❓ The Minister addresses concerns about the Westport project's location change, detailing the extensive evaluation process that led to the selection of Option G as the preferred design, emphasizing environmental benefits and infrastructure considerations.
AnsweredQoN 644Legislative Council
Asked
18 September 2025
Member
Portfolio
Deputy Premier; Treasurer; Minister for Transport; Sport and Recreation
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to media reports that the planned Westport has been moved 1 kilometre south as part of the planning process, and I ask: (a) is the Minister able to provide more information about how plans have been changed in relation to this move?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
21 October 2025
Responded by
Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Premier; Treasurer; Minister for Transport; Sport and Recreation
Response time
4 days
(a) Between 2018 and 2020, the previous ‘Westport Taskforce’ looked at 25 different locations between Fremantle, Cockburn Sound and Bunbury for the new container port. This led to the Kwinana Industrial Area as the best location for a new port, serviced by an upgraded Anketell Road.
In 2021, after undertaking a range of additional studies on operational and sustainability needs, Westport identified a long-list of 7 port design options.
This long-list was narrowed to a short-list of 3 options using a multi-criteria analysis (MCA) process. The MCA considered environmental impacts, long-term sustainability, efficiency of the supply chain and port, and financial value. Assessment criteria used in the MCA were based on Westport’s goals and subgoals, with scoring criteria and measures.
As part of the evaluation process, Westport also held a series of specialist stakeholder workshops, who helped to identify gaps in the assessment criteria, evaluate the goal weightings, and provide general feedback.
Of the 3 options, the design known as Option G was identified as the best design for the new port.
It performed best in terms of environmental outcomes and avoiding impacts to critical utility infrastructure located within the precinct. On criteria where the alternative options performed better than the preferred design, the difference was immaterial, or was significantly detrimental to environmental outcomes.
In 2021, after undertaking a range of additional studies on operational and sustainability needs, Westport identified a long-list of 7 port design options.
This long-list was narrowed to a short-list of 3 options using a multi-criteria analysis (MCA) process. The MCA considered environmental impacts, long-term sustainability, efficiency of the supply chain and port, and financial value. Assessment criteria used in the MCA were based on Westport’s goals and subgoals, with scoring criteria and measures.
As part of the evaluation process, Westport also held a series of specialist stakeholder workshops, who helped to identify gaps in the assessment criteria, evaluate the goal weightings, and provide general feedback.
Of the 3 options, the design known as Option G was identified as the best design for the new port.
It performed best in terms of environmental outcomes and avoiding impacts to critical utility infrastructure located within the precinct. On criteria where the alternative options performed better than the preferred design, the difference was immaterial, or was significantly detrimental to environmental outcomes.
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