❓ Question on the history of the Morley-Ellenbrook rail line project and awareness of commentary on Metronet. Minister defends Labor's delivery and criticises the Liberal Party's past positions.
AnsweredQoN 206Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ELLENBROOK RAIL LINE
206. Ms L.L. BAKER to the Minister for Transport:
I refer to the major announcement on
Sunday about the tracks being laid for the Morley–Ellenbrook line.
(1) Could the minister outline to
the house the history of the Morley–Ellenbrook line project?
(2) Could the
minister tell the house whether she is aware of any recent commentary on the
project or the broader Metronet project?
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members of the
opposition, I ask government members not to interrupt while your questions are
being asked, and I ask you to pay the same courtesy to government backbenchers
when they ask a question.
206. Ms L.L. BAKER to the Minister for Transport:
I refer to the major announcement on
Sunday about the tracks being laid for the Morley–Ellenbrook line.
(1) Could the minister outline to
the house the history of the Morley–Ellenbrook line project?
(2) Could the
minister tell the house whether she is aware of any recent commentary on the
project or the broader Metronet project?
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members of the
opposition, I ask government members not to interrupt while your questions are
being asked, and I ask you to pay the same courtesy to government backbenchers
when they ask a question.
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for that
question.
(1)–(2) On
Sunday, as the Premier outlined, we reached a major milestone on the Morley–Ellenbrook
line. Over a kilometre of track has now been laid on that project. Of course,
it is a project that Labor has supported from day one, and we are so proud to
be delivering it. Labor is delivering where the Liberal Party failed.
I nearly choked on my pasta on Sunday
night when I saw the Liberal Party commentary on the Ellenbrook rail line,
trying to claim credit for it! The opposition spokesperson claimed that of the
Metronet projects, there have not been too many that were not first thought of,
planned or funded by the Liberal Party. That commentary did not match my
recollection of events, so I did some research and stumbled across a source
document called A Liberal history of the Ellenbrook line .
Ms S.F. McGurk : Has it got
anything in it?
Ms
R. SAFFIOTI : It does. I will go
through it to outline the Liberal history on the Ellenbrook rail line. Do
members remember when the then candidate for Swan Hills sent out a flyer
saying that the Liberal Party would deliver the Ellenbrook rail line? The then
opposition leader, Colin Barnett, said that it was the next logical extension.
In government, the Liberal transport minister said there was a commitment to
build the Ellenbrook rail line, and then in the midyear review, the then
Treasurer, Troy Buswell, said that it was in the budget and they were going to
commence it in 2010–11. Then, of course, they started changing the
wording. The then transport minister said that they were going to ''plan''
to build the Ellenbrook rail line. The then Premier said it would be a second
term commitment; they were not going to do it in their first term, but in their
second term. Of course, in 2016, when the Liberal Party announced its transport
plan, it said that Ellenbrook would not need a rail line until at least 2050!
Several members interjected.
Ms
R. SAFFIOTI : I will keep going.
After that, of course, we won the election. The true feelings of the Liberal
Party came out when the then opposition leader said it would take a genius
to come up with a business case to justify the Ellenbrook rail line!
Point of Order
Mr R.S.
LOVE : Point of order.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Order, please, members!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Sorry, minister!
Points of order are heard in silence.
Mr R.S. LOVE : The minister is
clearly reading from a document that purports to be a Liberal document but is
not, and she is in fact using a prop. I am inquiring whether she has your
permission to use that prop and whether she is using it in the way that she
indicated she would, because this is going to be a very lengthy response to a Dorothy
Dixer.
The SPEAKER : There are two
parts to that.
Ms L.L. Baker interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Maylands, I am speaking.
Firstly, the minister sought and got
permission from me earlier today to use that document, so, yes, she does have
permission to refer to that document in answering her question. Secondly, her
reference to the document seems to be in accord with the question asked by the
member for Maylands. On those two fronts, I will not be calling the minister to
order at all. On the final little remark the Leader of the Opposition made
about it being lengthy, that could be of concern to me. If the answer is too
lengthy, I will draw that to the minister's attention. Minister, you
may continue.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : There are three
question times' worth of commentary on this one, but I will wrap up
soon!
Of
course, the then opposition transport spokesperson, Liza Harvey, said the
project did not stack up and called it marginal-seat politics. Since
that time, we have seen the Leader of the Opposition trying to scratch off the ''Metrodebt'' stickers in the car
park. We have heard the member for Central Wheatbelt call Metronet ''pet
projects ''. We had the Leader of the Liberal Party stand outside
and say that the Ellenbrook rail line should not be built under the plan that
the government is delivering and that it should be changed or, possibly,
delayed forever.
Members, we are delivering the
Ellenbrook rail line. My last point is that after I had finished my pasta and
was tucking into my tiramisu, I heard the opposition spokesperson say, ''I'll
believe it when I see it.'' I tell members what: as big as the project
is, members cannot see it from the gardens of Parliament House! I urge members
of the Liberal Party to stand in the middle of Ellenbrook with their Liberal
Party posters and talk about the Ellenbrook rail line. If they had the guts,
they would go out there and hold their press conference in the middle of
Ellenbrook and talk about their history with the Ellenbrook rail line.
question.
(1)–(2) On
Sunday, as the Premier outlined, we reached a major milestone on the Morley–Ellenbrook
line. Over a kilometre of track has now been laid on that project. Of course,
it is a project that Labor has supported from day one, and we are so proud to
be delivering it. Labor is delivering where the Liberal Party failed.
I nearly choked on my pasta on Sunday
night when I saw the Liberal Party commentary on the Ellenbrook rail line,
trying to claim credit for it! The opposition spokesperson claimed that of the
Metronet projects, there have not been too many that were not first thought of,
planned or funded by the Liberal Party. That commentary did not match my
recollection of events, so I did some research and stumbled across a source
document called A Liberal history of the Ellenbrook line .
Ms S.F. McGurk : Has it got
anything in it?
Ms
R. SAFFIOTI : It does. I will go
through it to outline the Liberal history on the Ellenbrook rail line. Do
members remember when the then candidate for Swan Hills sent out a flyer
saying that the Liberal Party would deliver the Ellenbrook rail line? The then
opposition leader, Colin Barnett, said that it was the next logical extension.
In government, the Liberal transport minister said there was a commitment to
build the Ellenbrook rail line, and then in the midyear review, the then
Treasurer, Troy Buswell, said that it was in the budget and they were going to
commence it in 2010–11. Then, of course, they started changing the
wording. The then transport minister said that they were going to ''plan''
to build the Ellenbrook rail line. The then Premier said it would be a second
term commitment; they were not going to do it in their first term, but in their
second term. Of course, in 2016, when the Liberal Party announced its transport
plan, it said that Ellenbrook would not need a rail line until at least 2050!
Several members interjected.
Ms
R. SAFFIOTI : I will keep going.
After that, of course, we won the election. The true feelings of the Liberal
Party came out when the then opposition leader said it would take a genius
to come up with a business case to justify the Ellenbrook rail line!
Point of Order
Mr R.S.
LOVE : Point of order.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Order, please, members!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Sorry, minister!
Points of order are heard in silence.
Mr R.S. LOVE : The minister is
clearly reading from a document that purports to be a Liberal document but is
not, and she is in fact using a prop. I am inquiring whether she has your
permission to use that prop and whether she is using it in the way that she
indicated she would, because this is going to be a very lengthy response to a Dorothy
Dixer.
The SPEAKER : There are two
parts to that.
Ms L.L. Baker interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Maylands, I am speaking.
Firstly, the minister sought and got
permission from me earlier today to use that document, so, yes, she does have
permission to refer to that document in answering her question. Secondly, her
reference to the document seems to be in accord with the question asked by the
member for Maylands. On those two fronts, I will not be calling the minister to
order at all. On the final little remark the Leader of the Opposition made
about it being lengthy, that could be of concern to me. If the answer is too
lengthy, I will draw that to the minister's attention. Minister, you
may continue.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : There are three
question times' worth of commentary on this one, but I will wrap up
soon!
Of
course, the then opposition transport spokesperson, Liza Harvey, said the
project did not stack up and called it marginal-seat politics. Since
that time, we have seen the Leader of the Opposition trying to scratch off the ''Metrodebt'' stickers in the car
park. We have heard the member for Central Wheatbelt call Metronet ''pet
projects ''. We had the Leader of the Liberal Party stand outside
and say that the Ellenbrook rail line should not be built under the plan that
the government is delivering and that it should be changed or, possibly,
delayed forever.
Members, we are delivering the
Ellenbrook rail line. My last point is that after I had finished my pasta and
was tucking into my tiramisu, I heard the opposition spokesperson say, ''I'll
believe it when I see it.'' I tell members what: as big as the project
is, members cannot see it from the gardens of Parliament House! I urge members
of the Liberal Party to stand in the middle of Ellenbrook with their Liberal
Party posters and talk about the Ellenbrook rail line. If they had the guts,
they would go out there and hold their press conference in the middle of
Ellenbrook and talk about their history with the Ellenbrook rail line.
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