❓ Ms. Saffioti questions the Treasurer on the lack of a local content policy for railcar construction in WA, contrasting it with Victoria's 60% policy. The Treasurer defends the government's position, arguing that the limited number of railcars needed doesn't justify the cost of establishing a local manufacturing facility.
AnsweredQoN 655Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
RAILCAR CONSTRUCTION — LOCAL CONTENT
655. Ms R. SAFFIOTI to the Treasurer:
I refer to the Treasurer's
comments in May this year about train building and that we will not be
competing with China or India to build railcars for our limited market. The
Treasurer said that, quite frankly, it is a ridiculous suggestion. I refer to
the announcement made by the Victorian Premier yesterday that Victoria will
have a 60 per cent local content policy for its new trains, thereby creating
over 1 000 jobs.
(1) Does the
Treasurer still hold that WA businesses do not have the capacity or expertise
to contribute and build railcars in this state?
(2) Why is the
Victorian government ensuring 60 per cent local content policy and the
Treasurer is not insisting on the same?
655. Ms R. SAFFIOTI to the Treasurer:
I refer to the Treasurer's
comments in May this year about train building and that we will not be
competing with China or India to build railcars for our limited market. The
Treasurer said that, quite frankly, it is a ridiculous suggestion. I refer to
the announcement made by the Victorian Premier yesterday that Victoria will
have a 60 per cent local content policy for its new trains, thereby creating
over 1 000 jobs.
(1) Does the
Treasurer still hold that WA businesses do not have the capacity or expertise
to contribute and build railcars in this state?
(2) Why is the
Victorian government ensuring 60 per cent local content policy and the
Treasurer is not insisting on the same?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) Part
of the opposition's jobs policy is to have a railcar manufacturing unit
in WA. I will just give members some background. Over the next 10 years, I think
we will purchase around 30 railcars.
Mr
D.C. Nalder : Fifty six-car—50 times six.
Dr
M.D. NAHAN : Is that fifty railcars? Okay—fifty-six cars.
Over the next 10 or so years, the
Queensland government will buy 400. The Queensland government has, thanks to
our purchases, a railcar manufacturing facility in Queensland. It is closing
down after it completes our order and it will go to India. Queensland is buying
400 railcars over a decade.
Ms
R. Saffioti : How many in Victoria? I am asking about Victoria.
Dr
M.D. NAHAN : The member for West Swan asked the questions; I am answering
them.
Ms
R. Saffioti interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for West Swan!
Dr
M.D. NAHAN : The Queensland government has a facility there that has been
building railcars for some years.
Mr
M. McGowan : That is not what we asked.
Dr
M.D. NAHAN : I do not care what you asked; you did not ask the questions
anyways.
Queensland will put an order for 400
railcars and it decided not to continue with its existing plant, but to go to
India—and it did so for cost reasons. That is 400. I have been told
that the Indian plant builds 330 cars a month. Let us say over the next 10 years
we order 60 cars. We have a facility that we build for billions of dollars or
hundreds of millions at least, and we satisfy our need in two months. What do
we do with the rest of the decades? That is the opposition's policy.
Within months of building it, it will be vacant for months on end. Our
workforce has plenty of skills and investments to undertake this. This is not a
high-skill business.
Ms
R. Saffioti : What was the contract in Victoria? What was it? You don't
know.
The
SPEAKER : Member for West Swan, I call you to order for the first time.
Minister, I want you to address this thing with Victoria and move on.
Dr
M.D. NAHAN : Over the next 10 years, we will need and build, at most, 60
cars. Is that the basis for building a manufacturing plant? That will come at a
cost. We would have to hugely subsidise that facility and it would be at the
cost of taxpayers or something else. I might add that our railcars are unique.
The only places in the world that use the same size railcars are Perth and
Queensland. In other words, there is no market out there for them. We are dealing
with a ridiculous stunt by the Labor Party to promise to build a railcar
manufacturing plant that will build, at most, 60 cars over the decades of the
plant and have no other market to which to deliver. Will we promote that? It is
ridiculous. We are putting our investment in defence, agriculture, innovation —
Mr
M. McGowan : Defence—you have done well there.
Dr
M.D. NAHAN : We have done really well. Look at agriculture. We are putting
our support facilities in the areas in which we have comparative advantage for
not only domestic production but also exports.
of the opposition's jobs policy is to have a railcar manufacturing unit
in WA. I will just give members some background. Over the next 10 years, I think
we will purchase around 30 railcars.
Mr
D.C. Nalder : Fifty six-car—50 times six.
Dr
M.D. NAHAN : Is that fifty railcars? Okay—fifty-six cars.
Over the next 10 or so years, the
Queensland government will buy 400. The Queensland government has, thanks to
our purchases, a railcar manufacturing facility in Queensland. It is closing
down after it completes our order and it will go to India. Queensland is buying
400 railcars over a decade.
Ms
R. Saffioti : How many in Victoria? I am asking about Victoria.
Dr
M.D. NAHAN : The member for West Swan asked the questions; I am answering
them.
Ms
R. Saffioti interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for West Swan!
Dr
M.D. NAHAN : The Queensland government has a facility there that has been
building railcars for some years.
Mr
M. McGowan : That is not what we asked.
Dr
M.D. NAHAN : I do not care what you asked; you did not ask the questions
anyways.
Queensland will put an order for 400
railcars and it decided not to continue with its existing plant, but to go to
India—and it did so for cost reasons. That is 400. I have been told
that the Indian plant builds 330 cars a month. Let us say over the next 10 years
we order 60 cars. We have a facility that we build for billions of dollars or
hundreds of millions at least, and we satisfy our need in two months. What do
we do with the rest of the decades? That is the opposition's policy.
Within months of building it, it will be vacant for months on end. Our
workforce has plenty of skills and investments to undertake this. This is not a
high-skill business.
Ms
R. Saffioti : What was the contract in Victoria? What was it? You don't
know.
The
SPEAKER : Member for West Swan, I call you to order for the first time.
Minister, I want you to address this thing with Victoria and move on.
Dr
M.D. NAHAN : Over the next 10 years, we will need and build, at most, 60
cars. Is that the basis for building a manufacturing plant? That will come at a
cost. We would have to hugely subsidise that facility and it would be at the
cost of taxpayers or something else. I might add that our railcars are unique.
The only places in the world that use the same size railcars are Perth and
Queensland. In other words, there is no market out there for them. We are dealing
with a ridiculous stunt by the Labor Party to promise to build a railcar
manufacturing plant that will build, at most, 60 cars over the decades of the
plant and have no other market to which to deliver. Will we promote that? It is
ridiculous. We are putting our investment in defence, agriculture, innovation —
Mr
M. McGowan : Defence—you have done well there.
Dr
M.D. NAHAN : We have done really well. Look at agriculture. We are putting
our support facilities in the areas in which we have comparative advantage for
not only domestic production but also exports.
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