❓ The Minister for Transport provides an update on the Causeway pedestrian and cycle bridges project, highlighting local manufacturing and job creation, while contrasting the current government's approach with the previous Liberal-National government's outsourcing of the Matagarup Bridge construction.
AnsweredQoN 867Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CAUSEWAY PEDESTRIAN AND
CYCLE BRIDGES
867. Mr C.J. TALLENTIRE to the Minister for Transport:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's
commitment to deliver accessible active transport infrastructure for Western Australians.
(1) Can the
minister update the house on the construction of the excellent new Causeway
pedestrian and cycle bridges, including how this project is supporting jobs and
businesses in WA?
(2) Can the
minister inform the house how this government's record on local
manufacturing compares with the record of those opposite?
CYCLE BRIDGES
867. Mr C.J. TALLENTIRE to the Minister for Transport:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's
commitment to deliver accessible active transport infrastructure for Western Australians.
(1) Can the
minister update the house on the construction of the excellent new Causeway
pedestrian and cycle bridges, including how this project is supporting jobs and
businesses in WA?
(2) Can the
minister inform the house how this government's record on local
manufacturing compares with the record of those opposite?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I
thank the member for the question. Of course, the member is a very strong
advocate for cycling in this state. As the member outlined, we are spending a record
amount on pedestrian and cycling infrastructure across the state. There is no
better place to see what is happening than adjacent to the Causeway, with work
underway on the new Causeway pedestrian and cycle bridges. As we know, this is
one of the busiest connections in the state with more than 3 000 users daily.
The current bridge is far too narrow to accommodate both current and future
demand. That is why we made a decision to build a new cycling bridge that will
be six metres wide and have space for both pedestrians and cyclists.
Just a few weeks ago, the Premier and
I went down to Henderson to see the works being undertaken by Civmec. We are building this bridge locally,
members. Right from the start, we made a commitment to build this bridge
locally. Work is well underway, with the first deck already completed. Over 700
jobs will be created during its
construction. I compare and contrast our approach with that of the opposition.
Do members remember that when the previous Liberal–National
government tried to build a bridge over the river, the Matagarup Bridge, it did
not go local? It said that Western Australians were not good enough to build a bridge to stretch between both sides of the
river. I am glad that we have talked about the statement of risks ,
because I thought I would go to the midyear review of December 2016 and look at
the statement of risks. Do members know what was not in there? What was not in
there was the Matagarup Bridge—and it should have been. I looked
through the Pre-election financial projections statement ; surely the
previous government would have highlighted the massive risk of outsourcing the
construction of the bridge to a company from one country to be built in another
country on land owned by a South Korean wind turbine manufacturer. I think it
was outsourced to a Japanese company that was going to build it in a Malaysian
fabricating yard, and that yard was subsequently bought by a South Korean wind
turbine manufacturer! As a result, when we
won government, my first question was: where is that bridge? They said it was
on the ship. I kept asking: where are the components of the bridge?
Anyway, they never turned up. We made a very quick and early decision to bring
the manufacturing of that bridge back to Western Australia. The Matagarup
Bridge is now one of the most iconic sites in this state and one that reflects
the quality of Western Australian
manufacturing. Of course, we are manufacturing our new C-series railcars at
Bellevue —again, a reflection of what we can do.
The new pedestrian bridge will not
only be iconic and celebrate Aboriginal heritage in this state and the
connectivity between both sides of the river, through Heirisson Island, but
also, again, show what Western Australians can do when it comes to manufacturing
in this state.
thank the member for the question. Of course, the member is a very strong
advocate for cycling in this state. As the member outlined, we are spending a record
amount on pedestrian and cycling infrastructure across the state. There is no
better place to see what is happening than adjacent to the Causeway, with work
underway on the new Causeway pedestrian and cycle bridges. As we know, this is
one of the busiest connections in the state with more than 3 000 users daily.
The current bridge is far too narrow to accommodate both current and future
demand. That is why we made a decision to build a new cycling bridge that will
be six metres wide and have space for both pedestrians and cyclists.
Just a few weeks ago, the Premier and
I went down to Henderson to see the works being undertaken by Civmec. We are building this bridge locally,
members. Right from the start, we made a commitment to build this bridge
locally. Work is well underway, with the first deck already completed. Over 700
jobs will be created during its
construction. I compare and contrast our approach with that of the opposition.
Do members remember that when the previous Liberal–National
government tried to build a bridge over the river, the Matagarup Bridge, it did
not go local? It said that Western Australians were not good enough to build a bridge to stretch between both sides of the
river. I am glad that we have talked about the statement of risks ,
because I thought I would go to the midyear review of December 2016 and look at
the statement of risks. Do members know what was not in there? What was not in
there was the Matagarup Bridge—and it should have been. I looked
through the Pre-election financial projections statement ; surely the
previous government would have highlighted the massive risk of outsourcing the
construction of the bridge to a company from one country to be built in another
country on land owned by a South Korean wind turbine manufacturer. I think it
was outsourced to a Japanese company that was going to build it in a Malaysian
fabricating yard, and that yard was subsequently bought by a South Korean wind
turbine manufacturer! As a result, when we
won government, my first question was: where is that bridge? They said it was
on the ship. I kept asking: where are the components of the bridge?
Anyway, they never turned up. We made a very quick and early decision to bring
the manufacturing of that bridge back to Western Australia. The Matagarup
Bridge is now one of the most iconic sites in this state and one that reflects
the quality of Western Australian
manufacturing. Of course, we are manufacturing our new C-series railcars at
Bellevue —again, a reflection of what we can do.
The new pedestrian bridge will not
only be iconic and celebrate Aboriginal heritage in this state and the
connectivity between both sides of the river, through Heirisson Island, but
also, again, show what Western Australians can do when it comes to manufacturing
in this state.
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.