❓ Ms. Saffioti questions the Minister for Transport about the cost of the Morley rail tunnel and its priority compared to the Thornlie connection. The Minister avoids providing a specific cost, citing ongoing planning and geotechnical work, while reaffirming commitment to the project.
AnsweredQoN 515Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
DRAFT TRANSPORT PLAN — RAIL TUNNEL —
MORLEY
515. Ms R. SAFFIOTI to the Minister for
Transport:
I refer to the funding plan that the
minister outlined for the Morley tunnel, when he stated that with the money for
the Metro Area Express light rail, but with a bit more added on, the government
would be able to undertake it; so, the minister's funding plan is that
a bit more money will be added to the MAX light rail money.
(1) What is the cost of the tunnel
that the minister has based his claim on?
(2) Does the minister still maintain
that this is a priority over the Thornlie connection?
MORLEY
515. Ms R. SAFFIOTI to the Minister for
Transport:
I refer to the funding plan that the
minister outlined for the Morley tunnel, when he stated that with the money for
the Metro Area Express light rail, but with a bit more added on, the government
would be able to undertake it; so, the minister's funding plan is that
a bit more money will be added to the MAX light rail money.
(1) What is the cost of the tunnel
that the minister has based his claim on?
(2) Does the minister still maintain
that this is a priority over the Thornlie connection?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I
am going to reiterate what the Treasurer said, be in full support of the
comments he made and provide some clarity on the questions the member asked. At
the presentation and launch of the transport plan, when I did the press
briefing afterwards, I was asked whether the Morley line was a priority and I said
yes it was. I was asked whether I would commit to it before the election and I said
we have got to do the planning for this work and the advice I have had is that
it could take up to two years for the planning work, but that I would like to
get going with it before the election and get it started and commenced as
quickly as possible. I was asked whether that would be in less than six months
and I said yes, that is the desire. I would like to get this planning work
started as quickly as possible so that we can understand it. This is what I was
asked and —
Mr
W.J. Johnston interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Cannington.
Mr
D.C. NALDER : I want to make sure that we do everything right and everything
possible. What has occurred to date is that we have taken independent transport
planners, as well as the research undertaken by the departments, to define what
the best solution for Perth and Western Australia is moving forward. I make no
apology for that. The next step is that we have to do the geotechnical work, we
have to understand what we can do underneath—where and how—and
go through that process. We are actually doing an underground rail line right
now; it is called the Forrestfield–Airport Link. It is a great project
for which we were criticised for undertaking, and I have shared with this house
that we will be able to deliver that for less than what the above‑ground
solution would cost. That was the above-ground solution that both we and Labor
took to the last election. Both solutions were above-ground solutions, but with
the right amount of work, we were able to deliver a fully underground solution
that costs less. Based on our pricing, we have a rough estimate, but do I know
exactly what number of stations there will be or what issues we are going to
face? No, I do not at this point. I could provide members opposite with a ballpark
of what it could be, but they could do that by looking at the prices and
estimates we gave them for the Forrestfield–Airport Link. That is an
underground project on today's pricing. Will we get that by the time we
go through the planning, and will the market still be in that position? These
are all the things that have to be worked through. We have to work through
exactly where the stations will be located. We are delivering an underground
solution for less than the cost of the above-ground solution.
Ms
R. Saffioti : You don't know that.
Mr
D.C. NALDER : I do know that.
Ms
R. Saffioti interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for West Swan!
Mr
D.C. NALDER : I do know that. We already released $100 million of that
budget about three months ago, and I have already flagged that we still have
plenty of contingencies there to make sure that we are doing this correctly.
This is a great project for the
north of the city. We are committed to providing the best possible solution for
the people of the northern corridor. That is what we are committed to. I have
had time to revisit the solution we took, and we will deliver a far superior
solution for the people of the northern suburbs. That is something that we
should be proud of.
am going to reiterate what the Treasurer said, be in full support of the
comments he made and provide some clarity on the questions the member asked. At
the presentation and launch of the transport plan, when I did the press
briefing afterwards, I was asked whether the Morley line was a priority and I said
yes it was. I was asked whether I would commit to it before the election and I said
we have got to do the planning for this work and the advice I have had is that
it could take up to two years for the planning work, but that I would like to
get going with it before the election and get it started and commenced as
quickly as possible. I was asked whether that would be in less than six months
and I said yes, that is the desire. I would like to get this planning work
started as quickly as possible so that we can understand it. This is what I was
asked and —
Mr
W.J. Johnston interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Cannington.
Mr
D.C. NALDER : I want to make sure that we do everything right and everything
possible. What has occurred to date is that we have taken independent transport
planners, as well as the research undertaken by the departments, to define what
the best solution for Perth and Western Australia is moving forward. I make no
apology for that. The next step is that we have to do the geotechnical work, we
have to understand what we can do underneath—where and how—and
go through that process. We are actually doing an underground rail line right
now; it is called the Forrestfield–Airport Link. It is a great project
for which we were criticised for undertaking, and I have shared with this house
that we will be able to deliver that for less than what the above‑ground
solution would cost. That was the above-ground solution that both we and Labor
took to the last election. Both solutions were above-ground solutions, but with
the right amount of work, we were able to deliver a fully underground solution
that costs less. Based on our pricing, we have a rough estimate, but do I know
exactly what number of stations there will be or what issues we are going to
face? No, I do not at this point. I could provide members opposite with a ballpark
of what it could be, but they could do that by looking at the prices and
estimates we gave them for the Forrestfield–Airport Link. That is an
underground project on today's pricing. Will we get that by the time we
go through the planning, and will the market still be in that position? These
are all the things that have to be worked through. We have to work through
exactly where the stations will be located. We are delivering an underground
solution for less than the cost of the above-ground solution.
Ms
R. Saffioti : You don't know that.
Mr
D.C. NALDER : I do know that.
Ms
R. Saffioti interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for West Swan!
Mr
D.C. NALDER : I do know that. We already released $100 million of that
budget about three months ago, and I have already flagged that we still have
plenty of contingencies there to make sure that we are doing this correctly.
This is a great project for the
north of the city. We are committed to providing the best possible solution for
the people of the northern corridor. That is what we are committed to. I have
had time to revisit the solution we took, and we will deliver a far superior
solution for the people of the northern suburbs. That is something that we
should be proud of.
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