❓ Question regarding the Cook Labor government's investment in Kimberley road infrastructure and its impact on road connections and employment. The Minister outlines ongoing projects like bridge replacements, Tanami Road sealing, and Fitzroy River Bridge reconstruction, highlighting job creation and Aboriginal workforce participation.
AnsweredQoN 436Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE — KIMBERLEY REGION
436. Ms D.G. D'ANNA to the Minister for Transport:
I refer to the Cook Labor
government's record $5.3 billion investment in Western Australian
regional roads. Can the minister outline to the house how this record
investment is transforming road connections in the Kimberley and how it is
creating employment opportunities for people in the Kimberley?
436. Ms D.G. D'ANNA to the Minister for Transport:
I refer to the Cook Labor
government's record $5.3 billion investment in Western Australian
regional roads. Can the minister outline to the house how this record
investment is transforming road connections in the Kimberley and how it is
creating employment opportunities for people in the Kimberley?
AnswerView source ↗
I
thank the member for Kimberley for that question. I am wearing a West Coast
Fever scarf, if people had not noticed . The member for Wanneroo, the
Minister for Community Services, brought in the scarves today. She is a very
big supporter of netball in WA, as are many members of Parliament. We wish them
the best for Sunday when they play their semifinal, and going forward.
I thank the member for that
question. Of course, the member for Kimberley is a strong advocate for her
community, and there is a lot happening on
roads and road connections throughout the Kimberley. I am pleased to inform the house that works have begun on three key bridge replacements on the
Great Northern Highway through the Kimberley. Single-lane bridges are being
replaced with dual-lane bridges at—hopefully, I will say this
correctly, member for Kimberley—Tickalara Creek, Frog Hollow Creek and
Arthur Creek. Initial works are underway. The bridgeworks
at Arthur Creek will be undertaken in 2024. The construction phase will support
100 direct and indirect jobs. The project is jointly funded with the
federal government.
Another
key element is making our roads accessible year round and safer. Work has begun
on sealing the Tanami Road on
the section linking Great Northern Highway to the Northern Territory. The
section to be sealed is over 1 000 kilometres long. State and federal
governments have committed $542 million to the project and, very importantly,
currently more than 65 per cent of the workforce comprise Aboriginal people,
with two-thirds living in Halls Creek. The government has also awarded $15 million
to Aboriginal businesses to date.
We all remember the vision of the
collapsed Fitzroy River Bridge. The good news, of course, is that the
demolition of that bridge has been completed and work is very much underway. I said
that by April the Main Roads team had constructed
a temporary single-lane causeway over the Fitzroy River; by the end of May, a fully
functional two-lane causeway had been opened and demolition of the old
bridge had been completed. Work is underway on the new bridge. Thirty-four piles have been driven into the riverbed to support
the new bridge pier, with each of the seven
piers to be supported by four piles. We are now halfway through that work, with
concrete to be poured for the pile caps next week. Again, this work is
progressing very, very well, and I thank Main Roads and the Fitzroy Bridge Alliance
partners: BMD Constructions, Georgiou Group and BG and E. Congratulations to
all those involved. This project will reconnect the Kimberley and ensure that
Kimberley connections remain strong.
In preparing for this question, the
member will be surprised that I had a look at some of the attacks on this work
as it was happening.
Mr J.R. Quigley : Who would
attack?
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : Well, good
question. It was Hon Neil Thomson from the other place! I like it when I go
through the outrageous attacks in their Facebook posts, and then someone
comments, ''Well done, Neil!''
Mr R.S. Love : You must have
too much time on your hands!
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : You say I am
too busy! There we go.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : Make up your
mind! Am I too busy or do I have too much time on my hands? I do not know!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please,
members.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : I love this.
Neil was there attacking the contractors all the time —
Point of Order
Dr D.J. HONEY : Point of
order.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : Sorry—Hon
Neil Thomson in the other place.
The SPEAKER : Was that your
point of order? Yes? Okay.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Southern River!
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : Hon Neil
Thomson attacks us on Facebook and someone comments on his post, ''Well
done, Neil!'' Well done! Who provided that positive commentary? Hon Nick
Goiran!
Several members interjected.
Ms
R. SAFFIOTI : But it gets better. I
saw some other positive comments attacking us for the fact that the Fitzroy River
is unpredictable and sometimes floods. We should have predicted the floods
every time it rained; we should have predicted all the rain. Hon Neil Thomson
is having another go and then someone comes in with the comment —
Only the McGowan government could get
a river crossing so wrong �
Who was that? It was Senator Linda
Reynolds! It was actually quite insightful! There were some other comments,
including this one from someone who is not a member of the Liberal Party
commenting on Hon Neil Thomson's attacks —
This is disgusting. You should be
ashamed of being such a vulture trying to peck on the carcass of crisis. Gross,
gross, gross.
That was from someone who is not a Liberal
Party member of Parliament. We are very proud of the workers up there who got on with the job. Linda Reynolds
actually says far more. Do members remember when she went missing for
six months and no-one could find her? Maybe we should have gone on Hon Neil
Thomson's Facebook page to find her!
We absolutely appreciate the work
done by all the workers up there in that community who have been working very,
very hard, reconnecting. We are replacing the single-lane bridges with
dual-lane bridges, we have started the Tanami Road upgrade, and we had the new
Kimberley bridge underway pretty much within five months, which is an
incredible effort. We designed it, worked through the process, liaised with the
local Aboriginal groups and started the
work. It was an incredible outcome. I thank everyone involved. I know the
member for Kimberley is very excited about what is happening up there,
and as my new parliamentary secretary, I suspect she will be up there
inspecting all the works very soon.
thank the member for Kimberley for that question. I am wearing a West Coast
Fever scarf, if people had not noticed . The member for Wanneroo, the
Minister for Community Services, brought in the scarves today. She is a very
big supporter of netball in WA, as are many members of Parliament. We wish them
the best for Sunday when they play their semifinal, and going forward.
I thank the member for that
question. Of course, the member for Kimberley is a strong advocate for her
community, and there is a lot happening on
roads and road connections throughout the Kimberley. I am pleased to inform the house that works have begun on three key bridge replacements on the
Great Northern Highway through the Kimberley. Single-lane bridges are being
replaced with dual-lane bridges at—hopefully, I will say this
correctly, member for Kimberley—Tickalara Creek, Frog Hollow Creek and
Arthur Creek. Initial works are underway. The bridgeworks
at Arthur Creek will be undertaken in 2024. The construction phase will support
100 direct and indirect jobs. The project is jointly funded with the
federal government.
Another
key element is making our roads accessible year round and safer. Work has begun
on sealing the Tanami Road on
the section linking Great Northern Highway to the Northern Territory. The
section to be sealed is over 1 000 kilometres long. State and federal
governments have committed $542 million to the project and, very importantly,
currently more than 65 per cent of the workforce comprise Aboriginal people,
with two-thirds living in Halls Creek. The government has also awarded $15 million
to Aboriginal businesses to date.
We all remember the vision of the
collapsed Fitzroy River Bridge. The good news, of course, is that the
demolition of that bridge has been completed and work is very much underway. I said
that by April the Main Roads team had constructed
a temporary single-lane causeway over the Fitzroy River; by the end of May, a fully
functional two-lane causeway had been opened and demolition of the old
bridge had been completed. Work is underway on the new bridge. Thirty-four piles have been driven into the riverbed to support
the new bridge pier, with each of the seven
piers to be supported by four piles. We are now halfway through that work, with
concrete to be poured for the pile caps next week. Again, this work is
progressing very, very well, and I thank Main Roads and the Fitzroy Bridge Alliance
partners: BMD Constructions, Georgiou Group and BG and E. Congratulations to
all those involved. This project will reconnect the Kimberley and ensure that
Kimberley connections remain strong.
In preparing for this question, the
member will be surprised that I had a look at some of the attacks on this work
as it was happening.
Mr J.R. Quigley : Who would
attack?
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : Well, good
question. It was Hon Neil Thomson from the other place! I like it when I go
through the outrageous attacks in their Facebook posts, and then someone
comments, ''Well done, Neil!''
Mr R.S. Love : You must have
too much time on your hands!
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : You say I am
too busy! There we go.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : Make up your
mind! Am I too busy or do I have too much time on my hands? I do not know!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please,
members.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : I love this.
Neil was there attacking the contractors all the time —
Point of Order
Dr D.J. HONEY : Point of
order.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : Sorry—Hon
Neil Thomson in the other place.
The SPEAKER : Was that your
point of order? Yes? Okay.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Southern River!
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : Hon Neil
Thomson attacks us on Facebook and someone comments on his post, ''Well
done, Neil!'' Well done! Who provided that positive commentary? Hon Nick
Goiran!
Several members interjected.
Ms
R. SAFFIOTI : But it gets better. I
saw some other positive comments attacking us for the fact that the Fitzroy River
is unpredictable and sometimes floods. We should have predicted the floods
every time it rained; we should have predicted all the rain. Hon Neil Thomson
is having another go and then someone comes in with the comment —
Only the McGowan government could get
a river crossing so wrong �
Who was that? It was Senator Linda
Reynolds! It was actually quite insightful! There were some other comments,
including this one from someone who is not a member of the Liberal Party
commenting on Hon Neil Thomson's attacks —
This is disgusting. You should be
ashamed of being such a vulture trying to peck on the carcass of crisis. Gross,
gross, gross.
That was from someone who is not a Liberal
Party member of Parliament. We are very proud of the workers up there who got on with the job. Linda Reynolds
actually says far more. Do members remember when she went missing for
six months and no-one could find her? Maybe we should have gone on Hon Neil
Thomson's Facebook page to find her!
We absolutely appreciate the work
done by all the workers up there in that community who have been working very,
very hard, reconnecting. We are replacing the single-lane bridges with
dual-lane bridges, we have started the Tanami Road upgrade, and we had the new
Kimberley bridge underway pretty much within five months, which is an
incredible effort. We designed it, worked through the process, liaised with the
local Aboriginal groups and started the
work. It was an incredible outcome. I thank everyone involved. I know the
member for Kimberley is very excited about what is happening up there,
and as my new parliamentary secretary, I suspect she will be up there
inspecting all the works very soon.
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