❓ Ms. Saffioti questions the Minister for Transport about delays to the Fitzgerald Street bus lanes and their relationship to the now-defunct MAX light rail project. The Minister denies delaying the project and explains the context of prioritising transport projects after a change in federal funding.
AnsweredQoN 333Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CITY OF VINCENT — PEAK-PERIOD BUS LANES
333. Ms R. SAFFIOTI to the Minister for
Transport:
I refer to the urgency the minister
seems to have now to have bus lanes along Fitzgerald Street.
(1) Can the minister
confirm that the Public Transport Authority approached the City of Vincent to
provide these lanes along Fitzgerald Street by the end of March but that in
fact the minister delayed the proposal going forward?
(2) Can the
minister confirm that the original proposal to provide bus lanes was an interim
measure before the Metro Area Express light rail was going to be built?
(3) What are the minister's
plans now to fix congestion in North Perth and the north east corridor?
333. Ms R. SAFFIOTI to the Minister for
Transport:
I refer to the urgency the minister
seems to have now to have bus lanes along Fitzgerald Street.
(1) Can the minister
confirm that the Public Transport Authority approached the City of Vincent to
provide these lanes along Fitzgerald Street by the end of March but that in
fact the minister delayed the proposal going forward?
(2) Can the
minister confirm that the original proposal to provide bus lanes was an interim
measure before the Metro Area Express light rail was going to be built?
(3) What are the minister's
plans now to fix congestion in North Perth and the north east corridor?
AnswerView source ↗
There is a bit of an oxymoron coming
out somewhere there.
(1)–(3) I
am really excited about what this government is doing in looking at traffic
flows right across the metropolitan area. We are seeing an unprecedented level
of investment right across the breadth of this state. I could spend the next 20
minutes rattling off all the projects that this state has undertaken, and I can
do them off the top of my head, Mr Speaker. We have talked about MAX, and I
love this story about MAX, because —
Point of Order
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : My question
relates to whether the original proposal was to have these bus lanes built by
the end of March, that in fact the minister deferred that consideration, and
that the original proposal was to have this as an interim measure before MAX
was built.
The SPEAKER : Right; just address
those issues, please, minister.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr
D.C. NALDER : Mr Speaker, I am not sure where the member is coming from. The
PTA brought an interim solution to me that it believed could get buses running
in a more rapid manner—a higher frequency—while we worked
through the MAX issue. I supported that. I have not deferred or delayed
anything. We want to make sure that we do things properly, work them through
and consult accordingly. My understanding is that the PTA has been working with
the officers of both the City of Vincent and the City of Perth, and the
recommendations from both cities were that they wish to proceed. A vote was
taken last night by the City of Vincent that it does not support it. I do not
understand the basis on which they do not support it. We believe that this is a
great outcome.
Several members interjected.
Mr
D.C. NALDER : There were multiple questions. This is not question time; it
is questions time!
Mr Speaker, the member is asking whether the decision to run
this interim solution was made before the decision to do MAX, which was
actually before I entered Parliament. The member is starting to ask questions
with which I am not really familiar —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Perth, I call you to order for the first time! Member for Albany,
nobody needs your assistance in this. Minister, just address the question, and
the member can have a supplementary if she feels that something has not been
answered.
Mr D.C. NALDER :
Thank you, Mr Speaker. It is really difficult without putting it into context,
because that is when a lot of this gets lost. We put forward that we wanted to
do MAX and we wanted to do the Forrestfield–Airport Link. We have been
clear on that from the outset. A decision was made, because after the state
election there was a federal election, and the new federal government
determined that it would not support financially public transport, whereas the
previous federal government suggested it would. That forced us to prioritise.
Mr D.J. Kelly interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Bassendean, I call you to order for the third time! Minister, a
short answer, please.
Mr D.C. NALDER : It
meant that there was time for me to look at this project once again, and I want
to make sure that we are getting the best bang for our buck. We are still
working through that process, but a preliminary analysis suggests that we can
deliver exactly the same outcome at 50 per cent of the cost. That will allow us
to do so much more for the broader community of Western Australia. If we can do
that, it is prudent and responsible for me to do that. In the interim, the PTA
came to me with a solution that said, ''We believe we can get rapid
buses going there, the same as we have on Beaufort Street'', and I have
encouraged the PTA to proceed with that.
out somewhere there.
(1)–(3) I
am really excited about what this government is doing in looking at traffic
flows right across the metropolitan area. We are seeing an unprecedented level
of investment right across the breadth of this state. I could spend the next 20
minutes rattling off all the projects that this state has undertaken, and I can
do them off the top of my head, Mr Speaker. We have talked about MAX, and I
love this story about MAX, because —
Point of Order
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : My question
relates to whether the original proposal was to have these bus lanes built by
the end of March, that in fact the minister deferred that consideration, and
that the original proposal was to have this as an interim measure before MAX
was built.
The SPEAKER : Right; just address
those issues, please, minister.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr
D.C. NALDER : Mr Speaker, I am not sure where the member is coming from. The
PTA brought an interim solution to me that it believed could get buses running
in a more rapid manner—a higher frequency—while we worked
through the MAX issue. I supported that. I have not deferred or delayed
anything. We want to make sure that we do things properly, work them through
and consult accordingly. My understanding is that the PTA has been working with
the officers of both the City of Vincent and the City of Perth, and the
recommendations from both cities were that they wish to proceed. A vote was
taken last night by the City of Vincent that it does not support it. I do not
understand the basis on which they do not support it. We believe that this is a
great outcome.
Several members interjected.
Mr
D.C. NALDER : There were multiple questions. This is not question time; it
is questions time!
Mr Speaker, the member is asking whether the decision to run
this interim solution was made before the decision to do MAX, which was
actually before I entered Parliament. The member is starting to ask questions
with which I am not really familiar —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Perth, I call you to order for the first time! Member for Albany,
nobody needs your assistance in this. Minister, just address the question, and
the member can have a supplementary if she feels that something has not been
answered.
Mr D.C. NALDER :
Thank you, Mr Speaker. It is really difficult without putting it into context,
because that is when a lot of this gets lost. We put forward that we wanted to
do MAX and we wanted to do the Forrestfield–Airport Link. We have been
clear on that from the outset. A decision was made, because after the state
election there was a federal election, and the new federal government
determined that it would not support financially public transport, whereas the
previous federal government suggested it would. That forced us to prioritise.
Mr D.J. Kelly interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Bassendean, I call you to order for the third time! Minister, a
short answer, please.
Mr D.C. NALDER : It
meant that there was time for me to look at this project once again, and I want
to make sure that we are getting the best bang for our buck. We are still
working through that process, but a preliminary analysis suggests that we can
deliver exactly the same outcome at 50 per cent of the cost. That will allow us
to do so much more for the broader community of Western Australia. If we can do
that, it is prudent and responsible for me to do that. In the interim, the PTA
came to me with a solution that said, ''We believe we can get rapid
buses going there, the same as we have on Beaufort Street'', and I have
encouraged the PTA to proceed with that.
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