❓ Opposition asks Lands Minister if they will sign the Kurra Village lease extension with BHP as agreed to by the Premier. Minister avoids a direct 'yes' or 'no', expressing disagreement with the Premier's handling and stating they will only sign if BHP agrees to a 600-bed camp.
AnsweredQoN 926Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
KURRA VILLAGE
LEASE
926. Mr M. McGOWAN to the
Minister for Lands:
I refer to the Premier's agreement with BHP to extend
the Kurra camp lease and to the Premier's comments yesterday: '' the state has a statutory obligation to sign
that lease extension. So it will be signed.'' Will the minister,
as Minister for Lands, sign the lease extension on the conditions agreed to by
the Premier with BHP?
LEASE
926. Mr M. McGOWAN to the
Minister for Lands:
I refer to the Premier's agreement with BHP to extend
the Kurra camp lease and to the Premier's comments yesterday: '' the state has a statutory obligation to sign
that lease extension. So it will be signed.'' Will the minister,
as Minister for Lands, sign the lease extension on the conditions agreed to by
the Premier with BHP?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the Leader of the Opposition for the question. I want
to run through a couple of points on this matter and then I will get to the nub
of the Leader of the Opposition's question.
The first point I make is that there has been, obviously, a
fair amount of discussion through the media on the Kurra Village issue as it
applies to Newman. There seems to be a view that it is a fly in, fly out issue—an
issue of FIFO versus the residential workforce. Certainly, our objective in the
Department of Regional Development is to have as high a number of people in the
residential workforce as we possibly can. But the issue here is not one of
saying, ''Shift everything from FIFO to residential.'' The issue
here is integrating the FIFO facility with the town of Newman. Right now it is
not integrated at Kurra Village. That is something I feel extremely strongly
about. I make the point that I do not agree with the Minister for State
Development's view that we either have a legal obligation —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Members!
Mr D.T. REDMAN : I
do not agree that we neither have a legal obligation nor the influence to be
able to get an outcome. Bear in mind that what I put to BHP as the lands
minister—because the first request came to me—was to have a
facility of 600 beds. That is what I put, back from a 700-bed facility. I was
not saying, ''Don't have a camp.'' I said, ''Have
a camp of 600 beds.'' It was then moved out of my responsibility to the
Premier's responsibility. I therefore do not concur with that outcome
but I will make an interesting point.
It is interesting to look at some of the other issues that
come up through the state agreement. There is a requirement for the company to
have a community development plan with the state. When I talked to the local
government people up there, it was really interesting to note that they have
never seen a community development plan; it is confidential between BHP and the
Department of State Development. A range of things therefore in state
agreements do not deliver outcomes to those communities. That was one of the
reasons that the Nationals took the view that we needed to have a close look at
some of the old state agreements.
Mr P.B. Watson interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Albany, that is enough!
Mr D.T. REDMAN : I
say to the Leader of the Opposition that I will sign that agreement when BHP
comes back and puts to me that it is happy to have a 600-bed work camp, which
is what I put in writing to Jimmy Wilson and what I raised with him when I met
with him up at Newman. In this debate, positions have been stated on this side
of the house. The one position that is not clear —
Mr P.B. Watson interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Albany, I call you to order for the first time!
Mr D.T. REDMAN :
The one position that is not clear is that of the Leader of the Opposition.
What is the position of the Labor Party?
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for West Swan, I call you to order for the first time!
Mr
D.T. REDMAN : I have stated my position and the position of my party very
clearly, but the opposition does not know —
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I call you to order for the first time!
Mr
D.T. REDMAN : We are in an alliance government and from time to time there
are different views.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Members!
Mr
D.T. REDMAN : The National Party will stand up for communities in regional
Western Australia. It will be really interesting to see the position of the
opposition. I will not sign that agreement unless BHP comes back to me with a
600-bed work camp.
to run through a couple of points on this matter and then I will get to the nub
of the Leader of the Opposition's question.
The first point I make is that there has been, obviously, a
fair amount of discussion through the media on the Kurra Village issue as it
applies to Newman. There seems to be a view that it is a fly in, fly out issue—an
issue of FIFO versus the residential workforce. Certainly, our objective in the
Department of Regional Development is to have as high a number of people in the
residential workforce as we possibly can. But the issue here is not one of
saying, ''Shift everything from FIFO to residential.'' The issue
here is integrating the FIFO facility with the town of Newman. Right now it is
not integrated at Kurra Village. That is something I feel extremely strongly
about. I make the point that I do not agree with the Minister for State
Development's view that we either have a legal obligation —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Members!
Mr D.T. REDMAN : I
do not agree that we neither have a legal obligation nor the influence to be
able to get an outcome. Bear in mind that what I put to BHP as the lands
minister—because the first request came to me—was to have a
facility of 600 beds. That is what I put, back from a 700-bed facility. I was
not saying, ''Don't have a camp.'' I said, ''Have
a camp of 600 beds.'' It was then moved out of my responsibility to the
Premier's responsibility. I therefore do not concur with that outcome
but I will make an interesting point.
It is interesting to look at some of the other issues that
come up through the state agreement. There is a requirement for the company to
have a community development plan with the state. When I talked to the local
government people up there, it was really interesting to note that they have
never seen a community development plan; it is confidential between BHP and the
Department of State Development. A range of things therefore in state
agreements do not deliver outcomes to those communities. That was one of the
reasons that the Nationals took the view that we needed to have a close look at
some of the old state agreements.
Mr P.B. Watson interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Albany, that is enough!
Mr D.T. REDMAN : I
say to the Leader of the Opposition that I will sign that agreement when BHP
comes back and puts to me that it is happy to have a 600-bed work camp, which
is what I put in writing to Jimmy Wilson and what I raised with him when I met
with him up at Newman. In this debate, positions have been stated on this side
of the house. The one position that is not clear —
Mr P.B. Watson interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Albany, I call you to order for the first time!
Mr D.T. REDMAN :
The one position that is not clear is that of the Leader of the Opposition.
What is the position of the Labor Party?
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for West Swan, I call you to order for the first time!
Mr
D.T. REDMAN : I have stated my position and the position of my party very
clearly, but the opposition does not know —
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I call you to order for the first time!
Mr
D.T. REDMAN : We are in an alliance government and from time to time there
are different views.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Members!
Mr
D.T. REDMAN : The National Party will stand up for communities in regional
Western Australia. It will be really interesting to see the position of the
opposition. I will not sign that agreement unless BHP comes back to me with a
600-bed work camp.
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