❓ Mrs. Clarke questions the Minister for Transport on the government's regional road infrastructure investments and contrasts them with the previous government's record. The Minister responds by highlighting current projects and criticising the opposition's past approach to regional road spending.
AnsweredQoN 90Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
REGIONAL ROAD
INFRASTRUCTURE
90. Mrs R.M.J. CLARKE to the Minister for Transport:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's investment of more than $2 billion into job-creating road
projects across regional Western Australia. Can the minister update the house
on the work this government is doing to upgrade and improve our country roads,
and how it is addressing the previous Liberal–National government's
eight and a half years of neglect of the some of the state's most
dangerous roads?
INFRASTRUCTURE
90. Mrs R.M.J. CLARKE to the Minister for Transport:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's investment of more than $2 billion into job-creating road
projects across regional Western Australia. Can the minister update the house
on the work this government is doing to upgrade and improve our country roads,
and how it is addressing the previous Liberal–National government's
eight and a half years of neglect of the some of the state's most
dangerous roads?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for that
question.
Of course, this government supports
regional road spending in WA. A major focus of our transport budget is regional road spending. We know that the previous
government did not support regional road spending. The Leader of the
National Party actually made it a selling point that they could have invested
in just royalty for regions roads, but that would have been a waste, so they
did not invest in regional roads.
Mr S.K. L'Estrange :
Are you serious?
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : Yes, that is
what he said.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members! Come
on.
Mr R.S. Love interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Moore!
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : As we know,
the National Party did not support regional roads when it was in government,
and now in opposition, what did the Nationals WA say after the announcement of
Infrastructure Western Australia? They said, ''Build Roe 8''—so
obsessed!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Attorney General and the Treasurer, I call
you both to order for the first time. I was on my feet.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : Remember, we
diverted funds from the Perth Freight Link into regional road projects.
Mr R.S. Love interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Moore, I call you to order for the first time.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : We diverted
funds from the PFL project into regional road projects. Under the National
Party, the following projects would not be underway: the Bunbury Outer Ring
Road, for example —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : The
opposition never supported the Bunbury Outer Ring Road—never supported
it. The outback highway fund and —
Several members interjected
The SPEAKER : Members!
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : — regional
road safety projects would not be underway. These projects were funded from the PFL redirection. Passing lanes for Indian
Ocean Drive were funded; the Northam–Cranbrook Road south of Katanning was widened and its shoulders sealed. Projects were carried out on the South
Western Highway, member; the Boyanup to
Capel road; the Great Northern Highway; the Goldfields Highway; the Coolgardie–Esperance
Highway ; and York–Merredin Road.
Mrs L.M. Harvey interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Scarborough, I call you to order for the second time.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : Work was done
on the North West Coastal Highway. These are all projects and road safety
initiatives that would not have happened under the opposition's watch,
and there is more. In Albany, the Premier and myself and you, Mr Speaker,
announced the beginning of a $30 million spend on the South Coast Highway. Over
the Christmas break we finalised the funding and completed the initial batch of
passing lanes. Work was done on Williams Bridge and Bow River Bridge—the
list keeps going. I prepared a graph just to make sure that people can compare
our focus on regional road spending in Western Australia with that of the other
side.
Mr R.S. Love interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Moore, it was a very interesting conversation. No-one was listening, but I call
you to order for the second time.
question.
Of course, this government supports
regional road spending in WA. A major focus of our transport budget is regional road spending. We know that the previous
government did not support regional road spending. The Leader of the
National Party actually made it a selling point that they could have invested
in just royalty for regions roads, but that would have been a waste, so they
did not invest in regional roads.
Mr S.K. L'Estrange :
Are you serious?
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : Yes, that is
what he said.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members! Come
on.
Mr R.S. Love interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Moore!
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : As we know,
the National Party did not support regional roads when it was in government,
and now in opposition, what did the Nationals WA say after the announcement of
Infrastructure Western Australia? They said, ''Build Roe 8''—so
obsessed!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Attorney General and the Treasurer, I call
you both to order for the first time. I was on my feet.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : Remember, we
diverted funds from the Perth Freight Link into regional road projects.
Mr R.S. Love interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Moore, I call you to order for the first time.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : We diverted
funds from the PFL project into regional road projects. Under the National
Party, the following projects would not be underway: the Bunbury Outer Ring
Road, for example —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : The
opposition never supported the Bunbury Outer Ring Road—never supported
it. The outback highway fund and —
Several members interjected
The SPEAKER : Members!
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : — regional
road safety projects would not be underway. These projects were funded from the PFL redirection. Passing lanes for Indian
Ocean Drive were funded; the Northam–Cranbrook Road south of Katanning was widened and its shoulders sealed. Projects were carried out on the South
Western Highway, member; the Boyanup to
Capel road; the Great Northern Highway; the Goldfields Highway; the Coolgardie–Esperance
Highway ; and York–Merredin Road.
Mrs L.M. Harvey interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Scarborough, I call you to order for the second time.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : Work was done
on the North West Coastal Highway. These are all projects and road safety
initiatives that would not have happened under the opposition's watch,
and there is more. In Albany, the Premier and myself and you, Mr Speaker,
announced the beginning of a $30 million spend on the South Coast Highway. Over
the Christmas break we finalised the funding and completed the initial batch of
passing lanes. Work was done on Williams Bridge and Bow River Bridge—the
list keeps going. I prepared a graph just to make sure that people can compare
our focus on regional road spending in Western Australia with that of the other
side.
Mr R.S. Love interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Moore, it was a very interesting conversation. No-one was listening, but I call
you to order for the second time.
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.