❓ Mr. Quigley questions the Minister for Transport about coastal erosion at Quinns Rocks Beach and requests emergency funding. The Minister acknowledges the issue but declines to commit specific funding, suggesting the local council should be the first responder.
AnsweredQoN 742Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
QUINNS ROCKS BEACH
742. Mr J.R. QUIGLEY to the
Minister for Transport:
I refer to the substantial coastal erosion at Quinns Rocks
Beach that has damaged the City of Wanneroo infrastructure and now threatens
millions of dollars' worth of state infrastructure, and the meeting
between the minister's chief of staff and the Mayor of Wanneroo that
the minister declined to attend at which the council was told to place its
concerns in a letter.
(1) Will the
minister commit 50 per cent of emergency funding to sandbagging the escarpment
at Quinns beach?
(2) When will the minister reply to the City of Wanneroo's
letter?
(3) When will the minister meet with the Mayor of Wanneroo to
discuss these pressing safety concerns?
742. Mr J.R. QUIGLEY to the
Minister for Transport:
I refer to the substantial coastal erosion at Quinns Rocks
Beach that has damaged the City of Wanneroo infrastructure and now threatens
millions of dollars' worth of state infrastructure, and the meeting
between the minister's chief of staff and the Mayor of Wanneroo that
the minister declined to attend at which the council was told to place its
concerns in a letter.
(1) Will the
minister commit 50 per cent of emergency funding to sandbagging the escarpment
at Quinns beach?
(2) When will the minister reply to the City of Wanneroo's
letter?
(3) When will the minister meet with the Mayor of Wanneroo to
discuss these pressing safety concerns?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(3)
I am not aware that my chief of staff has met with the Mayor of Wanneroo and
that I declined to attend, but I will do some research into that and I hope the
member for Butler is right. Notwithstanding that, there were some large storm
events in the state over the last couple of months; I think it was late September.
As I think I reported to the house when we sat last time, the wave monitoring
buoy off Rottnest recorded some of the highest waves in 19 years. It was a
sustained storm event over about three or four days. It had a significant
impact on a number of areas off the coast of Western Australia, not just
Quinns. It had an impact in the north as far up as Jurien Bay, where the marina
was filled with seaweed; it had an impact to the south; it had an impact in the
Cockburn area, down on the beachfront; and it had an impact on the Cut, which
heads into the Leschenault inlet down at Bunbury. We are currently managing a
range of outcomes from that storm event the length and breadth of the coast. We
will deal with those as resources enable us to.
The member for Butler talks about
50 per cent of emergency funding. I am not sure what emergency funding he is
referring to. What parcel of funding is the member referring to? I will not
commit 50 per cent of that, if it does exist, to this particular project
because we need to deal with other projects right around the state in
partnership with local government. It is my understanding that the Department
of Transport has been in regular contact with local government about Quinns.
Our coastal engineers have been in contact with the City of Wanneroo about
Quinns. I understand that the City of Wanneroo has $2 million in next year's
budget for coastal protection at Quinns. It is my suggestion, as happens in
other areas of the state, that the first responder in this instance should be
the City of Wanneroo. Of course we will assist where we can. But I am simply
not prepared to say that I will guarantee 50 per cent of a pool of funding that
I did not even know existed to be allocated to it.
I am not aware that my chief of staff has met with the Mayor of Wanneroo and
that I declined to attend, but I will do some research into that and I hope the
member for Butler is right. Notwithstanding that, there were some large storm
events in the state over the last couple of months; I think it was late September.
As I think I reported to the house when we sat last time, the wave monitoring
buoy off Rottnest recorded some of the highest waves in 19 years. It was a
sustained storm event over about three or four days. It had a significant
impact on a number of areas off the coast of Western Australia, not just
Quinns. It had an impact in the north as far up as Jurien Bay, where the marina
was filled with seaweed; it had an impact to the south; it had an impact in the
Cockburn area, down on the beachfront; and it had an impact on the Cut, which
heads into the Leschenault inlet down at Bunbury. We are currently managing a
range of outcomes from that storm event the length and breadth of the coast. We
will deal with those as resources enable us to.
The member for Butler talks about
50 per cent of emergency funding. I am not sure what emergency funding he is
referring to. What parcel of funding is the member referring to? I will not
commit 50 per cent of that, if it does exist, to this particular project
because we need to deal with other projects right around the state in
partnership with local government. It is my understanding that the Department
of Transport has been in regular contact with local government about Quinns.
Our coastal engineers have been in contact with the City of Wanneroo about
Quinns. I understand that the City of Wanneroo has $2 million in next year's
budget for coastal protection at Quinns. It is my suggestion, as happens in
other areas of the state, that the first responder in this instance should be
the City of Wanneroo. Of course we will assist where we can. But I am simply
not prepared to say that I will guarantee 50 per cent of a pool of funding that
I did not even know existed to be allocated to it.
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