❓ Minister Grylls outlines the significance of a new hotel and residential development in Port Hedland by Mirvac, a $125 million investment, and a native title settlement with the Kariyarra people, freeing up land for residential and industrial expansion.
AnsweredQoN 437Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
PORT HEDLAND — HOTEL AND RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT
I understand that the minister will be in the Pilbara on Monday to announce the go-ahead for a new hotel and residential development in Port Hedland, as well as a significant native title settlement. Will the minister outline to the house the significance of these new developments? Mr B.J. GRYLLS
I understand that the minister will be in the Pilbara on Monday to announce the go-ahead for a new hotel and residential development in Port Hedland, as well as a significant native title settlement. Will the minister outline to the house the significance of these new developments? Mr B.J. GRYLLS
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for North West for his question and for his great interest in the development of the Pilbara region of the state. On behalf of the member for Wanneroo, I acknowledge the very talented students from Wanneroo Senior High School in the public gallery this afternoon. It is great that they have come to witness Parliament; it probably has not enlightened them much. It was an important day for Port Hedland. Those who have visited the foreshore area, the area that looks over the port and over the water, will know it is the area where a dilapidated hospital stood for many, many years. Essentially, it was a very unattractive, almost forgotten, part of the state. The state government, under its Pilbara Cities vision, is very determined to transform Port Hedland and Karratha, and the announcement on Monday that Mirvac is about to take to its board a proposal for a 178-room state-of-the-art hotel, and well over 100 residences in that precinct, is a very welcome addition to the transformation of Port Hedland. At last, we are starting to build the type of amenity that will attract families to want to raise their family, live and work in that important part of the state. To have a company such as Mirvac looking to build a presence in the Pilbara—to look at not only this project but also more projects into the future—is very, very positive. It is a $125 million development that is a substantial investment and a vote of confidence in the progress of the Pilbara. It has come off the back of a lot of hard work by the Department of Environment and Conservation and others in monitoring dust and coming up with some parameters to allow development in that part of the world. I think this needs to be seen in context: when we look at the dilapidated state of the Port Hedland foreshore area and what is happening almost 500 metres away at the port where hundreds of billions of dollars are being generated for the state and national economies, it is, I think, an absolute shame that it has taken so long to focus on developing the community of Port Hedland as well as the industrial and resource bases of Port Hedland. If members look at the hotel project that has just been announced, if they look at the new recreation facility that is being built and the new Marquee Park and the new Indigenous facilities being built in Port Hedland, they will see that transformation is absolutely underway. I would encourage everyone to go there. One of the most exciting parts of this transformation is that it is being done in very strong partnership with the Kariyarra people, who are the traditional owners of the land in and around Port Hedland. Also, on Monday we signed a native title settlement with the Kariyarra people, which frees up 1 300 hectares of land in and around South Hedland to allow for the residential expansion of South Hedland. That very substantial native title settlement will not only deliver excellent benefits to the Kariyarra people, but also allow for the vision to grow South and Port Hedland to a city of 50 000 to not be constrained by a lack of land. Also, in that native title settlement, 2 000 hectares of industrial land in and around the port precinct has been freed up. That will allow for the rapid expansion of the iron ore sector. Obviously, to grow iron ore exports we need more lay-down area and more room for rail linkages to the port. Again, that is the government working with the traditional owners to partner on freeing up the land to enable the expansion of that part of the world. I encourage all members to visit Port Hedland, to look at the transformation that is underway and to understand the close partnership with the Kariyarra people. We are very, very proud of that. Again, I keep saying that if this development had started 10 or so years earlier, we would not be so far behind the eight ball and Port Hedland would already be progressing to be the Pilbara port city, but that did not happen. I will also, just because I am on my feet, refer to the way the member for Rockingham yesterday attacked me in regard to the Paul Omodei issue. Again, after seven weeks in holiday mode, he came up with a big issue! Several members interjected. Mr B.J. GRYLLS : We have seen highlighted today the member for Victoria Park happy to fire all the bullets while not relying on any facts at all. Again, yesterday it was the member for Rockingham who was happy to fire the bullets and make gross allegations with no basis in fact. He accused people, and denigrated the South West Development Commission and the good work it does. If the Leader of the Opposition’s greatest competition is the member for Victoria Park and the member for Rockingham, I think he will be very safe in the job for a long time to come.
Mr B.J. GRYLLS replied: I thank the member for North West for his question and for his great interest in the development of the Pilbara region of the state. On behalf of the member for Wanneroo, I acknowledge the very talented students from Wanneroo Senior High School in the public gallery this afternoon. It is great that they have come to witness Parliament; it probably has not enlightened them much. It was an important day for Port Hedland. Those who have visited the foreshore area, the area that looks over the port and over the water, will know it is the area where a dilapidated hospital stood for many, many years. Essentially, it was a very unattractive, almost forgotten, part of the state. The state government, under its Pilbara Cities vision, is very determined to transform Port Hedland and Karratha, and the announcement on Monday that Mirvac is about to take to its board a proposal for a 178-room state-of-the-art hotel, and well over 100 residences in that precinct, is a very welcome addition to the transformation of Port Hedland. At last, we are starting to build the type of amenity that will attract families to want to raise their family, live and work in that important part of the state. To have a company such as Mirvac looking to build a presence in the Pilbara—to look at not only this project but also more projects into the future—is very, very positive. It is a $125 million development that is a substantial investment and a vote of confidence in the progress of the Pilbara. It has come off the back of a lot of hard work by the Department of Environment and Conservation and others in monitoring dust and coming up with some parameters to allow development in that part of the world. I think this needs to be seen in context: when we look at the dilapidated state of the Port Hedland foreshore area and what is happening almost 500 metres away at the port where hundreds of billions of dollars are being generated for the state and national economies, it is, I think, an absolute shame that it has taken so long to focus on developing the community of Port Hedland as well as the industrial and resource bases of Port Hedland. If members look at the hotel project that has just been announced, if they look at the new recreation facility that is being built and the new Marquee Park and the new Indigenous facilities being built in Port Hedland, they will see that transformation is absolutely underway. I would encourage everyone to go there. One of the most exciting parts of this transformation is that it is being done in very strong partnership with the Kariyarra people, who are the traditional owners of the land in and around Port Hedland. Also, on Monday we signed a native title settlement with the Kariyarra people, which frees up 1 300 hectares of land in and around South Hedland to allow for the residential expansion of South Hedland. That very substantial native title settlement will not only deliver excellent benefits to the Kariyarra people, but also allow for the vision to grow South and Port Hedland to a city of 50 000 to not be constrained by a lack of land. Also, in that native title settlement, 2 000 hectares of industrial land in and around the port precinct has been freed up. That will allow for the rapid expansion of the iron ore sector. Obviously, to grow iron ore exports we need more lay-down area and more room for rail linkages to the port. Again, that is the government working with the traditional owners to partner on freeing up the land to enable the expansion of that part of the world. I encourage all members to visit Port Hedland, to look at the transformation that is underway and to understand the close partnership with the Kariyarra people. We are very, very proud of that. Again, I keep saying that if this development had started 10 or so years earlier, we would not be so far behind the eight ball and Port Hedland would already be progressing to be the Pilbara port city, but that did not happen. I will also, just because I am on my feet, refer to the way the member for Rockingham yesterday attacked me in regard to the Paul Omodei issue. Again, after seven weeks in holiday mode, he came up with a big issue! Several members interjected. Mr B.J. GRYLLS : We have seen highlighted today the member for Victoria Park happy to fire all the bullets while not relying on any facts at all. Again, yesterday it was the member for Rockingham who was happy to fire the bullets and make gross allegations with no basis in fact. He accused people, and denigrated the South West Development Commission and the good work it does. If the Leader of the Opposition’s greatest competition is the member for Victoria Park and the member for Rockingham, I think he will be very safe in the job for a long time to come.
I thank the member for North West for his question and for his great interest in the development of the Pilbara region of the state. On behalf of the member for Wanneroo, I acknowledge the very talented students from Wanneroo Senior High School in the public gallery this afternoon. It is great that they have come to witness Parliament; it probably has not enlightened them much. It was an important day for Port Hedland. Those who have visited the foreshore area, the area that looks over the port and over the water, will know it is the area where a dilapidated hospital stood for many, many years. Essentially, it was a very unattractive, almost forgotten, part of the state. The state government, under its Pilbara Cities vision, is very determined to transform Port Hedland and Karratha, and the announcement on Monday that Mirvac is about to take to its board a proposal for a 178-room state-of-the-art hotel, and well over 100 residences in that precinct, is a very welcome addition to the transformation of Port Hedland. At last, we are starting to build the type of amenity that will attract families to want to raise their family, live and work in that important part of the state. To have a company such as Mirvac looking to build a presence in the Pilbara—to look at not only this project but also more projects into the future—is very, very positive. It is a $125 million development that is a substantial investment and a vote of confidence in the progress of the Pilbara. It has come off the back of a lot of hard work by the Department of Environment and Conservation and others in monitoring dust and coming up with some parameters to allow development in that part of the world. I think this needs to be seen in context: when we look at the dilapidated state of the Port Hedland foreshore area and what is happening almost 500 metres away at the port where hundreds of billions of dollars are being generated for the state and national economies, it is, I think, an absolute shame that it has taken so long to focus on developing the community of Port Hedland as well as the industrial and resource bases of Port Hedland. If members look at the hotel project that has just been announced, if they look at the new recreation facility that is being built and the new Marquee Park and the new Indigenous facilities being built in Port Hedland, they will see that transformation is absolutely underway. I would encourage everyone to go there. One of the most exciting parts of this transformation is that it is being done in very strong partnership with the Kariyarra people, who are the traditional owners of the land in and around Port Hedland. Also, on Monday we signed a native title settlement with the Kariyarra people, which frees up 1 300 hectares of land in and around South Hedland to allow for the residential expansion of South Hedland. That very substantial native title settlement will not only deliver excellent benefits to the Kariyarra people, but also allow for the vision to grow South and Port Hedland to a city of 50 000 to not be constrained by a lack of land. Also, in that native title settlement, 2 000 hectares of industrial land in and around the port precinct has been freed up. That will allow for the rapid expansion of the iron ore sector. Obviously, to grow iron ore exports we need more lay-down area and more room for rail linkages to the port. Again, that is the government working with the traditional owners to partner on freeing up the land to enable the expansion of that part of the world. I encourage all members to visit Port Hedland, to look at the transformation that is underway and to understand the close partnership with the Kariyarra people. We are very, very proud of that. Again, I keep saying that if this development had started 10 or so years earlier, we would not be so far behind the eight ball and Port Hedland would already be progressing to be the Pilbara port city, but that did not happen. I will also, just because I am on my feet, refer to the way the member for Rockingham yesterday attacked me in regard to the Paul Omodei issue. Again, after seven weeks in holiday mode, he came up with a big issue! Several members interjected. Mr B.J. GRYLLS : We have seen highlighted today the member for Victoria Park happy to fire all the bullets while not relying on any facts at all. Again, yesterday it was the member for Rockingham who was happy to fire the bullets and make gross allegations with no basis in fact. He accused people, and denigrated the South West Development Commission and the good work it does. If the Leader of the Opposition’s greatest competition is the member for Victoria Park and the member for Rockingham, I think he will be very safe in the job for a long time to come.
It was an important day for Port Hedland. Those who have visited the foreshore area, the area that looks over the port and over the water, will know it is the area where a dilapidated hospital stood for many, many years. Essentially, it was a very unattractive, almost forgotten, part of the state. The state government, under its Pilbara Cities vision, is very determined to transform Port Hedland and Karratha, and the announcement on Monday that Mirvac is about to take to its board a proposal for a 178-room state-of-the-art hotel, and well over 100 residences in that precinct, is a very welcome addition to the transformation of Port Hedland. At last, we are starting to build the type of amenity that will attract families to want to raise their family, live and work in that important part of the state. To have a company such as Mirvac looking to build a presence in the Pilbara—to look at not only this project but also more projects into the future—is very, very positive. It is a $125 million development that is a substantial investment and a vote of confidence in the progress of the Pilbara. It has come off the back of a lot of hard work by the Department of Environment and Conservation and others in monitoring dust and coming up with some parameters to allow development in that part of the world. I think this needs to be seen in context: when we look at the dilapidated state of the Port Hedland foreshore area and what is happening almost 500 metres away at the port where hundreds of billions of dollars are being generated for the state and national economies, it is, I think, an absolute shame that it has taken so long to focus on developing the community of Port Hedland as well as the industrial and resource bases of Port Hedland. If members look at the hotel project that has just been announced, if they look at the new recreation facility that is being built and the new Marquee Park and the new Indigenous facilities being built in Port Hedland, they will see that transformation is absolutely underway. I would encourage everyone to go there. One of the most exciting parts of this transformation is that it is being done in very strong partnership with the Kariyarra people, who are the traditional owners of the land in and around Port Hedland. Also, on Monday we signed a native title settlement with the Kariyarra people, which frees up 1 300 hectares of land in and around South Hedland to allow for the residential expansion of South Hedland. That very substantial native title settlement will not only deliver excellent benefits to the Kariyarra people, but also allow for the vision to grow South and Port Hedland to a city of 50 000 to not be constrained by a lack of land. Also, in that native title settlement, 2 000 hectares of industrial land in and around the port precinct has been freed up. That will allow for the rapid expansion of the iron ore sector. Obviously, to grow iron ore exports we need more lay-down area and more room for rail linkages to the port. Again, that is the government working with the traditional owners to partner on freeing up the land to enable the expansion of that part of the world. I encourage all members to visit Port Hedland, to look at the transformation that is underway and to understand the close partnership with the Kariyarra people. We are very, very proud of that. Again, I keep saying that if this development had started 10 or so years earlier, we would not be so far behind the eight ball and Port Hedland would already be progressing to be the Pilbara port city, but that did not happen. I will also, just because I am on my feet, refer to the way the member for Rockingham yesterday attacked me in regard to the Paul Omodei issue. Again, after seven weeks in holiday mode, he came up with a big issue! Several members interjected. Mr B.J. GRYLLS : We have seen highlighted today the member for Victoria Park happy to fire all the bullets while not relying on any facts at all. Again, yesterday it was the member for Rockingham who was happy to fire the bullets and make gross allegations with no basis in fact. He accused people, and denigrated the South West Development Commission and the good work it does. If the Leader of the Opposition’s greatest competition is the member for Victoria Park and the member for Rockingham, I think he will be very safe in the job for a long time to come.
One of the most exciting parts of this transformation is that it is being done in very strong partnership with the Kariyarra people, who are the traditional owners of the land in and around Port Hedland. Also, on Monday we signed a native title settlement with the Kariyarra people, which frees up 1 300 hectares of land in and around South Hedland to allow for the residential expansion of South Hedland. That very substantial native title settlement will not only deliver excellent benefits to the Kariyarra people, but also allow for the vision to grow South and Port Hedland to a city of 50 000 to not be constrained by a lack of land. Also, in that native title settlement, 2 000 hectares of industrial land in and around the port precinct has been freed up. That will allow for the rapid expansion of the iron ore sector. Obviously, to grow iron ore exports we need more lay-down area and more room for rail linkages to the port. Again, that is the government working with the traditional owners to partner on freeing up the land to enable the expansion of that part of the world. I encourage all members to visit Port Hedland, to look at the transformation that is underway and to understand the close partnership with the Kariyarra people. We are very, very proud of that. Again, I keep saying that if this development had started 10 or so years earlier, we would not be so far behind the eight ball and Port Hedland would already be progressing to be the Pilbara port city, but that did not happen. I will also, just because I am on my feet, refer to the way the member for Rockingham yesterday attacked me in regard to the Paul Omodei issue. Again, after seven weeks in holiday mode, he came up with a big issue! Several members interjected. Mr B.J. GRYLLS : We have seen highlighted today the member for Victoria Park happy to fire all the bullets while not relying on any facts at all. Again, yesterday it was the member for Rockingham who was happy to fire the bullets and make gross allegations with no basis in fact. He accused people, and denigrated the South West Development Commission and the good work it does. If the Leader of the Opposition’s greatest competition is the member for Victoria Park and the member for Rockingham, I think he will be very safe in the job for a long time to come.
I will also, just because I am on my feet, refer to the way the member for Rockingham yesterday attacked me in regard to the Paul Omodei issue. Again, after seven weeks in holiday mode, he came up with a big issue! Several members interjected. Mr B.J. GRYLLS : We have seen highlighted today the member for Victoria Park happy to fire all the bullets while not relying on any facts at all. Again, yesterday it was the member for Rockingham who was happy to fire the bullets and make gross allegations with no basis in fact. He accused people, and denigrated the South West Development Commission and the good work it does. If the Leader of the Opposition’s greatest competition is the member for Victoria Park and the member for Rockingham, I think he will be very safe in the job for a long time to come.
Several members interjected. Mr B.J. GRYLLS : We have seen highlighted today the member for Victoria Park happy to fire all the bullets while not relying on any facts at all. Again, yesterday it was the member for Rockingham who was happy to fire the bullets and make gross allegations with no basis in fact. He accused people, and denigrated the South West Development Commission and the good work it does. If the Leader of the Opposition’s greatest competition is the member for Victoria Park and the member for Rockingham, I think he will be very safe in the job for a long time to come.
Mr B.J. GRYLLS : We have seen highlighted today the member for Victoria Park happy to fire all the bullets while not relying on any facts at all. Again, yesterday it was the member for Rockingham who was happy to fire the bullets and make gross allegations with no basis in fact. He accused people, and denigrated the South West Development Commission and the good work it does. If the Leader of the Opposition’s greatest competition is the member for Victoria Park and the member for Rockingham, I think he will be very safe in the job for a long time to come.
Mr B.J. GRYLLS replied: I thank the member for North West for his question and for his great interest in the development of the Pilbara region of the state. On behalf of the member for Wanneroo, I acknowledge the very talented students from Wanneroo Senior High School in the public gallery this afternoon. It is great that they have come to witness Parliament; it probably has not enlightened them much. It was an important day for Port Hedland. Those who have visited the foreshore area, the area that looks over the port and over the water, will know it is the area where a dilapidated hospital stood for many, many years. Essentially, it was a very unattractive, almost forgotten, part of the state. The state government, under its Pilbara Cities vision, is very determined to transform Port Hedland and Karratha, and the announcement on Monday that Mirvac is about to take to its board a proposal for a 178-room state-of-the-art hotel, and well over 100 residences in that precinct, is a very welcome addition to the transformation of Port Hedland. At last, we are starting to build the type of amenity that will attract families to want to raise their family, live and work in that important part of the state. To have a company such as Mirvac looking to build a presence in the Pilbara—to look at not only this project but also more projects into the future—is very, very positive. It is a $125 million development that is a substantial investment and a vote of confidence in the progress of the Pilbara. It has come off the back of a lot of hard work by the Department of Environment and Conservation and others in monitoring dust and coming up with some parameters to allow development in that part of the world. I think this needs to be seen in context: when we look at the dilapidated state of the Port Hedland foreshore area and what is happening almost 500 metres away at the port where hundreds of billions of dollars are being generated for the state and national economies, it is, I think, an absolute shame that it has taken so long to focus on developing the community of Port Hedland as well as the industrial and resource bases of Port Hedland. If members look at the hotel project that has just been announced, if they look at the new recreation facility that is being built and the new Marquee Park and the new Indigenous facilities being built in Port Hedland, they will see that transformation is absolutely underway. I would encourage everyone to go there. One of the most exciting parts of this transformation is that it is being done in very strong partnership with the Kariyarra people, who are the traditional owners of the land in and around Port Hedland. Also, on Monday we signed a native title settlement with the Kariyarra people, which frees up 1 300 hectares of land in and around South Hedland to allow for the residential expansion of South Hedland. That very substantial native title settlement will not only deliver excellent benefits to the Kariyarra people, but also allow for the vision to grow South and Port Hedland to a city of 50 000 to not be constrained by a lack of land. Also, in that native title settlement, 2 000 hectares of industrial land in and around the port precinct has been freed up. That will allow for the rapid expansion of the iron ore sector. Obviously, to grow iron ore exports we need more lay-down area and more room for rail linkages to the port. Again, that is the government working with the traditional owners to partner on freeing up the land to enable the expansion of that part of the world. I encourage all members to visit Port Hedland, to look at the transformation that is underway and to understand the close partnership with the Kariyarra people. We are very, very proud of that. Again, I keep saying that if this development had started 10 or so years earlier, we would not be so far behind the eight ball and Port Hedland would already be progressing to be the Pilbara port city, but that did not happen. I will also, just because I am on my feet, refer to the way the member for Rockingham yesterday attacked me in regard to the Paul Omodei issue. Again, after seven weeks in holiday mode, he came up with a big issue! Several members interjected. Mr B.J. GRYLLS : We have seen highlighted today the member for Victoria Park happy to fire all the bullets while not relying on any facts at all. Again, yesterday it was the member for Rockingham who was happy to fire the bullets and make gross allegations with no basis in fact. He accused people, and denigrated the South West Development Commission and the good work it does. If the Leader of the Opposition’s greatest competition is the member for Victoria Park and the member for Rockingham, I think he will be very safe in the job for a long time to come.
I thank the member for North West for his question and for his great interest in the development of the Pilbara region of the state. On behalf of the member for Wanneroo, I acknowledge the very talented students from Wanneroo Senior High School in the public gallery this afternoon. It is great that they have come to witness Parliament; it probably has not enlightened them much. It was an important day for Port Hedland. Those who have visited the foreshore area, the area that looks over the port and over the water, will know it is the area where a dilapidated hospital stood for many, many years. Essentially, it was a very unattractive, almost forgotten, part of the state. The state government, under its Pilbara Cities vision, is very determined to transform Port Hedland and Karratha, and the announcement on Monday that Mirvac is about to take to its board a proposal for a 178-room state-of-the-art hotel, and well over 100 residences in that precinct, is a very welcome addition to the transformation of Port Hedland. At last, we are starting to build the type of amenity that will attract families to want to raise their family, live and work in that important part of the state. To have a company such as Mirvac looking to build a presence in the Pilbara—to look at not only this project but also more projects into the future—is very, very positive. It is a $125 million development that is a substantial investment and a vote of confidence in the progress of the Pilbara. It has come off the back of a lot of hard work by the Department of Environment and Conservation and others in monitoring dust and coming up with some parameters to allow development in that part of the world. I think this needs to be seen in context: when we look at the dilapidated state of the Port Hedland foreshore area and what is happening almost 500 metres away at the port where hundreds of billions of dollars are being generated for the state and national economies, it is, I think, an absolute shame that it has taken so long to focus on developing the community of Port Hedland as well as the industrial and resource bases of Port Hedland. If members look at the hotel project that has just been announced, if they look at the new recreation facility that is being built and the new Marquee Park and the new Indigenous facilities being built in Port Hedland, they will see that transformation is absolutely underway. I would encourage everyone to go there. One of the most exciting parts of this transformation is that it is being done in very strong partnership with the Kariyarra people, who are the traditional owners of the land in and around Port Hedland. Also, on Monday we signed a native title settlement with the Kariyarra people, which frees up 1 300 hectares of land in and around South Hedland to allow for the residential expansion of South Hedland. That very substantial native title settlement will not only deliver excellent benefits to the Kariyarra people, but also allow for the vision to grow South and Port Hedland to a city of 50 000 to not be constrained by a lack of land. Also, in that native title settlement, 2 000 hectares of industrial land in and around the port precinct has been freed up. That will allow for the rapid expansion of the iron ore sector. Obviously, to grow iron ore exports we need more lay-down area and more room for rail linkages to the port. Again, that is the government working with the traditional owners to partner on freeing up the land to enable the expansion of that part of the world. I encourage all members to visit Port Hedland, to look at the transformation that is underway and to understand the close partnership with the Kariyarra people. We are very, very proud of that. Again, I keep saying that if this development had started 10 or so years earlier, we would not be so far behind the eight ball and Port Hedland would already be progressing to be the Pilbara port city, but that did not happen. I will also, just because I am on my feet, refer to the way the member for Rockingham yesterday attacked me in regard to the Paul Omodei issue. Again, after seven weeks in holiday mode, he came up with a big issue! Several members interjected. Mr B.J. GRYLLS : We have seen highlighted today the member for Victoria Park happy to fire all the bullets while not relying on any facts at all. Again, yesterday it was the member for Rockingham who was happy to fire the bullets and make gross allegations with no basis in fact. He accused people, and denigrated the South West Development Commission and the good work it does. If the Leader of the Opposition’s greatest competition is the member for Victoria Park and the member for Rockingham, I think he will be very safe in the job for a long time to come.
It was an important day for Port Hedland. Those who have visited the foreshore area, the area that looks over the port and over the water, will know it is the area where a dilapidated hospital stood for many, many years. Essentially, it was a very unattractive, almost forgotten, part of the state. The state government, under its Pilbara Cities vision, is very determined to transform Port Hedland and Karratha, and the announcement on Monday that Mirvac is about to take to its board a proposal for a 178-room state-of-the-art hotel, and well over 100 residences in that precinct, is a very welcome addition to the transformation of Port Hedland. At last, we are starting to build the type of amenity that will attract families to want to raise their family, live and work in that important part of the state. To have a company such as Mirvac looking to build a presence in the Pilbara—to look at not only this project but also more projects into the future—is very, very positive. It is a $125 million development that is a substantial investment and a vote of confidence in the progress of the Pilbara. It has come off the back of a lot of hard work by the Department of Environment and Conservation and others in monitoring dust and coming up with some parameters to allow development in that part of the world. I think this needs to be seen in context: when we look at the dilapidated state of the Port Hedland foreshore area and what is happening almost 500 metres away at the port where hundreds of billions of dollars are being generated for the state and national economies, it is, I think, an absolute shame that it has taken so long to focus on developing the community of Port Hedland as well as the industrial and resource bases of Port Hedland. If members look at the hotel project that has just been announced, if they look at the new recreation facility that is being built and the new Marquee Park and the new Indigenous facilities being built in Port Hedland, they will see that transformation is absolutely underway. I would encourage everyone to go there. One of the most exciting parts of this transformation is that it is being done in very strong partnership with the Kariyarra people, who are the traditional owners of the land in and around Port Hedland. Also, on Monday we signed a native title settlement with the Kariyarra people, which frees up 1 300 hectares of land in and around South Hedland to allow for the residential expansion of South Hedland. That very substantial native title settlement will not only deliver excellent benefits to the Kariyarra people, but also allow for the vision to grow South and Port Hedland to a city of 50 000 to not be constrained by a lack of land. Also, in that native title settlement, 2 000 hectares of industrial land in and around the port precinct has been freed up. That will allow for the rapid expansion of the iron ore sector. Obviously, to grow iron ore exports we need more lay-down area and more room for rail linkages to the port. Again, that is the government working with the traditional owners to partner on freeing up the land to enable the expansion of that part of the world. I encourage all members to visit Port Hedland, to look at the transformation that is underway and to understand the close partnership with the Kariyarra people. We are very, very proud of that. Again, I keep saying that if this development had started 10 or so years earlier, we would not be so far behind the eight ball and Port Hedland would already be progressing to be the Pilbara port city, but that did not happen. I will also, just because I am on my feet, refer to the way the member for Rockingham yesterday attacked me in regard to the Paul Omodei issue. Again, after seven weeks in holiday mode, he came up with a big issue! Several members interjected. Mr B.J. GRYLLS : We have seen highlighted today the member for Victoria Park happy to fire all the bullets while not relying on any facts at all. Again, yesterday it was the member for Rockingham who was happy to fire the bullets and make gross allegations with no basis in fact. He accused people, and denigrated the South West Development Commission and the good work it does. If the Leader of the Opposition’s greatest competition is the member for Victoria Park and the member for Rockingham, I think he will be very safe in the job for a long time to come.
One of the most exciting parts of this transformation is that it is being done in very strong partnership with the Kariyarra people, who are the traditional owners of the land in and around Port Hedland. Also, on Monday we signed a native title settlement with the Kariyarra people, which frees up 1 300 hectares of land in and around South Hedland to allow for the residential expansion of South Hedland. That very substantial native title settlement will not only deliver excellent benefits to the Kariyarra people, but also allow for the vision to grow South and Port Hedland to a city of 50 000 to not be constrained by a lack of land. Also, in that native title settlement, 2 000 hectares of industrial land in and around the port precinct has been freed up. That will allow for the rapid expansion of the iron ore sector. Obviously, to grow iron ore exports we need more lay-down area and more room for rail linkages to the port. Again, that is the government working with the traditional owners to partner on freeing up the land to enable the expansion of that part of the world. I encourage all members to visit Port Hedland, to look at the transformation that is underway and to understand the close partnership with the Kariyarra people. We are very, very proud of that. Again, I keep saying that if this development had started 10 or so years earlier, we would not be so far behind the eight ball and Port Hedland would already be progressing to be the Pilbara port city, but that did not happen. I will also, just because I am on my feet, refer to the way the member for Rockingham yesterday attacked me in regard to the Paul Omodei issue. Again, after seven weeks in holiday mode, he came up with a big issue! Several members interjected. Mr B.J. GRYLLS : We have seen highlighted today the member for Victoria Park happy to fire all the bullets while not relying on any facts at all. Again, yesterday it was the member for Rockingham who was happy to fire the bullets and make gross allegations with no basis in fact. He accused people, and denigrated the South West Development Commission and the good work it does. If the Leader of the Opposition’s greatest competition is the member for Victoria Park and the member for Rockingham, I think he will be very safe in the job for a long time to come.
I will also, just because I am on my feet, refer to the way the member for Rockingham yesterday attacked me in regard to the Paul Omodei issue. Again, after seven weeks in holiday mode, he came up with a big issue! Several members interjected. Mr B.J. GRYLLS : We have seen highlighted today the member for Victoria Park happy to fire all the bullets while not relying on any facts at all. Again, yesterday it was the member for Rockingham who was happy to fire the bullets and make gross allegations with no basis in fact. He accused people, and denigrated the South West Development Commission and the good work it does. If the Leader of the Opposition’s greatest competition is the member for Victoria Park and the member for Rockingham, I think he will be very safe in the job for a long time to come.
Several members interjected. Mr B.J. GRYLLS : We have seen highlighted today the member for Victoria Park happy to fire all the bullets while not relying on any facts at all. Again, yesterday it was the member for Rockingham who was happy to fire the bullets and make gross allegations with no basis in fact. He accused people, and denigrated the South West Development Commission and the good work it does. If the Leader of the Opposition’s greatest competition is the member for Victoria Park and the member for Rockingham, I think he will be very safe in the job for a long time to come.
Mr B.J. GRYLLS : We have seen highlighted today the member for Victoria Park happy to fire all the bullets while not relying on any facts at all. Again, yesterday it was the member for Rockingham who was happy to fire the bullets and make gross allegations with no basis in fact. He accused people, and denigrated the South West Development Commission and the good work it does. If the Leader of the Opposition’s greatest competition is the member for Victoria Park and the member for Rockingham, I think he will be very safe in the job for a long time to come.
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