❓ Opposition questions a cost increase in the Great Northern Highway upgrade, alleging internal dissent and legal concerns. The Minister deflects, touting overall project success and defending the variation based on departmental advice.
AnsweredQoN 234Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
GREAT NORTHERN HIGHWAY — UPGRADE
234. Ms R. SAFFIOTI to the Minister for
Transport:
I refer to the minister's
answer in the other place concerning a 22 per cent increase in the estimated
project cost of the Great Northern Highway upgrade between Batty Bog Road and
Walebing.
(1) Did senior project managers in
the minister's department initially advise against the variation?
(2) Did legal advice from two
different sources initially advise against accepting the variation?
(3) If so, on what basis was the variation made?
234. Ms R. SAFFIOTI to the Minister for
Transport:
I refer to the minister's
answer in the other place concerning a 22 per cent increase in the estimated
project cost of the Great Northern Highway upgrade between Batty Bog Road and
Walebing.
(1) Did senior project managers in
the minister's department initially advise against the variation?
(2) Did legal advice from two
different sources initially advise against accepting the variation?
(3) If so, on what basis was the variation made?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(3) I
am really pleased that the opposition transport spokesperson has asked what
this government has been doing on transport projects. We have been delivering
projects well under budget and ahead of schedule. We have continually delivered
ahead of time and under budget on pretty much every project, including that
project on Great Northern Highway.
Mr D.J. Kelly : What about Roe 8?
Mr
D.C. NALDER : Watch this space, member for Bassendean; watch this space.
Mr M.P. Murray interjected.
Mr
D.C. NALDER : Now I hear the member for Collie–Preston complaining,
when nothing happened with the Coalfields highway. It took this government to
make it right after the previous government took away the budget.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Collie–Preston!
Mr
P. Papalia interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Thank you, member for Warnbro!
Mr
D.C. NALDER : The member for Collie–Preston did not lay one
grievance while he was in government—not one grievance on that road not
being undertaken.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Thank you; wall of noise. Let us go to Great Northern Highway and
the question on the increase there.
Mr
D.C. NALDER : There have been many variations to do with Great Northern
Highway, and some of them are fantastic additions to that road. I have great
faith in the recommendations that have been put before me by Main Roads and the
Department of Transport. The advice that I have received is that this is the
appropriate action to take, but I can also assure members that, in an overall
sense, it is still coming in well below budget.
am really pleased that the opposition transport spokesperson has asked what
this government has been doing on transport projects. We have been delivering
projects well under budget and ahead of schedule. We have continually delivered
ahead of time and under budget on pretty much every project, including that
project on Great Northern Highway.
Mr D.J. Kelly : What about Roe 8?
Mr
D.C. NALDER : Watch this space, member for Bassendean; watch this space.
Mr M.P. Murray interjected.
Mr
D.C. NALDER : Now I hear the member for Collie–Preston complaining,
when nothing happened with the Coalfields highway. It took this government to
make it right after the previous government took away the budget.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Collie–Preston!
Mr
P. Papalia interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Thank you, member for Warnbro!
Mr
D.C. NALDER : The member for Collie–Preston did not lay one
grievance while he was in government—not one grievance on that road not
being undertaken.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Thank you; wall of noise. Let us go to Great Northern Highway and
the question on the increase there.
Mr
D.C. NALDER : There have been many variations to do with Great Northern
Highway, and some of them are fantastic additions to that road. I have great
faith in the recommendations that have been put before me by Main Roads and the
Department of Transport. The advice that I have received is that this is the
appropriate action to take, but I can also assure members that, in an overall
sense, it is still coming in well below budget.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.