❓ Mr Catania questions the Minister for Regional Development about the benefits of the new Regional Development Fund under the Royalties for Regions program. The Minister explains its purpose is to fund major infrastructure projects in regional WA.
AnsweredQoN 298Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUND
298. Mr V.A. CATANIA to the Minister for Regional
Development:
I refer to the addition this year of a fourth fund under the
royalties for regions program—a fund that seems to have confused the
member for Victoria Park considerably. Can the minister outline to the house
the benefit of the new regional development fund?
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Joondalup, I have reasonably good hearing. I formally call you to
order for the first time today.
298. Mr V.A. CATANIA to the Minister for Regional
Development:
I refer to the addition this year of a fourth fund under the
royalties for regions program—a fund that seems to have confused the
member for Victoria Park considerably. Can the minister outline to the house
the benefit of the new regional development fund?
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Joondalup, I have reasonably good hearing. I formally call you to
order for the first time today.
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for North West for the question. The
member for North West is right. We have created a new fourth fund under the
royalties for regions program. It is called the regional development fund, and
it is one of the major initiatives of the budget of the Liberal–National
Parties this year. The reason for the creation of the regional development fund
is that we are now in the process of planning major infrastructure projects
across regional Western Australia. The best example I can give is in the member
for Kalgoorlie's electorate—that is, the port link project,
which is the project to create an intermodal freight hub in Kalgoorlie and link
by bitumen a road up to the Pilbara, down to Esperance and across to Oakajee
into the future. A project of that magnitude takes a large degree of planning.
We are very happy to have a partnership with the commonwealth government and
with Minister Albanese, who has partnered with the state on the planning of
this major infrastructure project. We know that it is major infrastructure
projects such as that that will break down some of the bottlenecks in the
movement of freight. That project could take 16 hours off a trip to the Pilbara
from the eastern states. We think they are very justifiable projects to pursue.
Under the royalties for regions account, we believed it was important to set up
the ability to build funds to pay for a project such as that into the future
once the planning had been done. In this financial year $38 million has been
allocated to that account, with $50 million in 2013–14, $303 million in
2014–15 and $640 million in 2015–16. We are building a
substantial regional development fund so that the good people of Kalgoorlie and
the state can see where the funding for a major infrastructure project into the
future will come from.
Mr F.M. Logan : No
wonder the Treasurer resigned.
Mr
B.J. GRYLLS : It is important.
The question the member for Victoria Park asked yesterday was
about the accounting treatment of that fund. It is proposed that the fund will
hold unallocated revenue, and not be brought to the expenditure side of the
budget —
Mr W.J. Johnston :
That's right.
Mr B.J. GRYLLS : It
is right, and I am telling members!
It will not be brought to the expenditure side of the budget
until the planning for the project is complete and cabinet approval has been
received. We have indicated —
Several members interjected.
Mr B.J. GRYLLS : I t was what the Premier said; it is
exactly what the Premier said.
Several members interjected.
Mr B.J. GRYLLS :
Members will be able to check what the Premier said, because I heard him.
Several members interjected.
Mr B.J. GRYLLS :
Not at all; I am trying to explain it to members. I would have thought that
during the budget estimates process this might be the type of thing that would
have been raised—a new fourth fund with more than $1 billion allocated
to it! It did not get raised.
Several members interjected.
Mr
B.J. GRYLLS : The Port Link project is in detailed planning now, in
partnership with the federal government. Once that detailed planning is done, a
decision will be taken by the cabinet to approve that project. At that point
the money will be drawn out of the regional development fund, be put into the
line items from the Port Link project, and the project will be funded and moved
forward. For the Bunbury to Albany gas pipeline—another project that
has been talked about forever but never delivered on—we are in detailed
—
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington, I will give
you the same advice I gave the member for Perth: if you want to ask a question,
seek the call and I will give it to you. I formally call you to order for the
first time today. Member for Belmont, I do not need any interjections from you
either; I formally call you to order for the first time today.
Mr
B.J. GRYLLS : Detailed planning is underway for the Bunbury to Albany gas
pipeline, which is a very important part of building sustainable infrastructure
for the Albany region. We have announcements like that coming forward.
Several members interjected.
Mr
B.J. GRYLLS : If members opposite do not like this process of government, I
suggest they examine how the opposition ran the Treasury bench when it was in
government, and compare and contrast that with the way we are doing it. This is
a very good —
Mr
T.G. Stephens : You told us we did a good job!
Mr
B.J. GRYLLS : I know that it really hurts that opposition members are
sitting over there and we are sitting over here, but that happened! That is
just the way it is; I am sorry that opposition members are so aggrieved by it.
Several members interjected.
Mr B.J. GRYLLS :
There is a new fourth fund under royalties for regions—a regional
development fund so that projects like Port Link can be planned in detail,
funded into the future, and at last delivered rather than talked about.
member for North West is right. We have created a new fourth fund under the
royalties for regions program. It is called the regional development fund, and
it is one of the major initiatives of the budget of the Liberal–National
Parties this year. The reason for the creation of the regional development fund
is that we are now in the process of planning major infrastructure projects
across regional Western Australia. The best example I can give is in the member
for Kalgoorlie's electorate—that is, the port link project,
which is the project to create an intermodal freight hub in Kalgoorlie and link
by bitumen a road up to the Pilbara, down to Esperance and across to Oakajee
into the future. A project of that magnitude takes a large degree of planning.
We are very happy to have a partnership with the commonwealth government and
with Minister Albanese, who has partnered with the state on the planning of
this major infrastructure project. We know that it is major infrastructure
projects such as that that will break down some of the bottlenecks in the
movement of freight. That project could take 16 hours off a trip to the Pilbara
from the eastern states. We think they are very justifiable projects to pursue.
Under the royalties for regions account, we believed it was important to set up
the ability to build funds to pay for a project such as that into the future
once the planning had been done. In this financial year $38 million has been
allocated to that account, with $50 million in 2013–14, $303 million in
2014–15 and $640 million in 2015–16. We are building a
substantial regional development fund so that the good people of Kalgoorlie and
the state can see where the funding for a major infrastructure project into the
future will come from.
Mr F.M. Logan : No
wonder the Treasurer resigned.
Mr
B.J. GRYLLS : It is important.
The question the member for Victoria Park asked yesterday was
about the accounting treatment of that fund. It is proposed that the fund will
hold unallocated revenue, and not be brought to the expenditure side of the
budget —
Mr W.J. Johnston :
That's right.
Mr B.J. GRYLLS : It
is right, and I am telling members!
It will not be brought to the expenditure side of the budget
until the planning for the project is complete and cabinet approval has been
received. We have indicated —
Several members interjected.
Mr B.J. GRYLLS : I t was what the Premier said; it is
exactly what the Premier said.
Several members interjected.
Mr B.J. GRYLLS :
Members will be able to check what the Premier said, because I heard him.
Several members interjected.
Mr B.J. GRYLLS :
Not at all; I am trying to explain it to members. I would have thought that
during the budget estimates process this might be the type of thing that would
have been raised—a new fourth fund with more than $1 billion allocated
to it! It did not get raised.
Several members interjected.
Mr
B.J. GRYLLS : The Port Link project is in detailed planning now, in
partnership with the federal government. Once that detailed planning is done, a
decision will be taken by the cabinet to approve that project. At that point
the money will be drawn out of the regional development fund, be put into the
line items from the Port Link project, and the project will be funded and moved
forward. For the Bunbury to Albany gas pipeline—another project that
has been talked about forever but never delivered on—we are in detailed
—
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington, I will give
you the same advice I gave the member for Perth: if you want to ask a question,
seek the call and I will give it to you. I formally call you to order for the
first time today. Member for Belmont, I do not need any interjections from you
either; I formally call you to order for the first time today.
Mr
B.J. GRYLLS : Detailed planning is underway for the Bunbury to Albany gas
pipeline, which is a very important part of building sustainable infrastructure
for the Albany region. We have announcements like that coming forward.
Several members interjected.
Mr
B.J. GRYLLS : If members opposite do not like this process of government, I
suggest they examine how the opposition ran the Treasury bench when it was in
government, and compare and contrast that with the way we are doing it. This is
a very good —
Mr
T.G. Stephens : You told us we did a good job!
Mr
B.J. GRYLLS : I know that it really hurts that opposition members are
sitting over there and we are sitting over here, but that happened! That is
just the way it is; I am sorry that opposition members are so aggrieved by it.
Several members interjected.
Mr B.J. GRYLLS :
There is a new fourth fund under royalties for regions—a regional
development fund so that projects like Port Link can be planned in detail,
funded into the future, and at last delivered rather than talked about.
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