❓ Opposition questions the government's handling of land acquisition for the Perth Freight Link, suggesting rushed planning and advocating for rail and a Kwinana port. The Premier defends the project's urgency and planning process.
AnsweredQoN 437Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
PERTH
FREIGHT LINK — LAND ACQUISITION
437. Mr M. McGOWAN to the Premier:
I refer to the Premier's claim that Main Roads
department officers have been clumsy and are to blame for the appalling way
families in Palmyra have found out that their homes are at risk of being
bulldozed for the truck highway to Fremantle.
(1) Is not the
real problem that the government is rushing the project without proper
planning?
(2) Will the
Premier now at least pause and give proper and careful consideration to how
rail can be better used to move freight in and out of Fremantle port and start properly
planning for a port in Kwinana?
FREIGHT LINK — LAND ACQUISITION
437. Mr M. McGOWAN to the Premier:
I refer to the Premier's claim that Main Roads
department officers have been clumsy and are to blame for the appalling way
families in Palmyra have found out that their homes are at risk of being
bulldozed for the truck highway to Fremantle.
(1) Is not the
real problem that the government is rushing the project without proper
planning?
(2) Will the
Premier now at least pause and give proper and careful consideration to how
rail can be better used to move freight in and out of Fremantle port and start properly
planning for a port in Kwinana?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2)
The Labor opposition pushed the concept of the port in Kwinana because it is
simply avoiding dealing with the current issues. It is safe to say something
about the long-term issue, but the reality is we have to deal with the issues
of today, and the issues of today are excessively high numbers of heavy
vehicles on roads south of the river.
I did say I think the way in which
residents were notified of the potential impact on their properties was clumsy.
Can I remind members that there are two stages to this project: the first
stage, which has its controversies about the Beeliar wetlands, is the stage
that will begin; and, later, the second stage. There is plenty of time to do
the detailed planning for how it will impact. This is hardly new. This is not a
new project; it has been around for years and years and years. Work will
commence on stage 1 in 2016. By the time we get to stage 2, we will have
resolved this issue one way or another, whether it is a tunnel or whatever is
used. We want to minimise the impact on the local community—we
absolutely do—but we do not take the approach of the opposition to say
that this is all long-term planning so we have no problem today and we will
just wait another 10 or 20 years until the outer harbour is built. That is not
acceptable governance.
The Labor opposition pushed the concept of the port in Kwinana because it is
simply avoiding dealing with the current issues. It is safe to say something
about the long-term issue, but the reality is we have to deal with the issues
of today, and the issues of today are excessively high numbers of heavy
vehicles on roads south of the river.
I did say I think the way in which
residents were notified of the potential impact on their properties was clumsy.
Can I remind members that there are two stages to this project: the first
stage, which has its controversies about the Beeliar wetlands, is the stage
that will begin; and, later, the second stage. There is plenty of time to do
the detailed planning for how it will impact. This is hardly new. This is not a
new project; it has been around for years and years and years. Work will
commence on stage 1 in 2016. By the time we get to stage 2, we will have
resolved this issue one way or another, whether it is a tunnel or whatever is
used. We want to minimise the impact on the local community—we
absolutely do—but we do not take the approach of the opposition to say
that this is all long-term planning so we have no problem today and we will
just wait another 10 or 20 years until the outer harbour is built. That is not
acceptable governance.
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