Home›Questions on Notice›QoN 759

❓ Opposition questions the government's transparency regarding the Westport project's cost-benefit analysis, referencing a previous refusal to share the Forrestfield-Airport Link business case. The government defends its approach, citing Infrastructure WA's support and contrasting its transparency with the previous Liberal government.

AnsweredQoN 759Legislative Council

Asked

21 October 2025

Member

Hon Steve Martin

Portfolio

Deputy Premier; Treasurer; Minister for Transport; Sport and Recreation

QuestionView source ↗

I refer to the Minister's answer to question on notice 636, in which the Minister was unable to provide any details in relation to the input figures used to calculate the benefit to cost ratio of moving container trade to Kwinana by the late 2030s, and also did not provide any figures in answer to the more general question, "can the Minister provide anything else along those lines to enable a better understanding of the mathematical inputs used to develop the business case result", and the Minister's statement that "successive leaders of the Liberal Party refused to allow this Government – the one responsible for constructing and opening it – access to the business case for the Forrestfield–Airport Link project", and I ask: (a) acknowledging that the Minister has stated that the business case is considered Cabinet-in-confidence, is the Minister able to provide any specific information at all within parts of the business case about the mathematical calculations being used to justify the decision in relation to Westport ("Westport Now" option), rather than just stating that the calculations have been made and should be accepted blindly; and (b) in mentioning the Forrestfield Airport Link business case, is the Minister making the point that either: (i) this refusal of access to the business case was wrong, and that therefore the Minister is also making the same wrong decision; and (ii) the decision to refuse access to the business case was correct?

AnswerView source ↗

Answered

2 December 2025

Responded by

Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Premier; Treasurer; Minister for Transport; Sport and Recreation

Response time

9 days

(a-b) The Westport business case summary clearly outlines the reasoning behind the Government’s approach.
Infrastructure Western Australia reviewed the Westport business case and supported the progression of the Westport Now option to the next stage of project development.
The Westport Now option represents the most sensible and responsible approach for planning the future of container trade in WA.
(b) This comment goes to the fact that the Liberal Party refused to release the business case for the Forrestfield-Airport Link and the Perth Freight Link to the actual government delivering it, which would allow it to make more informed decisions about the project.
The WA Labor Government has, and continues to release, business case summaries for its major projects, including METRONET projects and, Westport.

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