❓ Mr. Love questions the Premier about the Westport infrastructure project's cost blowout and requests the release of the full business case. The Premier defends the project, citing its economic importance and job creation, while declining to release the full business case due to commercial sensitivity and referencing a similar situation with the previous government.
AnsweredQoN 812Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
WESTPORT — BUSINESS CASE
812. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Premier:
Was that applause for me?
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Let us just
wait. Thanks, members.
Mr R.S. LOVE : I refer to the
staggering $2.5 billion blowout on the Westport infrastructure project before
it even begins that now brings the total cost to an astronomical $7.2 billion,
a completion date in the later part of the next decade and the government's
freshly minted glossy purporting to be a business case summary.
When will the government do the
right thing and release the full business case for this project considering its
massive scale and the extensive amount of Western Australian taxpayers'
money being spent?
812. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Premier:
Was that applause for me?
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Let us just
wait. Thanks, members.
Mr R.S. LOVE : I refer to the
staggering $2.5 billion blowout on the Westport infrastructure project before
it even begins that now brings the total cost to an astronomical $7.2 billion,
a completion date in the later part of the next decade and the government's
freshly minted glossy purporting to be a business case summary.
When will the government do the
right thing and release the full business case for this project considering its
massive scale and the extensive amount of Western Australian taxpayers'
money being spent?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question.
I love talking about Westport, so we are just going to keep going. As the
member knows, a lot of work has been put into this. The team at Westport has
been working on a range of different options, configurations and contingencies
in relation to the development of the harbour. For instance, one of the issues
is the development of a breakwater that will allow the port to be much more
resilient and have greater ability to take on cargo during inclement weather.
Obviously, construction costs have escalated and there is greater clarity in
terms of the overall costs. As part of our $273 million investment announced
yesterday, there will be further work around costings, risk analysis and
options available in relation to this. Madam Speaker, the business case has
produced a plethora of information that will be important to make sure we
inform both Infrastructure Western Australia and Infrastructure Australia on,
which we wish to engage on the development of this, quite frankly,
nation-building economic infrastructure.
Yesterday,
we released an extensive summary of the business case for Westport of over 45 pages.
It gives opposition members an
important opportunity to educate themselves on the importance of this piece of
economic infrastructure , including the number of jobs that will be
created; the efficiency it will provide for the import and export of our goods, which is a very important consideration for
a major trading state; what we took into account in relation to the final positioning; and what other works need to be undertaken in relation to
road and rail infrastructure and other elements of what will be a massive and
complex project.
It
will open in the late 2030s. Let us not forget that the money we are talking
about investing in this project, which in today's dollars is
$7.2 billion, will be invested over a period as we develop this significant
piece of infrastructure. To put it into context, in dollar terms, this will be
the biggest economic infrastructure project ever undertaken in this state. That
is why it is important we continue to do the work.
The
business case is obviously an extensive document and involves a range of
commercially sensitive data, so it would not be appropriate to release it publicly because of those things. I remind
this place of the Forrestfield–Airport Link for which the
previous government did a lot of work on a business case. When we came into
office, as is the protocol under the Westminster system, we sought access to
documents from the previous government in relation to considerations that had
been put to cabinet. In this particular incidence, the Liberal and National
Parties refused access to the business case for the FAL even though we were the
ones who actually ended up building it. Not only were we in this context not allowed to see where all the dollars were to
go out everywhere, but also in the context of the previous government, it would not even let it be known to the
incoming government. Madam Speaker, I will take criticism from all kinds
of places on this. We know there will be naysayers and critics because this is
a big decision that only a competent WA Labor government can take on behalf the
people of Western Australia, but I will not be lectured by members opposite on
the information disclosed in a business case.
I love talking about Westport, so we are just going to keep going. As the
member knows, a lot of work has been put into this. The team at Westport has
been working on a range of different options, configurations and contingencies
in relation to the development of the harbour. For instance, one of the issues
is the development of a breakwater that will allow the port to be much more
resilient and have greater ability to take on cargo during inclement weather.
Obviously, construction costs have escalated and there is greater clarity in
terms of the overall costs. As part of our $273 million investment announced
yesterday, there will be further work around costings, risk analysis and
options available in relation to this. Madam Speaker, the business case has
produced a plethora of information that will be important to make sure we
inform both Infrastructure Western Australia and Infrastructure Australia on,
which we wish to engage on the development of this, quite frankly,
nation-building economic infrastructure.
Yesterday,
we released an extensive summary of the business case for Westport of over 45 pages.
It gives opposition members an
important opportunity to educate themselves on the importance of this piece of
economic infrastructure , including the number of jobs that will be
created; the efficiency it will provide for the import and export of our goods, which is a very important consideration for
a major trading state; what we took into account in relation to the final positioning; and what other works need to be undertaken in relation to
road and rail infrastructure and other elements of what will be a massive and
complex project.
It
will open in the late 2030s. Let us not forget that the money we are talking
about investing in this project, which in today's dollars is
$7.2 billion, will be invested over a period as we develop this significant
piece of infrastructure. To put it into context, in dollar terms, this will be
the biggest economic infrastructure project ever undertaken in this state. That
is why it is important we continue to do the work.
The
business case is obviously an extensive document and involves a range of
commercially sensitive data, so it would not be appropriate to release it publicly because of those things. I remind
this place of the Forrestfield–Airport Link for which the
previous government did a lot of work on a business case. When we came into
office, as is the protocol under the Westminster system, we sought access to
documents from the previous government in relation to considerations that had
been put to cabinet. In this particular incidence, the Liberal and National
Parties refused access to the business case for the FAL even though we were the
ones who actually ended up building it. Not only were we in this context not allowed to see where all the dollars were to
go out everywhere, but also in the context of the previous government, it would not even let it be known to the
incoming government. Madam Speaker, I will take criticism from all kinds
of places on this. We know there will be naysayers and critics because this is
a big decision that only a competent WA Labor government can take on behalf the
people of Western Australia, but I will not be lectured by members opposite on
the information disclosed in a business case.
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