❓ Question regarding the funding arrangements for the rail component of the Southern Transport Corridor, specifically whether the Leader of the Opposition conceded the previous government's funding was inadequate. The answer accuses the previous government of a "scam" and a "budget black hole."
AnsweredQoN 257Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
SOUTHERN TRANSPORT CORRIDOR, RAIL COMPONENT
Did the Leader of the Opposition recently concede that the previous Government’s funding arrangements for the rail component of the southern transport corridor were a sham? Ms MacTIERNAN
Did the Leader of the Opposition recently concede that the previous Government’s funding arrangements for the rail component of the southern transport corridor were a sham? Ms MacTIERNAN
AnswerView source ↗
This is an interesting development and it may say something about the ongoing relationship between the National and Liberal Parties. It is now a matter of some notoriety that when the Labor Party was elected to government, it found that the $53 million rail component of the southern transport corridor was completely unfunded. There was no consolidated funding allocation, nor was any provision made for funds to be borrowed. According to information the Government has received from the bureaucracy, it was to be funded from land sales. This was confirmed by Hon Murray Criddle, the former Minister for Transport. An article in The Geraldton Guardian reported Hon Murray Criddle as saying - “We had no problem sourcing the funds to get this project done, . . . “The arrangements were there. As well as the sale of the Leighton Beach marshalling yards there was a list of other asset sales that could have been used to fund the rail. The amount of blue sky included in those land sale valuations has already been discussed in this House. In any event, the vast majority of those assets had been earmarked for the reduction of government debt. Just in case some members were not present at the time, I will repeat some interesting revelations that the Leader of the Opposition made in this place last week, which were recorded in Hansard. Mr Barnett: Are you quoting from the corrected Hansard ? Ms MacTIERNAN: Yes, the corrected Hansard . The Leader of the Opposition said - I forget the total cost of the corridor - a figure of $80 million comes to mind - but it was partially to be funded by sales of land, including the Leighton peninsular land - the old marshalling yards. I will say candidly that it would have been a stretch to achieve that at any stage. It would not have been possible to fund the development of that southern transport corridor by selling Westrail land. It might have made some small contribution, but it would not have met the full cost. The Leader of the Opposition, as a senior member of the previous Government, was prepared to be part of a scam to underestimate that Government’s commitments to the electorate. This is just another example of the triple B problem that the Labor Government is now facing - it is a $53 million Barnett budget black hole.
Ms MacTIERNAN replied: This is an interesting development and it may say something about the ongoing relationship between the National and Liberal Parties. It is now a matter of some notoriety that when the Labor Party was elected to government, it found that the $53 million rail component of the southern transport corridor was completely unfunded. There was no consolidated funding allocation, nor was any provision made for funds to be borrowed. According to information the Government has received from the bureaucracy, it was to be funded from land sales. This was confirmed by Hon Murray Criddle, the former Minister for Transport. An article in The Geraldton Guardian reported Hon Murray Criddle as saying - “We had no problem sourcing the funds to get this project done, . . . “The arrangements were there. As well as the sale of the Leighton Beach marshalling yards there was a list of other asset sales that could have been used to fund the rail. The amount of blue sky included in those land sale valuations has already been discussed in this House. In any event, the vast majority of those assets had been earmarked for the reduction of government debt. Just in case some members were not present at the time, I will repeat some interesting revelations that the Leader of the Opposition made in this place last week, which were recorded in Hansard. Mr Barnett: Are you quoting from the corrected Hansard ? Ms MacTIERNAN: Yes, the corrected Hansard . The Leader of the Opposition said - I forget the total cost of the corridor - a figure of $80 million comes to mind - but it was partially to be funded by sales of land, including the Leighton peninsular land - the old marshalling yards. I will say candidly that it would have been a stretch to achieve that at any stage. It would not have been possible to fund the development of that southern transport corridor by selling Westrail land. It might have made some small contribution, but it would not have met the full cost. The Leader of the Opposition, as a senior member of the previous Government, was prepared to be part of a scam to underestimate that Government’s commitments to the electorate. This is just another example of the triple B problem that the Labor Government is now facing - it is a $53 million Barnett budget black hole.
This is an interesting development and it may say something about the ongoing relationship between the National and Liberal Parties. It is now a matter of some notoriety that when the Labor Party was elected to government, it found that the $53 million rail component of the southern transport corridor was completely unfunded. There was no consolidated funding allocation, nor was any provision made for funds to be borrowed. According to information the Government has received from the bureaucracy, it was to be funded from land sales. This was confirmed by Hon Murray Criddle, the former Minister for Transport. An article in The Geraldton Guardian reported Hon Murray Criddle as saying - “We had no problem sourcing the funds to get this project done, . . . “The arrangements were there. As well as the sale of the Leighton Beach marshalling yards there was a list of other asset sales that could have been used to fund the rail. The amount of blue sky included in those land sale valuations has already been discussed in this House. In any event, the vast majority of those assets had been earmarked for the reduction of government debt. Just in case some members were not present at the time, I will repeat some interesting revelations that the Leader of the Opposition made in this place last week, which were recorded in Hansard. Mr Barnett: Are you quoting from the corrected Hansard ? Ms MacTIERNAN: Yes, the corrected Hansard . The Leader of the Opposition said - I forget the total cost of the corridor - a figure of $80 million comes to mind - but it was partially to be funded by sales of land, including the Leighton peninsular land - the old marshalling yards. I will say candidly that it would have been a stretch to achieve that at any stage. It would not have been possible to fund the development of that southern transport corridor by selling Westrail land. It might have made some small contribution, but it would not have met the full cost. The Leader of the Opposition, as a senior member of the previous Government, was prepared to be part of a scam to underestimate that Government’s commitments to the electorate. This is just another example of the triple B problem that the Labor Government is now facing - it is a $53 million Barnett budget black hole.
“The arrangements were there. As well as the sale of the Leighton Beach marshalling yards there was a list of other asset sales that could have been used to fund the rail.
Mr Barnett: Are you quoting from the corrected Hansard ? Ms MacTIERNAN: Yes, the corrected Hansard . The Leader of the Opposition said - I forget the total cost of the corridor - a figure of $80 million comes to mind - but it was partially to be funded by sales of land, including the Leighton peninsular land - the old marshalling yards. I will say candidly that it would have been a stretch to achieve that at any stage. It would not have been possible to fund the development of that southern transport corridor by selling Westrail land. It might have made some small contribution, but it would not have met the full cost. The Leader of the Opposition, as a senior member of the previous Government, was prepared to be part of a scam to underestimate that Government’s commitments to the electorate. This is just another example of the triple B problem that the Labor Government is now facing - it is a $53 million Barnett budget black hole.
Ms MacTIERNAN: Yes, the corrected Hansard . The Leader of the Opposition said - I forget the total cost of the corridor - a figure of $80 million comes to mind - but it was partially to be funded by sales of land, including the Leighton peninsular land - the old marshalling yards. I will say candidly that it would have been a stretch to achieve that at any stage. It would not have been possible to fund the development of that southern transport corridor by selling Westrail land. It might have made some small contribution, but it would not have met the full cost. The Leader of the Opposition, as a senior member of the previous Government, was prepared to be part of a scam to underestimate that Government’s commitments to the electorate. This is just another example of the triple B problem that the Labor Government is now facing - it is a $53 million Barnett budget black hole.
Ms MacTIERNAN replied: This is an interesting development and it may say something about the ongoing relationship between the National and Liberal Parties. It is now a matter of some notoriety that when the Labor Party was elected to government, it found that the $53 million rail component of the southern transport corridor was completely unfunded. There was no consolidated funding allocation, nor was any provision made for funds to be borrowed. According to information the Government has received from the bureaucracy, it was to be funded from land sales. This was confirmed by Hon Murray Criddle, the former Minister for Transport. An article in The Geraldton Guardian reported Hon Murray Criddle as saying - “We had no problem sourcing the funds to get this project done, . . . “The arrangements were there. As well as the sale of the Leighton Beach marshalling yards there was a list of other asset sales that could have been used to fund the rail. The amount of blue sky included in those land sale valuations has already been discussed in this House. In any event, the vast majority of those assets had been earmarked for the reduction of government debt. Just in case some members were not present at the time, I will repeat some interesting revelations that the Leader of the Opposition made in this place last week, which were recorded in Hansard. Mr Barnett: Are you quoting from the corrected Hansard ? Ms MacTIERNAN: Yes, the corrected Hansard . The Leader of the Opposition said - I forget the total cost of the corridor - a figure of $80 million comes to mind - but it was partially to be funded by sales of land, including the Leighton peninsular land - the old marshalling yards. I will say candidly that it would have been a stretch to achieve that at any stage. It would not have been possible to fund the development of that southern transport corridor by selling Westrail land. It might have made some small contribution, but it would not have met the full cost. The Leader of the Opposition, as a senior member of the previous Government, was prepared to be part of a scam to underestimate that Government’s commitments to the electorate. This is just another example of the triple B problem that the Labor Government is now facing - it is a $53 million Barnett budget black hole.
This is an interesting development and it may say something about the ongoing relationship between the National and Liberal Parties. It is now a matter of some notoriety that when the Labor Party was elected to government, it found that the $53 million rail component of the southern transport corridor was completely unfunded. There was no consolidated funding allocation, nor was any provision made for funds to be borrowed. According to information the Government has received from the bureaucracy, it was to be funded from land sales. This was confirmed by Hon Murray Criddle, the former Minister for Transport. An article in The Geraldton Guardian reported Hon Murray Criddle as saying - “We had no problem sourcing the funds to get this project done, . . . “The arrangements were there. As well as the sale of the Leighton Beach marshalling yards there was a list of other asset sales that could have been used to fund the rail. The amount of blue sky included in those land sale valuations has already been discussed in this House. In any event, the vast majority of those assets had been earmarked for the reduction of government debt. Just in case some members were not present at the time, I will repeat some interesting revelations that the Leader of the Opposition made in this place last week, which were recorded in Hansard. Mr Barnett: Are you quoting from the corrected Hansard ? Ms MacTIERNAN: Yes, the corrected Hansard . The Leader of the Opposition said - I forget the total cost of the corridor - a figure of $80 million comes to mind - but it was partially to be funded by sales of land, including the Leighton peninsular land - the old marshalling yards. I will say candidly that it would have been a stretch to achieve that at any stage. It would not have been possible to fund the development of that southern transport corridor by selling Westrail land. It might have made some small contribution, but it would not have met the full cost. The Leader of the Opposition, as a senior member of the previous Government, was prepared to be part of a scam to underestimate that Government’s commitments to the electorate. This is just another example of the triple B problem that the Labor Government is now facing - it is a $53 million Barnett budget black hole.
“The arrangements were there. As well as the sale of the Leighton Beach marshalling yards there was a list of other asset sales that could have been used to fund the rail.
Mr Barnett: Are you quoting from the corrected Hansard ? Ms MacTIERNAN: Yes, the corrected Hansard . The Leader of the Opposition said - I forget the total cost of the corridor - a figure of $80 million comes to mind - but it was partially to be funded by sales of land, including the Leighton peninsular land - the old marshalling yards. I will say candidly that it would have been a stretch to achieve that at any stage. It would not have been possible to fund the development of that southern transport corridor by selling Westrail land. It might have made some small contribution, but it would not have met the full cost. The Leader of the Opposition, as a senior member of the previous Government, was prepared to be part of a scam to underestimate that Government’s commitments to the electorate. This is just another example of the triple B problem that the Labor Government is now facing - it is a $53 million Barnett budget black hole.
Ms MacTIERNAN: Yes, the corrected Hansard . The Leader of the Opposition said - I forget the total cost of the corridor - a figure of $80 million comes to mind - but it was partially to be funded by sales of land, including the Leighton peninsular land - the old marshalling yards. I will say candidly that it would have been a stretch to achieve that at any stage. It would not have been possible to fund the development of that southern transport corridor by selling Westrail land. It might have made some small contribution, but it would not have met the full cost. The Leader of the Opposition, as a senior member of the previous Government, was prepared to be part of a scam to underestimate that Government’s commitments to the electorate. This is just another example of the triple B problem that the Labor Government is now facing - it is a $53 million Barnett budget black hole.
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.