❓ The Premier provides an update on decentralising government office accommodation, focusing on revitalising Fremantle by relocating public sector jobs and addressing port access concerns related to Roe 8.
AnsweredQoN 604Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
GOVERNMENT OFFICE ACCOMMODATION —
DECENTRALISATION
604. Mr M.H. TAYLOR to the
Premier:
Can the Premier please provide the house with an update on
progress made to decentralise government office accommodation from the Perth
CBD?
DECENTRALISATION
604. Mr M.H. TAYLOR to the
Premier:
Can the Premier please provide the house with an update on
progress made to decentralise government office accommodation from the Perth
CBD?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Bateman; he does a good job
representing the southern suburbs of Perth.
Mr W.J. Johnston interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Cannington!
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
Last week, along with the Minister for Finance, I again visited Fremantle.
Fremantle is a lovely historic heritage area and a beautiful part of the state.
Members would probably be aware that prior to the Second World War, Fremantle
was the major commercial and business district; Fremantle exceeded Perth in
almost every respect. It was the centre of manufacturing and the like, and
obviously built around the port. The port is at the heart of Fremantle. We went
to Fremantle, and I am very conscious that although Fremantle has all these
great natural attractions, its economy is very weak. It has seen fewer people
work on the port today than did decades ago, the Myer store closure and the
loss of manufacturing that historically used to be in Fremantle. Indeed, the
development of Fiona Stanley Hospital means there are fewer hospital workers at
Fremantle. There is a whole host of factors.
When we arrived, the first thing that I saw, and was very
pleased to see, was that restoration work is well underway on the historic prison
warders' cottages, which date back to the 1850s. They had been lying
idle for years and it is this government and this Minister for Heritage that is
now restoring them. That was good to see.
Mr B.S. Wyatt interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Victoria Park!
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : It is an important heritage project, which had been neglected
for years, addressed by this government.
We went to Fremantle to call for
expressions of interest for the development of 20 000 square metres of quality
office accommodation, which would allow somewhere between 1 000 and 1 300
public sector jobs to move into Fremantle. That more than anything else will
revitalise the central business district of Fremantle. The most likely
department to be headquartered there is the Department of Housing, with some
accommodation also for some sections of other government departments. I think
that is an important step forward and was warmly received by the Fremantle
community and the mayor; but it is going to take more than that. In trying to
revitalise Fremantle, because it is almost a depressed urban area, ask one
rhetorical question: what is at the very centre of the Fremantle economy? It is
the Fremantle port. Actually, most of the trade is in North Quay, which is
actually in my electorate, but it is Fremantle.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Willagee, I call you to order for the first time.
Member for Cannington, I call you for the second time.
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : To conclude, Fremantle port is a good port. It has improved
its efficiency and it has the capacity to carry more containers and more other
cargo, but if the port is strangled by strangling access to it, Fremantle is
strangled. That is what this issue is about. Members opposite can go up there
with mates such as Scott Ludlam in Canberra and argue against a link between
Roe 8 and Fremantle port, and they will strangle the port and they will
strangle Fremantle. There is no doubt about it. That is what this is about.
representing the southern suburbs of Perth.
Mr W.J. Johnston interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Cannington!
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
Last week, along with the Minister for Finance, I again visited Fremantle.
Fremantle is a lovely historic heritage area and a beautiful part of the state.
Members would probably be aware that prior to the Second World War, Fremantle
was the major commercial and business district; Fremantle exceeded Perth in
almost every respect. It was the centre of manufacturing and the like, and
obviously built around the port. The port is at the heart of Fremantle. We went
to Fremantle, and I am very conscious that although Fremantle has all these
great natural attractions, its economy is very weak. It has seen fewer people
work on the port today than did decades ago, the Myer store closure and the
loss of manufacturing that historically used to be in Fremantle. Indeed, the
development of Fiona Stanley Hospital means there are fewer hospital workers at
Fremantle. There is a whole host of factors.
When we arrived, the first thing that I saw, and was very
pleased to see, was that restoration work is well underway on the historic prison
warders' cottages, which date back to the 1850s. They had been lying
idle for years and it is this government and this Minister for Heritage that is
now restoring them. That was good to see.
Mr B.S. Wyatt interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Victoria Park!
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : It is an important heritage project, which had been neglected
for years, addressed by this government.
We went to Fremantle to call for
expressions of interest for the development of 20 000 square metres of quality
office accommodation, which would allow somewhere between 1 000 and 1 300
public sector jobs to move into Fremantle. That more than anything else will
revitalise the central business district of Fremantle. The most likely
department to be headquartered there is the Department of Housing, with some
accommodation also for some sections of other government departments. I think
that is an important step forward and was warmly received by the Fremantle
community and the mayor; but it is going to take more than that. In trying to
revitalise Fremantle, because it is almost a depressed urban area, ask one
rhetorical question: what is at the very centre of the Fremantle economy? It is
the Fremantle port. Actually, most of the trade is in North Quay, which is
actually in my electorate, but it is Fremantle.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Willagee, I call you to order for the first time.
Member for Cannington, I call you for the second time.
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : To conclude, Fremantle port is a good port. It has improved
its efficiency and it has the capacity to carry more containers and more other
cargo, but if the port is strangled by strangling access to it, Fremantle is
strangled. That is what this issue is about. Members opposite can go up there
with mates such as Scott Ludlam in Canberra and argue against a link between
Roe 8 and Fremantle port, and they will strangle the port and they will
strangle Fremantle. There is no doubt about it. That is what this is about.
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