❓ Opposition Leader Mark McGowan questions Premier Colin Barnett about the former Transport Minister's claims of being unable to secure meetings to discuss government contracts. The Premier deflects, citing cabinet processes and a missed meeting due to a medical appointment.
AnsweredQoN 701Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT — MEETINGS WITH
PREMIER
701. Mr M. McGOWAN to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question. I will
explain to the Premier why it is a big deal. That minister was responsible for
billions of dollars' worth of government contracts. He indicated that
for six months he wanted to discuss them with the Premier, and he could not get
a meeting.
Mr
C.J. Barnett interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Premier, I call you to order for the first time. Through the
Chair, a quick question.
Mr
M. McGOWAN : Why is it that the former Minister for Transport; Agriculture
and Food made these claims in respect of his ability to meet with the Premier
if they were not true?
PREMIER
701. Mr M. McGOWAN to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question. I will
explain to the Premier why it is a big deal. That minister was responsible for
billions of dollars' worth of government contracts. He indicated that
for six months he wanted to discuss them with the Premier, and he could not get
a meeting.
Mr
C.J. Barnett interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Premier, I call you to order for the first time. Through the
Chair, a quick question.
Mr
M. McGOWAN : Why is it that the former Minister for Transport; Agriculture
and Food made these claims in respect of his ability to meet with the Premier
if they were not true?
AnswerView source ↗
The Leader of the Opposition would
have to speak to him about that. He could do it in the corridor.
Mr
M. McGowan : I'd ask him, but he won't answer.
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : He is not a minister anymore.
Mr
M. McGowan interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I have been lenient with you. I call you
to order for the first time.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : Talk about a Leader
of the Opposition, a would-be Premier, engaging in absolute trivia! Where is
the big debate?
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Thank you!
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : It is just foolish.
Mr
W.J. Johnston interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington, I call you to order for the first time. A quick
answer, Premier; thank you.
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : As I said before, the issues related to the Roe 8 project, or
the Freight Link, if you want to call it that. I was keen that that came to
cabinet. I required that it come back to cabinet before final contracts would
be signed. It was not yet ready to come back to cabinet. I accept that is a complex
contract arrangement.
Mr
D.J. Kelly interjected.
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : It is a complex contract. I wanted final cabinet endorsement
of Roe 8, in particular Roe 8 with a variation to go through to Stock Road,
which is what the government is going to do. As I said, I said that we could
meet before cabinet. The former minister's office advised me that he
had a medical appointment and obviously that would stand and we would catch up
later—meaning that we would catch up during this week.
have to speak to him about that. He could do it in the corridor.
Mr
M. McGowan : I'd ask him, but he won't answer.
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : He is not a minister anymore.
Mr
M. McGowan interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I have been lenient with you. I call you
to order for the first time.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : Talk about a Leader
of the Opposition, a would-be Premier, engaging in absolute trivia! Where is
the big debate?
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Thank you!
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : It is just foolish.
Mr
W.J. Johnston interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington, I call you to order for the first time. A quick
answer, Premier; thank you.
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : As I said before, the issues related to the Roe 8 project, or
the Freight Link, if you want to call it that. I was keen that that came to
cabinet. I required that it come back to cabinet before final contracts would
be signed. It was not yet ready to come back to cabinet. I accept that is a complex
contract arrangement.
Mr
D.J. Kelly interjected.
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : It is a complex contract. I wanted final cabinet endorsement
of Roe 8, in particular Roe 8 with a variation to go through to Stock Road,
which is what the government is going to do. As I said, I said that we could
meet before cabinet. The former minister's office advised me that he
had a medical appointment and obviously that would stand and we would catch up
later—meaning that we would catch up during this week.
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.