❓ Mr. Bowler asks about the impact of compliance and enforcement legislation on transport in WA. The Minister responds, highlighting the importance of the legislation for economic growth and fair competition within the transport industry, while also engaging in political point-scoring.
AnsweredQoN 62Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
transport — compliance and
enforcement legislation
62. Mr J.J.M. BOWLER to the Minister for Transport:
Before I ask my question, I recognise the presence in the
public gallery of students from Excelsior Primary School which, I understand,
is in the electorate of the member for Southern River.
Given the significant importance of transport in Western
Australia, particularly in my large electorate, could the minister please
update the house on how the compliance and enforcement legislation will assist
with these issues, and whether there are any alternative views on this
legislation?
enforcement legislation
62. Mr J.J.M. BOWLER to the Minister for Transport:
Before I ask my question, I recognise the presence in the
public gallery of students from Excelsior Primary School which, I understand,
is in the electorate of the member for Southern River.
Given the significant importance of transport in Western
Australia, particularly in my large electorate, could the minister please
update the house on how the compliance and enforcement legislation will assist
with these issues, and whether there are any alternative views on this
legislation?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Kalgoorlie for his question, because
it is an important issue. It is a really important issue in electorates such as
the member for Kalgoorlie's, which is one of those transportation hubs
that are playing an important role in the economic growth of the state. Whilst
Kalgoorlie is serviced by rail, it is also a major and significant destination
and hub for heavy road vehicles. The government has a couple of bills which, I
think, are coming on for debate after question time. They represent a very
important piece of legislative reform.
Ms M.M. Quirk : Why
has it taken so long to bring it in?
Mr T.R. BUSWELL : I
will tell members in a minute, member for Girrawheen.
The industry knows it collectively as either the chain of
responsibility or the compliance and enforcement legislation. It was a series
of legislation introduced by a minister in the former government, who is the
now Mayor of Vincent and chief advisor to the Leader of the Opposition, Alannah
MacTiernan.
Mrs M.H. Roberts :
You're just jealous.
Mr T.R. BUSWELL : I
am not jealous. I do not have to ingratiate myself with the mayor of a local
government in Perth to justify my appointment as Leader of the Opposition. The
member for Midland knows there is only one person —
The
SPEAKER : I ask the minister to get back to answering the question.
Mr T.R. BUSWELL :
Thank you, Mr Speaker. My apologies for that.
One of the reasons it took so long to bring in is that there
were some flaws in that legislation. Industry had not been listened to. We have
spent some time listening to industry and the like to acknowledge people in,
for example, the Livestock and Rural Transport Association and the transport
forum, which have assisted the government in bringing to the house this very
important legislation. Road transport is important to the state—firstly,
because it is a critical economic enabler and, secondly, irrespective of where
we live, very little that we buy and consume does not spend some time on the
back of a truck. That fact is often ignored in Western Australia. This bill
enshrines a concept called the chain of responsibility, which basically means
that everybody involved in the logistics chain—from the consigner to
the packer, to the person loading the truck, to the trucking company and to the
receiver—is obligated to make sure that there are safe and lawful
activities in and around road transport. The reason that it is important to the
industry—very important—is that it thinks it well help deliver
a level playing field. Industry thinks it will help prevent shonky and shoddy
operators from undercutting those operators who do the right thing. That is why
the industry thinks it is important and that is why government thinks it is
important.
Interestingly, a few weeks ago we arranged for a briefing about
this matter for the opposition spokesperson, Hon Ken Travers . His behaviour at that briefing was atrocious. He
turned up to the briefing —
Mrs M.H. Roberts :
Where were you?
Mr T.R. BUSWELL : I
was on the end of the phone talking to my adviser who was being bullied by Hon Ken Travers . That is where I was
during the briefing.
Several opposition members interjected.
The SPEAKER : I
call the member for Bassendean to order for the first time today.
Mr T.R. BUSWELL : I
was in Albany visiting the Albany port and talking to my adviser, who happens
to be an independent and professional public servant who works in my office and
who happened to be an independent and professional public servant who worked in
the member for Kalgoorlie's office when he was a minister. I think the
same person worked in the Leader of the Opposition's office when he was
a minister. I am not talking about a political person.
Point of Order
Mrs
M.H. ROBERTS : I draw your attention, Mr Speaker, to standing order 92,
which refers to imputations or personal reflections. Specific mention was made
about a member of the Legislative Council.
[Interruption.]
The SPEAKER : I formally call the
member for Perth to order for the first time. He should pay more attention to
what is happening in question time. I will leave that comment there.
Member for Midland, I respect your point of order. I ask the
minister, when he returns to his feet, to conclude his remarks about the
question asked by the member for Kalgoorlie.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr T.R. BUSWELL : I
will conclude my remarks. That is exactly what happened in that meeting. The
member for Midland may talk about reflection. I am no expert on Twitter. But I
am interested in the fact that the Leader of the Opposition seems to spend a
lot of time twittering or whatever it is.
A government member: It is tweeting.
Mr
T.R. BUSWELL : Tweeting! I noticed yesterday that Ken Travers referred to ''the
classic Barnett bullyboy style'' when the Premier dared question what
was happening in Scarborough and on the beach.
Mrs
M.H. Roberts : What has this got to do with the answer?
Mr
T.R. BUSWELL : I am getting to the point, member for Midland.
The
SPEAKER : Question time is designed —
[Interruption.]
The SPEAKER :
Member for Perth, I formally call you to order for the second time for that
telephone sound. I do not want to have to call the member for Perth to order
every time I get to my feet. I do not think you want me to do that either.
A question was asked about transport, not about whether
someone can tweeter or twit or whatever. If the minister intends to get to his
feet and continue in that vein, I will sit him down. If he intends to get to
his feet to provide more information relevant to the question asked by the
member for Kalgoorlie, I will enable him to do so.
Mr T.R. BUSWELL :
Thank you, Mr Speaker—I will. In doing so, I will say that we
introduced the legislation. We support the legislation. The indication from the
shadow spokesperson for transport was that the opposition would not support the
legislation based on that briefing. I am interested to understand the position
of the opposition and whether it reflects the statements made at that meeting
by the shadow Minister for Transport to my staff.
it is an important issue. It is a really important issue in electorates such as
the member for Kalgoorlie's, which is one of those transportation hubs
that are playing an important role in the economic growth of the state. Whilst
Kalgoorlie is serviced by rail, it is also a major and significant destination
and hub for heavy road vehicles. The government has a couple of bills which, I
think, are coming on for debate after question time. They represent a very
important piece of legislative reform.
Ms M.M. Quirk : Why
has it taken so long to bring it in?
Mr T.R. BUSWELL : I
will tell members in a minute, member for Girrawheen.
The industry knows it collectively as either the chain of
responsibility or the compliance and enforcement legislation. It was a series
of legislation introduced by a minister in the former government, who is the
now Mayor of Vincent and chief advisor to the Leader of the Opposition, Alannah
MacTiernan.
Mrs M.H. Roberts :
You're just jealous.
Mr T.R. BUSWELL : I
am not jealous. I do not have to ingratiate myself with the mayor of a local
government in Perth to justify my appointment as Leader of the Opposition. The
member for Midland knows there is only one person —
The
SPEAKER : I ask the minister to get back to answering the question.
Mr T.R. BUSWELL :
Thank you, Mr Speaker. My apologies for that.
One of the reasons it took so long to bring in is that there
were some flaws in that legislation. Industry had not been listened to. We have
spent some time listening to industry and the like to acknowledge people in,
for example, the Livestock and Rural Transport Association and the transport
forum, which have assisted the government in bringing to the house this very
important legislation. Road transport is important to the state—firstly,
because it is a critical economic enabler and, secondly, irrespective of where
we live, very little that we buy and consume does not spend some time on the
back of a truck. That fact is often ignored in Western Australia. This bill
enshrines a concept called the chain of responsibility, which basically means
that everybody involved in the logistics chain—from the consigner to
the packer, to the person loading the truck, to the trucking company and to the
receiver—is obligated to make sure that there are safe and lawful
activities in and around road transport. The reason that it is important to the
industry—very important—is that it thinks it well help deliver
a level playing field. Industry thinks it will help prevent shonky and shoddy
operators from undercutting those operators who do the right thing. That is why
the industry thinks it is important and that is why government thinks it is
important.
Interestingly, a few weeks ago we arranged for a briefing about
this matter for the opposition spokesperson, Hon Ken Travers . His behaviour at that briefing was atrocious. He
turned up to the briefing —
Mrs M.H. Roberts :
Where were you?
Mr T.R. BUSWELL : I
was on the end of the phone talking to my adviser who was being bullied by Hon Ken Travers . That is where I was
during the briefing.
Several opposition members interjected.
The SPEAKER : I
call the member for Bassendean to order for the first time today.
Mr T.R. BUSWELL : I
was in Albany visiting the Albany port and talking to my adviser, who happens
to be an independent and professional public servant who works in my office and
who happened to be an independent and professional public servant who worked in
the member for Kalgoorlie's office when he was a minister. I think the
same person worked in the Leader of the Opposition's office when he was
a minister. I am not talking about a political person.
Point of Order
Mrs
M.H. ROBERTS : I draw your attention, Mr Speaker, to standing order 92,
which refers to imputations or personal reflections. Specific mention was made
about a member of the Legislative Council.
[Interruption.]
The SPEAKER : I formally call the
member for Perth to order for the first time. He should pay more attention to
what is happening in question time. I will leave that comment there.
Member for Midland, I respect your point of order. I ask the
minister, when he returns to his feet, to conclude his remarks about the
question asked by the member for Kalgoorlie.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr T.R. BUSWELL : I
will conclude my remarks. That is exactly what happened in that meeting. The
member for Midland may talk about reflection. I am no expert on Twitter. But I
am interested in the fact that the Leader of the Opposition seems to spend a
lot of time twittering or whatever it is.
A government member: It is tweeting.
Mr
T.R. BUSWELL : Tweeting! I noticed yesterday that Ken Travers referred to ''the
classic Barnett bullyboy style'' when the Premier dared question what
was happening in Scarborough and on the beach.
Mrs
M.H. Roberts : What has this got to do with the answer?
Mr
T.R. BUSWELL : I am getting to the point, member for Midland.
The
SPEAKER : Question time is designed —
[Interruption.]
The SPEAKER :
Member for Perth, I formally call you to order for the second time for that
telephone sound. I do not want to have to call the member for Perth to order
every time I get to my feet. I do not think you want me to do that either.
A question was asked about transport, not about whether
someone can tweeter or twit or whatever. If the minister intends to get to his
feet and continue in that vein, I will sit him down. If he intends to get to
his feet to provide more information relevant to the question asked by the
member for Kalgoorlie, I will enable him to do so.
Mr T.R. BUSWELL :
Thank you, Mr Speaker—I will. In doing so, I will say that we
introduced the legislation. We support the legislation. The indication from the
shadow spokesperson for transport was that the opposition would not support the
legislation based on that briefing. I am interested to understand the position
of the opposition and whether it reflects the statements made at that meeting
by the shadow Minister for Transport to my staff.
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.