❓ Ms McGurk questions the Minister for Transport about potential fee increases and competition impacts following the long-term lease of Fremantle Port, referencing the Port of Melbourne's privatisation. The Minister avoids directly answering, stating it's a long-term lease, not a sale, and due diligence will be followed.
AnsweredQoN 463Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
FREMANTLE
PORTS — PRIVATISATION
463. Ms S.F. McGURK to the
Minister for Transport:
I refer to the sale of Fremantle Port and the significant fee
increases of up to 800 per cent experienced at the Port of Melbourne after its
privatisation.
Mr D.T. Redman interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Leader of the National Party, I am just about to set a world record; I have not
called anybody to order today. Do not break the record.
Ms S.F. McGURK : I
will begin again.
I refer to the sale of Fremantle Port and the significant fee
increases of up to 800 per cent experienced at the Port of Melbourne after its
privatisation.
(1) Can the
minister guarantee that rental charges and associated costs will not increase
when the port is sold, as they have in Sydney and are scheduled to in
Melbourne?
(2) Will the
minister be heeding comments made by competition regulator Rod Sims in regards
to conditions placed on privatising public assets? He said —
''It's an inefficient
way for governments to raise revenue by putting in place inappropriate
regulation or limits on competition in order to get a higher price,''
(3) How will the sale of the port
affect the establishment of a new port in Kwinana?
PORTS — PRIVATISATION
463. Ms S.F. McGURK to the
Minister for Transport:
I refer to the sale of Fremantle Port and the significant fee
increases of up to 800 per cent experienced at the Port of Melbourne after its
privatisation.
Mr D.T. Redman interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Leader of the National Party, I am just about to set a world record; I have not
called anybody to order today. Do not break the record.
Ms S.F. McGURK : I
will begin again.
I refer to the sale of Fremantle Port and the significant fee
increases of up to 800 per cent experienced at the Port of Melbourne after its
privatisation.
(1) Can the
minister guarantee that rental charges and associated costs will not increase
when the port is sold, as they have in Sydney and are scheduled to in
Melbourne?
(2) Will the
minister be heeding comments made by competition regulator Rod Sims in regards
to conditions placed on privatising public assets? He said —
''It's an inefficient
way for governments to raise revenue by putting in place inappropriate
regulation or limits on competition in order to get a higher price,''
(3) How will the sale of the port
affect the establishment of a new port in Kwinana?
AnswerView source ↗
I will share something here.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : I just want to make one point. When you ask a question, can you
please keep the question succinct, because when you come to the third part, the
minister has forgotten the first part. I would rather you ask a supplementary
question. Minister, answer the question.
Mr
D.C. NALDER : Thank you, Mr Speaker.
(1)–(3) What
I want to share with the opposite side—I have never done that, because
they always question that I am seeking answers from other people—is
that I actually suffer industrial deafness. I have lost one-third of my hearing
at the top of the range. That means that when there is other noise going on, at
times, I cannot hear it properly, so I seek clarification from the people
around me � what has actually been asked;
that is all I am doing.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Members! That is enough, member for Albany!
Mr
D.C. NALDER : I think the member for Victoria Park has embarrassed himself
enough in the last fortnight, not to continue to do it.
When we talk about the Fremantle
port —
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Move on! Members!
Mr
D.C. NALDER : I think the member opposite is missing one important fact, for
a start. We are actually not selling it; we are doing a long-term lease.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for West Swan, member for Warnbro; I call you both to order
for the first time.
Mr
D.C. NALDER : We understand the importance of ports for facilitating trade
in the state. We have no question about the importance of ports for
facilitating trade. We know we have the responsibility to ensure that the
process we follow supports industry. We now need to work through that process
because we have flagged we will do this and now we have to do the work, so we
are doing the work, and the process will be chaired by the Treasurer. I am very
comfortable that we will go through the proper due diligence and process to
ensure that we do the best thing for Western Australia.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : I just want to make one point. When you ask a question, can you
please keep the question succinct, because when you come to the third part, the
minister has forgotten the first part. I would rather you ask a supplementary
question. Minister, answer the question.
Mr
D.C. NALDER : Thank you, Mr Speaker.
(1)–(3) What
I want to share with the opposite side—I have never done that, because
they always question that I am seeking answers from other people—is
that I actually suffer industrial deafness. I have lost one-third of my hearing
at the top of the range. That means that when there is other noise going on, at
times, I cannot hear it properly, so I seek clarification from the people
around me � what has actually been asked;
that is all I am doing.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Members! That is enough, member for Albany!
Mr
D.C. NALDER : I think the member for Victoria Park has embarrassed himself
enough in the last fortnight, not to continue to do it.
When we talk about the Fremantle
port —
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Move on! Members!
Mr
D.C. NALDER : I think the member opposite is missing one important fact, for
a start. We are actually not selling it; we are doing a long-term lease.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for West Swan, member for Warnbro; I call you both to order
for the first time.
Mr
D.C. NALDER : We understand the importance of ports for facilitating trade
in the state. We have no question about the importance of ports for
facilitating trade. We know we have the responsibility to ensure that the
process we follow supports industry. We now need to work through that process
because we have flagged we will do this and now we have to do the work, so we
are doing the work, and the process will be chaired by the Treasurer. I am very
comfortable that we will go through the proper due diligence and process to
ensure that we do the best thing for Western Australia.
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