❓ Question about the Tonkin Gap project's progress, benefits for commuters, and contribution to Metronet, congestion reduction, and emissions lowering. The answer details construction progress and then devolves into a political attack.
AnsweredQoN 402Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
TONKIN GAP PROJECT
402. Ms C.M. ROWE to the Minister for Transport:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's record investment in job-creating road infrastructure.
(1) Can the
minister update the house on the construction of the Tonkin Gap project,
including the work on the new Redcliffe Bridge, and outline what this project
will mean for commuters?
(2) Can the
minister outline to the house how this project will also help facilitate
Metronet, reduce congestion and lower emissions, which is crucial to tackling
climate change?
402. Ms C.M. ROWE to the Minister for Transport:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's record investment in job-creating road infrastructure.
(1) Can the
minister update the house on the construction of the Tonkin Gap project,
including the work on the new Redcliffe Bridge, and outline what this project
will mean for commuters?
(2) Can the
minister outline to the house how this project will also help facilitate
Metronet, reduce congestion and lower emissions, which is crucial to tackling
climate change?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Belmont for that question.
(1) This
morning we were out in Belmont with federal minister Matt Keogh, the member for
Swan, Zaneta Mascarenhas, and the member for Belmont, as we checked out the
progress on the new Redcliffe Bridge. The last segment, the seventeenth
segment, has now been put in place, and the bridge now crosses the river. Ten
months ago, the incremental launch of the bridge commenced, and 10 months
later, that bridge is now across the river.
What we will see is improved connectivity, reduced congestion and improved safety in that area. A total of 17 bridge segments were made from 3 000 cubic
metres of concrete, and they were used to
construct this 310-metre structure. The Redcliffe Bridge will also contain a new
principal shared path and new connectivity throughout the whole area.
(2) As part of
the Tonkin Gap project, we are also facilitating the Morley–Ellenbrook
line. A dive structure has already been built under the northbound lanes of the
Tonkin Highway. The Ellenbrook rail line will go to the median of the Tonkin
Highway and then exit in Malaga.
Projects like Metronet and the
Morley–Ellenbrook line are a big part of the total package of measures
that we have in this state to address climate change. Getting more people onto
mass transit, more people onto public transport, is a very important measure to
tackle climate change.
It
is great to see that the opposition has now taken an interest in climate
change, so much so that the Leader of the Opposition last week skipped
nearly three days of Parliament to go to an intimate little conference.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please, members! Points of order are
taken in silence, thank you, Minister for Police and others.
Point of Order
Mr R.S. LOVE : The
question actually referred to a piece of infrastructure in Western Australia.
The attendance of the Leader of the Opposition at the conference in the eastern
states is of no relevance to that whatsoever. I ask that you direct the
minister to answer the question as outlined.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members,
having already been advised that points of order are heard in silence, you
managed to maintain that for about five seconds. I do not appreciate the
further interjections that we have had.
With respect to the point of order, I am not going to uphold
the point of order at this time. I believe the minister is attempting to make
an analogy. I will allow her to proceed and to answer the question in the way
that she sees fit.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : Thank you. The question was about
climate change.
Last Tuesday, we saw the
Leader of the Opposition stand up and create some sort of stunt. After being
told at 9.45 am that the Premier was
not here, she stood there saying, ''I am shocked that the Premier is not
here.'' Little did we know that, after that question, she rang up
6PR —
A member interjected.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : I think it was from the Qantas lounge,
member! She left the Parliament and rang up 6PR to say how arrogant it is for
members to be missing from the Parliament. The member must have been doing the
6PR interview on the way to the airport. Talk about hypocrisy!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, members!
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : The Leader of the Opposition, after being told
the Premier was making a significant announcement in Collie, stood up
and asked, ''Where's the Premier?'' Then she went on
radio and said how arrogant it was to be outside Parliament while on the way to
airport to attend what I saw as a very intimate national conservative climate conference for three days. The Leader of the
Opposition was on the way to the airport and she rang Oly Peterson to say how arrogant it was for people to be missing when she was going to attend a
conference.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please! Minister, wait for a moment.
Members, firstly, the minister does not really require your assistance to answer the question; can I make that very clear.
Secondly, Leader of the Opposition, I have allowed some interjection on
the basis that the minister is being directly critical of you and your actions,
but I would like this answer to be drawn to a close.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : Last Tuesday, she stood up and said, ''My
question is to the Premier; where is he?'' The Leader of the Opposition was told he was not here. She left
the Parliament. She went on radio, Facebook, social media criticising members for being absent while on the way to the
airport to attend what I saw as an intimate little conference to talk about
emission reduction strategies. What is the opposition's emission
reduction strategy? We know the opposition has a strategy to reduce the numbers in its party room and that is
working really well! It went from 10 to six in one year!
Point of Order
Mr R.S.
LOVE : In fact, the minister is not seeking to wind up the question;
she is seeking to expand her points. I ask you to ask her to desist.
The
SPEAKER : Again, it is not really a point of order; it is a point of
view. I can understand your point of view. Minister, I think this question is
nearly finished.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : I will point
out that if the Leader of the Opposition is going to criticise people for being
absent on the way to the airport, it is going to be called out, because that
type of behaviour is just ridiculous. It is just arrogant. I get that the
Leader of the Opposition is always a victim. The opposition is always a victim.
You stood up to talk about Collie. You did not go to Collie; you went to New
South Wales, member! You did not go to Collie. The Premier went to Collie. You stood up to talk about Collie workers,
but where have you been? New South Wales —that is where you were,
member!
(1) This
morning we were out in Belmont with federal minister Matt Keogh, the member for
Swan, Zaneta Mascarenhas, and the member for Belmont, as we checked out the
progress on the new Redcliffe Bridge. The last segment, the seventeenth
segment, has now been put in place, and the bridge now crosses the river. Ten
months ago, the incremental launch of the bridge commenced, and 10 months
later, that bridge is now across the river.
What we will see is improved connectivity, reduced congestion and improved safety in that area. A total of 17 bridge segments were made from 3 000 cubic
metres of concrete, and they were used to
construct this 310-metre structure. The Redcliffe Bridge will also contain a new
principal shared path and new connectivity throughout the whole area.
(2) As part of
the Tonkin Gap project, we are also facilitating the Morley–Ellenbrook
line. A dive structure has already been built under the northbound lanes of the
Tonkin Highway. The Ellenbrook rail line will go to the median of the Tonkin
Highway and then exit in Malaga.
Projects like Metronet and the
Morley–Ellenbrook line are a big part of the total package of measures
that we have in this state to address climate change. Getting more people onto
mass transit, more people onto public transport, is a very important measure to
tackle climate change.
It
is great to see that the opposition has now taken an interest in climate
change, so much so that the Leader of the Opposition last week skipped
nearly three days of Parliament to go to an intimate little conference.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please, members! Points of order are
taken in silence, thank you, Minister for Police and others.
Point of Order
Mr R.S. LOVE : The
question actually referred to a piece of infrastructure in Western Australia.
The attendance of the Leader of the Opposition at the conference in the eastern
states is of no relevance to that whatsoever. I ask that you direct the
minister to answer the question as outlined.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members,
having already been advised that points of order are heard in silence, you
managed to maintain that for about five seconds. I do not appreciate the
further interjections that we have had.
With respect to the point of order, I am not going to uphold
the point of order at this time. I believe the minister is attempting to make
an analogy. I will allow her to proceed and to answer the question in the way
that she sees fit.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : Thank you. The question was about
climate change.
Last Tuesday, we saw the
Leader of the Opposition stand up and create some sort of stunt. After being
told at 9.45 am that the Premier was
not here, she stood there saying, ''I am shocked that the Premier is not
here.'' Little did we know that, after that question, she rang up
6PR —
A member interjected.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : I think it was from the Qantas lounge,
member! She left the Parliament and rang up 6PR to say how arrogant it is for
members to be missing from the Parliament. The member must have been doing the
6PR interview on the way to the airport. Talk about hypocrisy!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, members!
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : The Leader of the Opposition, after being told
the Premier was making a significant announcement in Collie, stood up
and asked, ''Where's the Premier?'' Then she went on
radio and said how arrogant it was to be outside Parliament while on the way to
airport to attend what I saw as a very intimate national conservative climate conference for three days. The Leader of the
Opposition was on the way to the airport and she rang Oly Peterson to say how arrogant it was for people to be missing when she was going to attend a
conference.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please! Minister, wait for a moment.
Members, firstly, the minister does not really require your assistance to answer the question; can I make that very clear.
Secondly, Leader of the Opposition, I have allowed some interjection on
the basis that the minister is being directly critical of you and your actions,
but I would like this answer to be drawn to a close.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : Last Tuesday, she stood up and said, ''My
question is to the Premier; where is he?'' The Leader of the Opposition was told he was not here. She left
the Parliament. She went on radio, Facebook, social media criticising members for being absent while on the way to the
airport to attend what I saw as an intimate little conference to talk about
emission reduction strategies. What is the opposition's emission
reduction strategy? We know the opposition has a strategy to reduce the numbers in its party room and that is
working really well! It went from 10 to six in one year!
Point of Order
Mr R.S.
LOVE : In fact, the minister is not seeking to wind up the question;
she is seeking to expand her points. I ask you to ask her to desist.
The
SPEAKER : Again, it is not really a point of order; it is a point of
view. I can understand your point of view. Minister, I think this question is
nearly finished.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : I will point
out that if the Leader of the Opposition is going to criticise people for being
absent on the way to the airport, it is going to be called out, because that
type of behaviour is just ridiculous. It is just arrogant. I get that the
Leader of the Opposition is always a victim. The opposition is always a victim.
You stood up to talk about Collie. You did not go to Collie; you went to New
South Wales, member! You did not go to Collie. The Premier went to Collie. You stood up to talk about Collie workers,
but where have you been? New South Wales —that is where you were,
member!
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.