❓ Question on government investment in freight rail infrastructure and a highly partisan response defending the government's record while attacking the opposition's.
AnsweredQoN 627Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE
627. Ms C.M. ROWE to the Minister for Transport:
I
refer to the Cook Labor government's record investment in
economy-driving, job-creating transport infrastructure.
(1) Can the
minister outline to the house how our government is helping to put more freight
on rail, including through the new Kenwick intermodal terminal and the
agricultural supply chain improvement program?
(2) Can the
minister advise the house whether she is aware of anyone who does not support
this important investment?
627. Ms C.M. ROWE to the Minister for Transport:
I
refer to the Cook Labor government's record investment in
economy-driving, job-creating transport infrastructure.
(1) Can the
minister outline to the house how our government is helping to put more freight
on rail, including through the new Kenwick intermodal terminal and the
agricultural supply chain improvement program?
(2) Can the
minister advise the house whether she is aware of anyone who does not support
this important investment?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I
thank the member for that question. Supporting more freight on rail has been a key
focus of this government, whether it is
containers on rail leaving Fremantle port or in regional WA as we work with key users such as CBH Group to get more freight on rail. Of course, the record of
the previous government—which would describe what would be possible in
this state if the opposition were ever to be re-elected—shows the
dysfunctional policies the opposition had in place when it was in government.
It sold Westrail freight just a few months before a state election. At the
time, the commitments were —
Mr R.S. Love :
That wasn't the previous government. It was the previous, previous,
previous government.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI :
Previous—Liberal–National government.
Several members
interjected.
Ms
R. SAFFIOTI : The Liberal–National
Parties; that is who they were, and that is who you are. They sold Westrail freight. At the time, this was promised:
more employment in Westrail freight, and the previous government was going to look after the farmers of Western Australia. What happened? Not only did the
former government sell Westrail freight; it then shut down the rail lines. That
was definitely the members opposite. They shut —
Several members interjected.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER : Members!
The minister is on her feet responding, thank you.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : Unless I was
living in a parallel universe, the Liberal–National government shut
down the tier 3 rail lines. That is what it
did. It shut down the rail lines out there that supported farmers moving
freight on rail . That is what it did. Since coming to government, we
have tried to unravel a lot of the work the previous government did on pushing
freight onto roads. We have been pushing it back onto rail through a number of
initiatives.
Mr R.S. Love : It's
not working in the midwest, is it?
Several members interjected.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : Why did you
sell it and then close down rail lines? Why did you do it?
Mr R.S. Love interjected.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER : Order,
Leader of the Opposition!
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : Of course
they sold off the rail lines. That is what they did. As a result, we do not own
the rail lines now, so it is not always that easy because we are dealing with
the private owner that you sold the rail lines to. That is what we are doing.
Dr D.J. Honey : It's a
lease.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : So do they
have control over the rail lines?
Dr D.J. Honey : They control
access.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : Do they control the easement? Do they
control the entire corridor?
Several members interjected.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER : Members!
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : The economic
geniuses on the other side—the ones who sold the rail lines—are
now saying they somehow were not involved and that somehow they were not there
when they shut down the tier 3 rail lines. That is their record. As I said,
this is a demonstration of the Liberal and National Parties in government. They
basically wrecked the joint. Not only did they wreck parts they do not
represent; they wrecked their own backyard by selling the rail lines.
We have tried to reverse that trend,
getting more freight onto rail, and it has been a success so far. Freight on
rail from Fremantle port went down to 11 per cent when the opposition was in
government—11 per cent! It is now 20
per cent, which is the highest percentage of any state. Our aspiration is to
get to 30 per cent, which is why in recent weeks we opened the new
Kenwick intermodal terminal, which will facilitate more and more containers on
rail going to intermodals. We believe that through that initiative alone, we
will get to 30 per cent freight on rail.
We are looking at the options at
Greenbushes for reopening rail lines for freight movement. We are also looking at regional WA and working with CBH. We are
improving rail sidings and investing in rail lines through the private owner—because that is what we have to do—to support more
freight on rail around the state. That is what we are investing in: more
freight on rail, economic growth, more efficiency for farmers, safer roads and
less impact on roads. That is what we are doing around the state, and we will
continue to do that.
Of course, it has been made
challenging because of the privatisation and shutdown of rail. But as I said,
when we look at our record on rail, whether it is what we have done in
investing in public transport, what we have done for the affordability of public transport and rail or what we have done for
moving more freight onto rail around the state , our record is so much
stronger than the chaos and dysfunction that a Liberal–National
government would bring to this state.
The
DEPUTY SPEAKER : Before I give the
call to the member for Roe, members, so far we have had two questions from each side and we are almost 30 minutes into question time. If we could
keep the questions and responses a bit shorter, we might be able to get through
a few more.
thank the member for that question. Supporting more freight on rail has been a key
focus of this government, whether it is
containers on rail leaving Fremantle port or in regional WA as we work with key users such as CBH Group to get more freight on rail. Of course, the record of
the previous government—which would describe what would be possible in
this state if the opposition were ever to be re-elected—shows the
dysfunctional policies the opposition had in place when it was in government.
It sold Westrail freight just a few months before a state election. At the
time, the commitments were —
Mr R.S. Love :
That wasn't the previous government. It was the previous, previous,
previous government.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI :
Previous—Liberal–National government.
Several members
interjected.
Ms
R. SAFFIOTI : The Liberal–National
Parties; that is who they were, and that is who you are. They sold Westrail freight. At the time, this was promised:
more employment in Westrail freight, and the previous government was going to look after the farmers of Western Australia. What happened? Not only did the
former government sell Westrail freight; it then shut down the rail lines. That
was definitely the members opposite. They shut —
Several members interjected.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER : Members!
The minister is on her feet responding, thank you.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : Unless I was
living in a parallel universe, the Liberal–National government shut
down the tier 3 rail lines. That is what it
did. It shut down the rail lines out there that supported farmers moving
freight on rail . That is what it did. Since coming to government, we
have tried to unravel a lot of the work the previous government did on pushing
freight onto roads. We have been pushing it back onto rail through a number of
initiatives.
Mr R.S. Love : It's
not working in the midwest, is it?
Several members interjected.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : Why did you
sell it and then close down rail lines? Why did you do it?
Mr R.S. Love interjected.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER : Order,
Leader of the Opposition!
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : Of course
they sold off the rail lines. That is what they did. As a result, we do not own
the rail lines now, so it is not always that easy because we are dealing with
the private owner that you sold the rail lines to. That is what we are doing.
Dr D.J. Honey : It's a
lease.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : So do they
have control over the rail lines?
Dr D.J. Honey : They control
access.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : Do they control the easement? Do they
control the entire corridor?
Several members interjected.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER : Members!
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : The economic
geniuses on the other side—the ones who sold the rail lines—are
now saying they somehow were not involved and that somehow they were not there
when they shut down the tier 3 rail lines. That is their record. As I said,
this is a demonstration of the Liberal and National Parties in government. They
basically wrecked the joint. Not only did they wreck parts they do not
represent; they wrecked their own backyard by selling the rail lines.
We have tried to reverse that trend,
getting more freight onto rail, and it has been a success so far. Freight on
rail from Fremantle port went down to 11 per cent when the opposition was in
government—11 per cent! It is now 20
per cent, which is the highest percentage of any state. Our aspiration is to
get to 30 per cent, which is why in recent weeks we opened the new
Kenwick intermodal terminal, which will facilitate more and more containers on
rail going to intermodals. We believe that through that initiative alone, we
will get to 30 per cent freight on rail.
We are looking at the options at
Greenbushes for reopening rail lines for freight movement. We are also looking at regional WA and working with CBH. We are
improving rail sidings and investing in rail lines through the private owner—because that is what we have to do—to support more
freight on rail around the state. That is what we are investing in: more
freight on rail, economic growth, more efficiency for farmers, safer roads and
less impact on roads. That is what we are doing around the state, and we will
continue to do that.
Of course, it has been made
challenging because of the privatisation and shutdown of rail. But as I said,
when we look at our record on rail, whether it is what we have done in
investing in public transport, what we have done for the affordability of public transport and rail or what we have done for
moving more freight onto rail around the state , our record is so much
stronger than the chaos and dysfunction that a Liberal–National
government would bring to this state.
The
DEPUTY SPEAKER : Before I give the
call to the member for Roe, members, so far we have had two questions from each side and we are almost 30 minutes into question time. If we could
keep the questions and responses a bit shorter, we might be able to get through
a few more.
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