❓ Ms. Kent asks about the Cook Labor government's investment in the Goldfields and Agricultural Region Water Supply Scheme upgrade and its impact on jobs and economic development. The Minister responds by outlining the investment, its benefits, and the use of local manufacturing.
AnsweredQoN 228Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Goldfields and Agricultural Region Water Supply Scheme—Upgrade
228 . Ms Ali Kent to the Minister for Water:
I refer to the Cook
Labor government's record investment in economic infrastructure across Western
Australia.
(1) Can the minister
outline to the house how this investment will support new jobs and economic development
in the Goldfields and Wheatbelt?
(2) Can the minister advise the house how this
investment builds on this government's record of growing WA's regional
economies?
228 . Ms Ali Kent to the Minister for Water:
I refer to the Cook
Labor government's record investment in economic infrastructure across Western
Australia.
(1) Can the minister
outline to the house how this investment will support new jobs and economic development
in the Goldfields and Wheatbelt?
(2) Can the minister advise the house how this
investment builds on this government's record of growing WA's regional
economies?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I certainly can. I thank the
member for her short, sharp, non-preamble question. The member for Kalgoorlie
shares a vision that we hold on this side of the house—that is, jobs
for WA, housing for WA, health for WA and making WA such a fantastic place that
people want to come and live here. Because they want to come and live here, and
because they want to come and live in regional WA especially, we have a record
spend in infrastructure. Everywhere we look, whether it is in rail, roads or
our very visionary renewables agenda, we see record investment in
infrastructure. Members, I now have a special interest in pipes! I really have a
fascination with pipes. They are extraordinary. They are extraordinarily
expensive, too, I might add. The WA Labor government has a strong record in
this area of providing economic opportunities. The Goldfields and the Wheatbelt
are growing, with new industries and a new population, so we are positioning
the infrastructure in anticipation of what is happening.
The 2025–26 state budget
will invest $543 million to fast-track the first stage of critical long-term
upgrades to the Goldfields and Agricultural Region Water Supply Scheme. It is
no wonder I have a fascination with pipes! This is an extraordinary piece of
infrastructure. It was an extraordinary piece of infrastructure when it was
built and commissioned back in 1903. It has been servicing the area
extraordinarily well ever since then, but there is a need for growth. The first
stage will increase capacity by up to 7.2 million litres daily from 2027 to
meet growth in industrial expansion as well as enhance the reliability of the
scheme, not only for the Goldfields but also for the Central Wheatbelt. I might
add that I have not had a phone call from the member for Central Wheatbelt congratulating
the government on this, but it is there. It will replace 44.5 kilometres of
ageing pipeline in the Shires of Merredin, Westonia and Yilgarn and new
sections will be installed primarily below ground. There will be valve upgrades
to import network reliability, for those water pipe aficionados, and upgrades
to the Binduli Reservoir near Kalgoorlie, doubling the water storage capacity—great
resilience for the Goldfields and the Wheatbelt.
But there is more, Mr Speaker. Building
on our commitment to Made in WA and bolstering the state's advanced
manufacturing capacity and competitiveness and generating local jobs for Western
Australians, the new steel pipe sections will be manufactured in WA at the Steel
Mains factory in Kwinana and will be made from Pilbara iron ore and lined with
Cockburn cement for the concrete. That is on top of the investment by the state
government and the Water Corporation in locally manufactured goods, which saw
roughly $94 million spent on manufactured product in 2023–24. This is a
fantastic piece of infrastructure, Made in WA, setting up the state and the Goldfields
for the future, with serious benefits for the Wheatbelt, member for Central
Wheatbelt, so I look forward to receiving that phone call of congratulations. I
know that the shadow Minister for Water appreciates this project and sees the
value in it.
member for her short, sharp, non-preamble question. The member for Kalgoorlie
shares a vision that we hold on this side of the house—that is, jobs
for WA, housing for WA, health for WA and making WA such a fantastic place that
people want to come and live here. Because they want to come and live here, and
because they want to come and live in regional WA especially, we have a record
spend in infrastructure. Everywhere we look, whether it is in rail, roads or
our very visionary renewables agenda, we see record investment in
infrastructure. Members, I now have a special interest in pipes! I really have a
fascination with pipes. They are extraordinary. They are extraordinarily
expensive, too, I might add. The WA Labor government has a strong record in
this area of providing economic opportunities. The Goldfields and the Wheatbelt
are growing, with new industries and a new population, so we are positioning
the infrastructure in anticipation of what is happening.
The 2025–26 state budget
will invest $543 million to fast-track the first stage of critical long-term
upgrades to the Goldfields and Agricultural Region Water Supply Scheme. It is
no wonder I have a fascination with pipes! This is an extraordinary piece of
infrastructure. It was an extraordinary piece of infrastructure when it was
built and commissioned back in 1903. It has been servicing the area
extraordinarily well ever since then, but there is a need for growth. The first
stage will increase capacity by up to 7.2 million litres daily from 2027 to
meet growth in industrial expansion as well as enhance the reliability of the
scheme, not only for the Goldfields but also for the Central Wheatbelt. I might
add that I have not had a phone call from the member for Central Wheatbelt congratulating
the government on this, but it is there. It will replace 44.5 kilometres of
ageing pipeline in the Shires of Merredin, Westonia and Yilgarn and new
sections will be installed primarily below ground. There will be valve upgrades
to import network reliability, for those water pipe aficionados, and upgrades
to the Binduli Reservoir near Kalgoorlie, doubling the water storage capacity—great
resilience for the Goldfields and the Wheatbelt.
But there is more, Mr Speaker. Building
on our commitment to Made in WA and bolstering the state's advanced
manufacturing capacity and competitiveness and generating local jobs for Western
Australians, the new steel pipe sections will be manufactured in WA at the Steel
Mains factory in Kwinana and will be made from Pilbara iron ore and lined with
Cockburn cement for the concrete. That is on top of the investment by the state
government and the Water Corporation in locally manufactured goods, which saw
roughly $94 million spent on manufactured product in 2023–24. This is a
fantastic piece of infrastructure, Made in WA, setting up the state and the Goldfields
for the future, with serious benefits for the Wheatbelt, member for Central
Wheatbelt, so I look forward to receiving that phone call of congratulations. I
know that the shadow Minister for Water appreciates this project and sees the
value in it.
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