Question asks for an expected completion date for Goldfields Highway works. The answer avoids a specific date, focusing on funding, Aboriginal engagement, training, and long-term maintenance and ownership by local communities.

AnsweredQoN 228Legislative Assembly
Asked
29 March 2023
Portfolio
Transport

QuestionView source ↗

GOLDFIELDS HIGHWAY
228. Ms M. BEARD to the Minister for Transport:
I have a supplementary question. Is
there an expected completion date for these important works?

AnswerView source ↗

As I said, we have secured funding
along the way and we continue to work at providing state funding and trying to
achieve federal funding. We are working with local Aboriginal people. It is
about the success on the ground of training local people. I think we originally
trained about 18 people at the TAFE. Some of them have gone off to other projects
because they have been trained in road construction and have been able to
secure jobs elsewhere. When I visited Wiluna, I was struck by the many mining
operations in that area. We need to make sure that we have better Aboriginal
engagement and provide more opportunities for Aboriginal people. I have said in
this place many, many times that sometimes that means a road is not constructed
as fast as possible, but it means that local people are trained and empowered.
The key point for me is maintenance. We do not want to just go in, build the
road and disappear. It is about making sure that the local people actually own
the road, in every sense, and are also empowered to be there and can protect
and maintain the road into the future.

Explore WA Government Data

Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.

Explore more