❓ Dr. Honey questions the government's $7 billion investment in the Kwinana outer harbour, citing studies indicating Fremantle inner harbour's underutilisation. The Premier defends the investment, highlighting increasing container throughput and future capacity constraints at Fremantle.
AnsweredQoN 815Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
WESTPORT —
CAPACITY
815. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Premier:
I refer to the announcement
yesterday that the government is committing over $7 billion to establish the
Fremantle outer harbour at Kwinana by the end of next decade.
(1) Given that the government's own studies
have shown that the Fremantle inner harbour is at only 40 per cent capacity
—
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Mr T. Healy interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Including the member for
Southern River, please do not interject while the question is being asked.
Dr
D.J. HONEY : — could be
expanded significantly beyond this level, why is the government committing
billions of dollars of limited taxpayer money to the new outer harbour
in such a relatively short timeframe?
(2) Did the
government genuinely explore options to prolong the life of the Fremantle inner
harbour as has been done with the port rail transformation project, which has
substantially extended the life of the port of Melbourne?
CAPACITY
815. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Premier:
I refer to the announcement
yesterday that the government is committing over $7 billion to establish the
Fremantle outer harbour at Kwinana by the end of next decade.
(1) Given that the government's own studies
have shown that the Fremantle inner harbour is at only 40 per cent capacity
—
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Mr T. Healy interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Including the member for
Southern River, please do not interject while the question is being asked.
Dr
D.J. HONEY : — could be
expanded significantly beyond this level, why is the government committing
billions of dollars of limited taxpayer money to the new outer harbour
in such a relatively short timeframe?
(2) Did the
government genuinely explore options to prolong the life of the Fremantle inner
harbour as has been done with the port rail transformation project, which has
substantially extended the life of the port of Melbourne?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I
thank the member for the question. It gives me an opportunity to continue to
talk about Westport—love it. Yesterday the Leader of the Liberal Party
said the port was at 30 per cent capacity. Today I hear from the member for Cottesloe that it is at 40 per cent.
If we sit around much longer, by the end of the day, we might be at
capacity. To put it clearly on the record, this year alone we have had 857 000
containers go through Fremantle port, which is 50 000 more than last year. It
is expected to reach its capacity of 1.4 million containers a year by 2040. It
is already at 60 per cent capacity, which is six per cent more than last year.
We know that the closer we get to capacity the greater the inefficiency and the
lower the productivity that will occur there. Plus, we will see untold
congestion take hold of the communities around Fremantle. I remember that when we were looking at Roe 8 and Roe 9, it
involved dualling Curtin Avenue , which goes straight through the member
for Cottesloe's electorate. The member for Cottesloe should be crystal
clear with his community on this in that he wants to expand and dual Curtin
Avenue, which will see either homes or trees lost, right through the middle of
his beautiful electorate.
Ms R. Saffioti : There goes
the bike path I built.
Mr
R.H. COOK : The bike path would be
no longer. That is the reality. This is not politics. This is the reality of
our expanding economy. This is simply
what we have to do to make sure that we set up the state for the future. The
fact of the matter is that we will
have a constrained port into the future; for a major trading state like ours,
that is a problem. We have to act today to save tomorrow. The $7.2 billion
in today's money will be spent between now and right through to 2038. It is sustainable expenditure on
one of the most important pieces of economic infrastructure we will undertake this century. We will continue to make sure that we develop this
project. The other element of Fremantle port, which is constrained, of course,
is that it cannot take larger ships. Currently, it can take cargo and container
ships of a maximum of only 12 000 containers. We know that by 2030, ships will
be as large as 14 000 containers. This means that already Fremantle will not be
able to receive some ships. These are the basics of economics. We need this
piece of economic infrastructure to continue to grow the economy and set up the
state for the future.
thank the member for the question. It gives me an opportunity to continue to
talk about Westport—love it. Yesterday the Leader of the Liberal Party
said the port was at 30 per cent capacity. Today I hear from the member for Cottesloe that it is at 40 per cent.
If we sit around much longer, by the end of the day, we might be at
capacity. To put it clearly on the record, this year alone we have had 857 000
containers go through Fremantle port, which is 50 000 more than last year. It
is expected to reach its capacity of 1.4 million containers a year by 2040. It
is already at 60 per cent capacity, which is six per cent more than last year.
We know that the closer we get to capacity the greater the inefficiency and the
lower the productivity that will occur there. Plus, we will see untold
congestion take hold of the communities around Fremantle. I remember that when we were looking at Roe 8 and Roe 9, it
involved dualling Curtin Avenue , which goes straight through the member
for Cottesloe's electorate. The member for Cottesloe should be crystal
clear with his community on this in that he wants to expand and dual Curtin
Avenue, which will see either homes or trees lost, right through the middle of
his beautiful electorate.
Ms R. Saffioti : There goes
the bike path I built.
Mr
R.H. COOK : The bike path would be
no longer. That is the reality. This is not politics. This is the reality of
our expanding economy. This is simply
what we have to do to make sure that we set up the state for the future. The
fact of the matter is that we will
have a constrained port into the future; for a major trading state like ours,
that is a problem. We have to act today to save tomorrow. The $7.2 billion
in today's money will be spent between now and right through to 2038. It is sustainable expenditure on
one of the most important pieces of economic infrastructure we will undertake this century. We will continue to make sure that we develop this
project. The other element of Fremantle port, which is constrained, of course,
is that it cannot take larger ships. Currently, it can take cargo and container
ships of a maximum of only 12 000 containers. We know that by 2030, ships will
be as large as 14 000 containers. This means that already Fremantle will not be
able to receive some ships. These are the basics of economics. We need this
piece of economic infrastructure to continue to grow the economy and set up the
state for the future.
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