❓ The Minister for Transport provides an update on the government's initiative to bring road maintenance jobs back in-house to Main Roads WA, highlighting the transition of workers, improved conditions, and benefits for local communities and taxpayers.
AnsweredQoN 732Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
MAIN ROADS WESTERN AUSTRALIA — MAINTENANCE
CONTRACTS
732. Ms M.M. QUIRK to the Minister for Transport:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's longstanding
commitment to bringing outsourced services and jobs back into the public
sector.
Can the minister update the house on the work underway to end
the outsourcing of road maintenance, instead bringing jobs back in-house with
Main Roads Western Australia, and can the minister advise the house what this
decision will mean for local jobs and communities across Western Australia?
CONTRACTS
732. Ms M.M. QUIRK to the Minister for Transport:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's longstanding
commitment to bringing outsourced services and jobs back into the public
sector.
Can the minister update the house on the work underway to end
the outsourcing of road maintenance, instead bringing jobs back in-house with
Main Roads Western Australia, and can the minister advise the house what this
decision will mean for local jobs and communities across Western Australia?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question. Of course, in April last
year, we made the key announcement that contracted routine road maintenance and
other minor improvement works would return back in-house to government. I will
give those who were not around at the time a quick history lesson. Back in the
Court Liberal–National government in
the late 1990s, there was a decision to outsource road maintenance to long-term
contracts. That saw the number of people
employed by Main Roads drop overnight from over 2 000 to 819. We saw jobs lost
throughout regional WA . In fact, a lot of the jobs lost were those of
Aboriginal people, because a lot of Aboriginal people were employed in road maintenance throughout regional WA. There
was a loss of jobs and security and an impact on regional towns.
Last year, we made the decision to bring road maintenance
back into government ownership. As a result, we are transferring people from their work in the private sector to government,
creating security and stability. The progress so far has been significant. In October last year, 48 workers were
transitioned to Main Roads in the wheatbelt region . Last November, a further 50 people transitioned in
the midwest–Gascoyne region. Last week, we saw a third region come on board, with 26 people welcomed in the goldfields–Esperance
region, and tomorrow a further 111 people will transition to Main Roads
employment in the metropolitan area throughout the northern suburbs. This will
mean that an additional 230 Main Roads employees will be on board. The critical
point is that there will be better pay, better conditions, security of employment
and more stability for regional towns. It will also save taxpayers'
money, so it is a win-win! When we went out to the market to ascertain whether
this was a value-for-money proposition, the
answer was yes. There will be better conditions for workers and a better
outcome for the community.
We just heard from the Premier
about the Fitzroy River Bridge. We want to be able to retain some of the
technical knowledge that we have built during the construction of that bridge.
We want to create more jobs in local road maintenance, and we want to make sure
that many of those people who have been trained on road construction up there
can be retained and work throughout the entire region. Of course, the
government controlling that will mean that we have a much better chance of
retaining local workers, getting the training, and making sure we have good
full-time, solid jobs in regional WA. We are also re-establishing and creating
new depots and offices in Broome, Karratha, Manjimup and Esperance and expanding
other facilities.
As we said, we are 100 per cent
committed to jobs and full-time employment in this state, and we are 100 per cent committed to reversing many of those bad
privatisation and contracting-out decisions, which did not actually deliver competitive tension, value for money or any better outcomes for workers. We are
committed to reversing those decisions and creating full-time jobs, which will
mean that when there is a natural disaster or issues that we need to deal with, we will have a workforce that is
ready to go and knowledgeable, and has an understanding of the region .
Particularly when it comes to road maintenance, local people know their region.
They are proud of their roads and they are going to put extra effort into
maintaining them, not only in response to natural disasters and other issues,
but also in a proactive way. We are making sure that we are always on the front
foot, making sure that our roads are the best in the nation and improving road
safety and the quality of experience for all.
year, we made the key announcement that contracted routine road maintenance and
other minor improvement works would return back in-house to government. I will
give those who were not around at the time a quick history lesson. Back in the
Court Liberal–National government in
the late 1990s, there was a decision to outsource road maintenance to long-term
contracts. That saw the number of people
employed by Main Roads drop overnight from over 2 000 to 819. We saw jobs lost
throughout regional WA . In fact, a lot of the jobs lost were those of
Aboriginal people, because a lot of Aboriginal people were employed in road maintenance throughout regional WA. There
was a loss of jobs and security and an impact on regional towns.
Last year, we made the decision to bring road maintenance
back into government ownership. As a result, we are transferring people from their work in the private sector to government,
creating security and stability. The progress so far has been significant. In October last year, 48 workers were
transitioned to Main Roads in the wheatbelt region . Last November, a further 50 people transitioned in
the midwest–Gascoyne region. Last week, we saw a third region come on board, with 26 people welcomed in the goldfields–Esperance
region, and tomorrow a further 111 people will transition to Main Roads
employment in the metropolitan area throughout the northern suburbs. This will
mean that an additional 230 Main Roads employees will be on board. The critical
point is that there will be better pay, better conditions, security of employment
and more stability for regional towns. It will also save taxpayers'
money, so it is a win-win! When we went out to the market to ascertain whether
this was a value-for-money proposition, the
answer was yes. There will be better conditions for workers and a better
outcome for the community.
We just heard from the Premier
about the Fitzroy River Bridge. We want to be able to retain some of the
technical knowledge that we have built during the construction of that bridge.
We want to create more jobs in local road maintenance, and we want to make sure
that many of those people who have been trained on road construction up there
can be retained and work throughout the entire region. Of course, the
government controlling that will mean that we have a much better chance of
retaining local workers, getting the training, and making sure we have good
full-time, solid jobs in regional WA. We are also re-establishing and creating
new depots and offices in Broome, Karratha, Manjimup and Esperance and expanding
other facilities.
As we said, we are 100 per cent
committed to jobs and full-time employment in this state, and we are 100 per cent committed to reversing many of those bad
privatisation and contracting-out decisions, which did not actually deliver competitive tension, value for money or any better outcomes for workers. We are
committed to reversing those decisions and creating full-time jobs, which will
mean that when there is a natural disaster or issues that we need to deal with, we will have a workforce that is
ready to go and knowledgeable, and has an understanding of the region .
Particularly when it comes to road maintenance, local people know their region.
They are proud of their roads and they are going to put extra effort into
maintaining them, not only in response to natural disasters and other issues,
but also in a proactive way. We are making sure that we are always on the front
foot, making sure that our roads are the best in the nation and improving road
safety and the quality of experience for all.
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