❓ Mr. Carey asks about the Byford rail extension and potential obstructions. Minister Saffioti responds by highlighting the government's commitment to the project, job creation, and criticizes the Liberal Party's alleged lack of support.
AnsweredQoN 700Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
METRONET — BYFORD
EXTENSION
700. Mr J.N. CAREY to the Minister for Transport:
I refer to the state government's
efforts to support local jobs and local businesses by delivering Metronet,
which will connect more people to the city.
(1) Can the
minister update the house on the work underway to build and deliver the Byford
rail extension?
(2) Can the
minister advise the house whether she is aware of anyone attempting to obstruct
or stop this important job-creating project?
EXTENSION
700. Mr J.N. CAREY to the Minister for Transport:
I refer to the state government's
efforts to support local jobs and local businesses by delivering Metronet,
which will connect more people to the city.
(1) Can the
minister update the house on the work underway to build and deliver the Byford
rail extension?
(2) Can the
minister advise the house whether she is aware of anyone attempting to obstruct
or stop this important job-creating project?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I
thank the member for Perth for his strong commitment to public transport and
Metronet throughout the suburbs of Perth. Today's job news was
fantastic for WA.
Mr D.A. Templeman interjected.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : That was a mistimed
interjection!
It was good news because we are
creating more and more jobs in Western Australia. We are aiming to recover and
get back to where we were before the pandemic hit. One of the key drivers is
the transport infrastructure that we are delivering around the state. A total
of $260 million a month is spent on transport infrastructure around the state.
That is an increase of around 70 per cent from a number of years ago. There is
a record number of projects and a record
number of contracts. This is giving confidence to the construction companies to
get out there and bid for and deliver the projects because they have a pipeline
of work. They have confidence in a government that is delivering the
commitments it made during the election campaign.
We
made a commitment to extend the electrification of the rail line to Byford and
to build a new Byford train station . That
was our commitment and we are delivering on that commitment. We committed to
begin that project next year , but we are trying to bring it forward to
get those jobs filled now, to get the contracts in place and to get the station
built as soon as possible. We are working with Infrastructure Australia to
bring forward parts of the project. So I was surprised—maybe I was not —
Mr D.J. Kelly : You weren't
really.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : No, I was not
really surprised to see the Liberal Party yet again walk away from projects
that it claimed to support. Its members come in here and talk the big talk
about Metronet. The federal Liberal Party is posting
videos about Metronet and how brilliant it is, but it cannot even commit to
those projects. As soon as an issue is
raised, it says we should delay the project. What does that do for small
business confidence? The party that comes in here and asks about small business every day wants to rip contracts
away from small businesses in Western Australia. It wants to rip
contracts away from contractors and from people who have jobs and certainty.
One of the reasons we are on the path to economic recovery is the strong
infrastructure program and the certainty that is creating. The opposition is so
keen to stop our Metronet projects and our road projects whenever an issue is
raised. Again, we should not be surprised that the member for Darling Range and
the Liberal Party are saying we should delay Metronet. They do not believe in
it. They believe that the Byford rail extension should be built in 2050, but we
are getting on with it and delivering it now.
thank the member for Perth for his strong commitment to public transport and
Metronet throughout the suburbs of Perth. Today's job news was
fantastic for WA.
Mr D.A. Templeman interjected.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : That was a mistimed
interjection!
It was good news because we are
creating more and more jobs in Western Australia. We are aiming to recover and
get back to where we were before the pandemic hit. One of the key drivers is
the transport infrastructure that we are delivering around the state. A total
of $260 million a month is spent on transport infrastructure around the state.
That is an increase of around 70 per cent from a number of years ago. There is
a record number of projects and a record
number of contracts. This is giving confidence to the construction companies to
get out there and bid for and deliver the projects because they have a pipeline
of work. They have confidence in a government that is delivering the
commitments it made during the election campaign.
We
made a commitment to extend the electrification of the rail line to Byford and
to build a new Byford train station . That
was our commitment and we are delivering on that commitment. We committed to
begin that project next year , but we are trying to bring it forward to
get those jobs filled now, to get the contracts in place and to get the station
built as soon as possible. We are working with Infrastructure Australia to
bring forward parts of the project. So I was surprised—maybe I was not —
Mr D.J. Kelly : You weren't
really.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : No, I was not
really surprised to see the Liberal Party yet again walk away from projects
that it claimed to support. Its members come in here and talk the big talk
about Metronet. The federal Liberal Party is posting
videos about Metronet and how brilliant it is, but it cannot even commit to
those projects. As soon as an issue is
raised, it says we should delay the project. What does that do for small
business confidence? The party that comes in here and asks about small business every day wants to rip contracts
away from small businesses in Western Australia. It wants to rip
contracts away from contractors and from people who have jobs and certainty.
One of the reasons we are on the path to economic recovery is the strong
infrastructure program and the certainty that is creating. The opposition is so
keen to stop our Metronet projects and our road projects whenever an issue is
raised. Again, we should not be surprised that the member for Darling Range and
the Liberal Party are saying we should delay Metronet. They do not believe in
it. They believe that the Byford rail extension should be built in 2050, but we
are getting on with it and delivering it now.
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.