of it for $200 million. On that basis the Opposition will spend $865 million and there will be no southern railway. We will have to revive the busway. It will cost about $90 million to build the busway and we will need about 100 new buses at a cost of about $50 million. Therefore, the Opposition’s plan is to spend $1 billion to not build a railway. That is vision!
I thank the member for the question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: I call the member for Ningaloo to order. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It is a pity that the member for Dawesville is not in the Chamber to report to the House the rapturous applause that the member for Mandurah and I received in Mandurah a fortnight ago when we opened the second stage of the Mandurah marina. The opinion of the people in Mandurah on the need for the railway is absolutely unequivocal. Their anger at the various claims by operatives in the Liberal Party that there are only cow paddocks in the south west suburbs was absolutely palpable. We were not entirely taken by surprise by the statement that was reported in The West Australian . It appears that the opposition spokesperson on transport has said that the rail project - surprisingly even her beloved Kenwick deviation - should be scrapped. At the risk of being unparliamentary, I will state that the member for Carine is quoted in The West Australian as saying that the Government should “can the whole bloody project”. Those are fighting words. The member has pledged to do just that if the Opposition comes to government. She has indicated she is prepared to pay $200 million of taxpayers’ money to achieve this scrapping. She justifies this on the basis that the Government paid out a number of contracts when it came to power. She cites the busway project and work on the Kenwick rail line. Predictably, that is completely without foundation. We did not pay out a single cent on a single contract. All contracted work was completed, and that work will be used as part of the New MetroRail 2003 project. I am happy to leave it to the voters to assess whether flushing $200 million down the toilet to not build a rail system represents vision or value for money. It is very similar to the European Union paying farmers to not produce; the Opposition will not pay people to build a railway but will pay them to not build a railway. The $200 million is pretty extraordinary in itself, but we need to ensure that the community is fully aware of the real economic consequences of this new Liberal Party-National Party coalition position. Mr J.N. Hyde: There will be a blow-out. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: There will be a blow-out in not building it - absolutely. I thank the member for Perth for that very helpful interjection, because that is precisely what will happen. By mid February 2005 the following works will be completed: the northern suburbs rail extension, which was much promised by the other side and will now be delivered by us, costing $58 million; and the Perth to Thornlie spur, including all the upgrade works on the Kenwick line, completed at a cost of $85 million. By mid February 2005 we will have received, or be in the process of having delivered, approximately 70 of the 93 new railcars, and we will have the construction of the Nowergup depot at a cost of $216 million. I do not know what we are supposed to do with all the trains without a rail. That is about $358 million worth of work on parts of the project that will have been completed. In addition to that $358 million, we will have paid out $131 million on package F, $40 million on package A, $44 million on package E and $8.5 million on the other packages. When we include other completed works and the administration costs, by February 2005 we will have spent in the order of $665 million. To that we can add a $200 million payout figure, but I doubt whether the Opposition will get out of it for $200 million. On that basis the Opposition will spend $865 million and there will be no southern railway. We will have to revive the busway. It will cost about $90 million to build the busway and we will need about 100 new buses at a cost of about $50 million. Therefore, the Opposition’s plan is to spend $1 billion to not build a railway. That is vision!
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: I call the member for Ningaloo to order. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It is a pity that the member for Dawesville is not in the Chamber to report to the House the rapturous applause that the member for Mandurah and I received in Mandurah a fortnight ago when we opened the second stage of the Mandurah marina. The opinion of the people in Mandurah on the need for the railway is absolutely unequivocal. Their anger at the various claims by operatives in the Liberal Party that there are only cow paddocks in the south west suburbs was absolutely palpable. We were not entirely taken by surprise by the statement that was reported in The West Australian . It appears that the opposition spokesperson on transport has said that the rail project - surprisingly even her beloved Kenwick deviation - should be scrapped. At the risk of being unparliamentary, I will state that the member for Carine is quoted in The West Australian as saying that the Government should “can the whole bloody project”. Those are fighting words. The member has pledged to do just that if the Opposition comes to government. She has indicated she is prepared to pay $200 million of taxpayers’ money to achieve this scrapping. She justifies this on the basis that the Government paid out a number of contracts when it came to power. She cites the busway project and work on the Kenwick rail line. Predictably, that is completely without foundation. We did not pay out a single cent on a single contract. All contracted work was completed, and that work will be used as part of the New MetroRail 2003 project. I am happy to leave it to the voters to assess whether flushing $200 million down the toilet to not build a rail system represents vision or value for money. It is very similar to the European Union paying farmers to not produce; the Opposition will not pay people to build a railway but will pay them to not build a railway. The $200 million is pretty extraordinary in itself, but we need to ensure that the community is fully aware of the real economic consequences of this new Liberal Party-National Party coalition position. Mr J.N. Hyde: There will be a blow-out. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: There will be a blow-out in not building it - absolutely. I thank the member for Perth for that very helpful interjection, because that is precisely what will happen. By mid February 2005 the following works will be completed: the northern suburbs rail extension, which was much promised by the other side and will now be delivered by us, costing $58 million; and the Perth to Thornlie spur, including all the upgrade works on the Kenwick line, completed at a cost of $85 million. By mid February 2005 we will have received, or be in the process of having delivered, approximately 70 of the 93 new railcars, and we will have the construction of the Nowergup depot at a cost of $216 million. I do not know what we are supposed to do with all the trains without a rail. That is about $358 million worth of work on parts of the project that will have been completed. In addition to that $358 million, we will have paid out $131 million on package F, $40 million on package A, $44 million on package E and $8.5 million on the other packages. When we include other completed works and the administration costs, by February 2005 we will have spent in the order of $665 million. To that we can add a $200 million payout figure, but I doubt whether the Opposition will get out of it for $200 million. On that basis the Opposition will spend $865 million and there will be no southern railway. We will have to revive the busway. It will cost about $90 million to build the busway and we will need about 100 new buses at a cost of about $50 million. Therefore, the Opposition’s plan is to spend $1 billion to not build a railway. That is vision!
The SPEAKER: I call the member for Ningaloo to order. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It is a pity that the member for Dawesville is not in the Chamber to report to the House the rapturous applause that the member for Mandurah and I received in Mandurah a fortnight ago when we opened the second stage of the Mandurah marina. The opinion of the people in Mandurah on the need for the railway is absolutely unequivocal. Their anger at the various claims by operatives in the Liberal Party that there are only cow paddocks in the south west suburbs was absolutely palpable. We were not entirely taken by surprise by the statement that was reported in The West Australian . It appears that the opposition spokesperson on transport has said that the rail project - surprisingly even her beloved Kenwick deviation - should be scrapped. At the risk of being unparliamentary, I will state that the member for Carine is quoted in The West Australian as saying that the Government should “can the whole bloody project”. Those are fighting words. The member has pledged to do just that if the Opposition comes to government. She has indicated she is prepared to pay $200 million of taxpayers’ money to achieve this scrapping. She justifies this on the basis that the Government paid out a number of contracts when it came to power. She cites the busway project and work on the Kenwick rail line. Predictably, that is completely without foundation. We did not pay out a single cent on a single contract. All contracted work was completed, and that work will be used as part of the New MetroRail 2003 project. I am happy to leave it to the voters to assess whether flushing $200 million down the toilet to not build a rail system represents vision or value for money. It is very similar to the European Union paying farmers to not produce; the Opposition will not pay people to build a railway but will pay them to not build a railway. The $200 million is pretty extraordinary in itself, but we need to ensure that the community is fully aware of the real economic consequences of this new Liberal Party-National Party coalition position. Mr J.N. Hyde: There will be a blow-out. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: There will be a blow-out in not building it - absolutely. I thank the member for Perth for that very helpful interjection, because that is precisely what will happen. By mid February 2005 the following works will be completed: the northern suburbs rail extension, which was much promised by the other side and will now be delivered by us, costing $58 million; and the Perth to Thornlie spur, including all the upgrade works on the Kenwick line, completed at a cost of $85 million. By mid February 2005 we will have received, or be in the process of having delivered, approximately 70 of the 93 new railcars, and we will have the construction of the Nowergup depot at a cost of $216 million. I do not know what we are supposed to do with all the trains without a rail. That is about $358 million worth of work on parts of the project that will have been completed. In addition to that $358 million, we will have paid out $131 million on package F, $40 million on package A, $44 million on package E and $8.5 million on the other packages. When we include other completed works and the administration costs, by February 2005 we will have spent in the order of $665 million. To that we can add a $200 million payout figure, but I doubt whether the Opposition will get out of it for $200 million. On that basis the Opposition will spend $865 million and there will be no southern railway. We will have to revive the busway. It will cost about $90 million to build the busway and we will need about 100 new buses at a cost of about $50 million. Therefore, the Opposition’s plan is to spend $1 billion to not build a railway. That is vision!
Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It is a pity that the member for Dawesville is not in the Chamber to report to the House the rapturous applause that the member for Mandurah and I received in Mandurah a fortnight ago when we opened the second stage of the Mandurah marina. The opinion of the people in Mandurah on the need for the railway is absolutely unequivocal. Their anger at the various claims by operatives in the Liberal Party that there are only cow paddocks in the south west suburbs was absolutely palpable. We were not entirely taken by surprise by the statement that was reported in The West Australian . It appears that the opposition spokesperson on transport has said that the rail project - surprisingly even her beloved Kenwick deviation - should be scrapped. At the risk of being unparliamentary, I will state that the member for Carine is quoted in The West Australian as saying that the Government should “can the whole bloody project”. Those are fighting words. The member has pledged to do just that if the Opposition comes to government. She has indicated she is prepared to pay $200 million of taxpayers’ money to achieve this scrapping. She justifies this on the basis that the Government paid out a number of contracts when it came to power. She cites the busway project and work on the Kenwick rail line. Predictably, that is completely without foundation. We did not pay out a single cent on a single contract. All contracted work was completed, and that work will be used as part of the New MetroRail 2003 project. I am happy to leave it to the voters to assess whether flushing $200 million down the toilet to not build a rail system represents vision or value for money. It is very similar to the European Union paying farmers to not produce; the Opposition will not pay people to build a railway but will pay them to not build a railway. The $200 million is pretty extraordinary in itself, but we need to ensure that the community is fully aware of the real economic consequences of this new Liberal Party-National Party coalition position. Mr J.N. Hyde: There will be a blow-out. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: There will be a blow-out in not building it - absolutely. I thank the member for Perth for that very helpful interjection, because that is precisely what will happen. By mid February 2005 the following works will be completed: the northern suburbs rail extension, which was much promised by the other side and will now be delivered by us, costing $58 million; and the Perth to Thornlie spur, including all the upgrade works on the Kenwick line, completed at a cost of $85 million. By mid February 2005 we will have received, or be in the process of having delivered, approximately 70 of the 93 new railcars, and we will have the construction of the Nowergup depot at a cost of $216 million. I do not know what we are supposed to do with all the trains without a rail. That is about $358 million worth of work on parts of the project that will have been completed. In addition to that $358 million, we will have paid out $131 million on package F, $40 million on package A, $44 million on package E and $8.5 million on the other packages. When we include other completed works and the administration costs, by February 2005 we will have spent in the order of $665 million. To that we can add a $200 million payout figure, but I doubt whether the Opposition will get out of it for $200 million. On that basis the Opposition will spend $865 million and there will be no southern railway. We will have to revive the busway. It will cost about $90 million to build the busway and we will need about 100 new buses at a cost of about $50 million. Therefore, the Opposition’s plan is to spend $1 billion to not build a railway. That is vision!
The member has pledged to do just that if the Opposition comes to government. She has indicated she is prepared to pay $200 million of taxpayers’ money to achieve this scrapping. She justifies this on the basis that the Government paid out a number of contracts when it came to power. She cites the busway project and work on the Kenwick rail line. Predictably, that is completely without foundation. We did not pay out a single cent on a single contract. All contracted work was completed, and that work will be used as part of the New MetroRail 2003 project. I am happy to leave it to the voters to assess whether flushing $200 million down the toilet to not build a rail system represents vision or value for money. It is very similar to the European Union paying farmers to not produce; the Opposition will not pay people to build a railway but will pay them to not build a railway. The $200 million is pretty extraordinary in itself, but we need to ensure that the community is fully aware of the real economic consequences of this new Liberal Party-National Party coalition position. Mr J.N. Hyde: There will be a blow-out. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: There will be a blow-out in not building it - absolutely. I thank the member for Perth for that very helpful interjection, because that is precisely what will happen. By mid February 2005 the following works will be completed: the northern suburbs rail extension, which was much promised by the other side and will now be delivered by us, costing $58 million; and the Perth to Thornlie spur, including all the upgrade works on the Kenwick line, completed at a cost of $85 million. By mid February 2005 we will have received, or be in the process of having delivered, approximately 70 of the 93 new railcars, and we will have the construction of the Nowergup depot at a cost of $216 million. I do not know what we are supposed to do with all the trains without a rail. That is about $358 million worth of work on parts of the project that will have been completed. In addition to that $358 million, we will have paid out $131 million on package F, $40 million on package A, $44 million on package E and $8.5 million on the other packages. When we include other completed works and the administration costs, by February 2005 we will have spent in the order of $665 million. To that we can add a $200 million payout figure, but I doubt whether the Opposition will get out of it for $200 million. On that basis the Opposition will spend $865 million and there will be no southern railway. We will have to revive the busway. It will cost about $90 million to build the busway and we will need about 100 new buses at a cost of about $50 million. Therefore, the Opposition’s plan is to spend $1 billion to not build a railway. That is vision!
I am happy to leave it to the voters to assess whether flushing $200 million down the toilet to not build a rail system represents vision or value for money. It is very similar to the European Union paying farmers to not produce; the Opposition will not pay people to build a railway but will pay them to not build a railway. The $200 million is pretty extraordinary in itself, but we need to ensure that the community is fully aware of the real economic consequences of this new Liberal Party-National Party coalition position. Mr J.N. Hyde: There will be a blow-out. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: There will be a blow-out in not building it - absolutely. I thank the member for Perth for that very helpful interjection, because that is precisely what will happen. By mid February 2005 the following works will be completed: the northern suburbs rail extension, which was much promised by the other side and will now be delivered by us, costing $58 million; and the Perth to Thornlie spur, including all the upgrade works on the Kenwick line, completed at a cost of $85 million. By mid February 2005 we will have received, or be in the process of having delivered, approximately 70 of the 93 new railcars, and we will have the construction of the Nowergup depot at a cost of $216 million. I do not know what we are supposed to do with all the trains without a rail. That is about $358 million worth of work on parts of the project that will have been completed. In addition to that $358 million, we will have paid out $131 million on package F, $40 million on package A, $44 million on package E and $8.5 million on the other packages. When we include other completed works and the administration costs, by February 2005 we will have spent in the order of $665 million. To that we can add a $200 million payout figure, but I doubt whether the Opposition will get out of it for $200 million. On that basis the Opposition will spend $865 million and there will be no southern railway. We will have to revive the busway. It will cost about $90 million to build the busway and we will need about 100 new buses at a cost of about $50 million. Therefore, the Opposition’s plan is to spend $1 billion to not build a railway. That is vision!
Mr J.N. Hyde: There will be a blow-out. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: There will be a blow-out in not building it - absolutely. I thank the member for Perth for that very helpful interjection, because that is precisely what will happen. By mid February 2005 the following works will be completed: the northern suburbs rail extension, which was much promised by the other side and will now be delivered by us, costing $58 million; and the Perth to Thornlie spur, including all the upgrade works on the Kenwick line, completed at a cost of $85 million. By mid February 2005 we will have received, or be in the process of having delivered, approximately 70 of the 93 new railcars, and we will have the construction of the Nowergup depot at a cost of $216 million. I do not know what we are supposed to do with all the trains without a rail. That is about $358 million worth of work on parts of the project that will have been completed. In addition to that $358 million, we will have paid out $131 million on package F, $40 million on package A, $44 million on package E and $8.5 million on the other packages. When we include other completed works and the administration costs, by February 2005 we will have spent in the order of $665 million. To that we can add a $200 million payout figure, but I doubt whether the Opposition will get out of it for $200 million. On that basis the Opposition will spend $865 million and there will be no southern railway. We will have to revive the busway. It will cost about $90 million to build the busway and we will need about 100 new buses at a cost of about $50 million. Therefore, the Opposition’s plan is to spend $1 billion to not build a railway. That is vision!
Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: There will be a blow-out in not building it - absolutely. I thank the member for Perth for that very helpful interjection, because that is precisely what will happen. By mid February 2005 the following works will be completed: the northern suburbs rail extension, which was much promised by the other side and will now be delivered by us, costing $58 million; and the Perth to Thornlie spur, including all the upgrade works on the Kenwick line, completed at a cost of $85 million. By mid February 2005 we will have received, or be in the process of having delivered, approximately 70 of the 93 new railcars, and we will have the construction of the Nowergup depot at a cost of $216 million. I do not know what we are supposed to do with all the trains without a rail. That is about $358 million worth of work on parts of the project that will have been completed. In addition to that $358 million, we will have paid out $131 million on package F, $40 million on package A, $44 million on package E and $8.5 million on the other packages. When we include other completed works and the administration costs, by February 2005 we will have spent in the order of $665 million. To that we can add a $200 million payout figure, but I doubt whether the Opposition will get out of it for $200 million. On that basis the Opposition will spend $865 million and there will be no southern railway. We will have to revive the busway. It will cost about $90 million to build the busway and we will need about 100 new buses at a cost of about $50 million. Therefore, the Opposition’s plan is to spend $1 billion to not build a railway. That is vision!
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