❓ Question regarding the Great Eastern Highway upgrade in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, focusing on road safety improvements and the heavy transport industry's response. The Minister's answer highlights the government's commitment to regional road spending and criticises the previous government's approach.
AnsweredQoN 581Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
GREAT EASTERN HIGHWAY —
KALGOORLIE–BOULDER UPGRADE
581. Mr
M. HUGHES to the Minister for Transport:
Before I ask my question, I acknowledge
the presence of the student leaders from Walliston Primary School, who are in
the Speaker's gallery and visiting Parliament today.
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's record investment in job-creating road projects across
regional Western Australia. Can the minister
outline to the house how the Great Eastern Highway upgrade in Kalgoorlie–Boulder will improve road safety across that stretch of road; and can the minister
advise the house how the heavy transport industry has responded to this and
other projects across Western Australia?
KALGOORLIE–BOULDER UPGRADE
581. Mr
M. HUGHES to the Minister for Transport:
Before I ask my question, I acknowledge
the presence of the student leaders from Walliston Primary School, who are in
the Speaker's gallery and visiting Parliament today.
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's record investment in job-creating road projects across
regional Western Australia. Can the minister
outline to the house how the Great Eastern Highway upgrade in Kalgoorlie–Boulder will improve road safety across that stretch of road; and can the minister
advise the house how the heavy transport industry has responded to this and
other projects across Western Australia?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Kalamunda for
that wonderful question. Spending on regional roads is one of our priorities.
It is good to have a government focusing on regional roads as opposed to the
previous government, when the National Party said blatantly and with particular
purpose that it would not spend RforR on roads because that would be not be
worthwhile—incredible. Members would be happy to know that in the past
few weeks, I was at another sod turning, and this was for the Great Eastern
Highway project in Kalgoorlie. The member for Kalgoorlie, unfortunately, could
not be there. I had a shovel there ready for him just in case, but,
unfortunately, the member could not be there. I was in Kalgoorlie with Kyle
McGinn, turning the sod —
Mr R.S. Love : You never asked
us along.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : You do not
like roads. The National Party said that it does not like roads, so why would I
invite it? It would hate the experience, I suspect, if I asked it to turn the
sod for a road.
Mr M. McGowan : They want to
build roads in the city.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : As the
Premier has outlined, National Party members would come to a city road project,
but they do not like regional road projects. I cannot wait for members'
support for the regional road run-off program and ensuring we improve road
safety in regional WA.
I was in Kalgoorlie with Hon Kyle
McGinn, a fantastic local representative, turning the sod on the duplication of
Great Eastern Highway between Anzac Drive and Gatacre Drive. Highway
Construction has been awarded the $15.8 million contract to upgrade that last
remaining section of single carriageway in the Kalgoorlie–Boulder area.
It includes the upgrade of Great Eastern Highway to two lanes and, importantly,
it will improve drainage in the area. Members might not know, but drainage and
flooding is a big issue in that area. A lot of the local businesses are
welcoming this project not only from a road safety perspective but also because
they sometimes have to face flooding, and this will assist. We are very
committed to regional road spending and I will be making further announcements
in coming months. Of course, today, I outlined at the Western Australian Local
Government Association conference this morning our commitment to try to get
federal funding for the regional run-off program. As I said, we have $1.2 billion
sitting there; let us spend it now. Let us spend it now on improving regional
road safety—500 jobs per annum over a period of nine years. That has a really
good economic benefit and will save lives and prevent injuries in regional WA.
These types of projects are very
much welcomed by industry. Let us compare this approach to the former
government's approach to toll roads in WA. Remember the incredible
launch of the recommitment to Roe 8 and 9 by the Leader of the Opposition who,
unfortunately, is not here. The next morning, she went on radio and talked about it being a truck toll road—her words.
Industry was not only prepared to pay for it, but it welcomed the idea of
paying the toll. It wants to pay. It was prepared to pay a toll to fund not
only that road but also more roads. That is how prepared industry was. Of
course, later in the afternoon, it moved a bit; it was not a toll and it was a levy. Then it moved to, ''We might not need
a toll at all'' to then industry saying it does not support a toll and
they did not know what she was talking about. The Leader of the
Opposition was opposition spokesperson for transport for over two years. We
would think the Liberal Party would have done its homework on this. We really
want to know how much that toll was going to
produce. Some of the numbers that the member for Bateman is running out are
a lot more than the $300 million that the Liberal–National government
was suggesting. I cannot wait for the Liberals to finally, one day, release the
amount of revenue that it was predicting in its business case for that toll.
I
think members opposite are hiding that business case for a reason. I cannot
wait for them to volunteer and tell me how much they were preparing to
collect under the Roe 8 and Roe 9 toll.
that wonderful question. Spending on regional roads is one of our priorities.
It is good to have a government focusing on regional roads as opposed to the
previous government, when the National Party said blatantly and with particular
purpose that it would not spend RforR on roads because that would be not be
worthwhile—incredible. Members would be happy to know that in the past
few weeks, I was at another sod turning, and this was for the Great Eastern
Highway project in Kalgoorlie. The member for Kalgoorlie, unfortunately, could
not be there. I had a shovel there ready for him just in case, but,
unfortunately, the member could not be there. I was in Kalgoorlie with Kyle
McGinn, turning the sod —
Mr R.S. Love : You never asked
us along.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : You do not
like roads. The National Party said that it does not like roads, so why would I
invite it? It would hate the experience, I suspect, if I asked it to turn the
sod for a road.
Mr M. McGowan : They want to
build roads in the city.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : As the
Premier has outlined, National Party members would come to a city road project,
but they do not like regional road projects. I cannot wait for members'
support for the regional road run-off program and ensuring we improve road
safety in regional WA.
I was in Kalgoorlie with Hon Kyle
McGinn, a fantastic local representative, turning the sod on the duplication of
Great Eastern Highway between Anzac Drive and Gatacre Drive. Highway
Construction has been awarded the $15.8 million contract to upgrade that last
remaining section of single carriageway in the Kalgoorlie–Boulder area.
It includes the upgrade of Great Eastern Highway to two lanes and, importantly,
it will improve drainage in the area. Members might not know, but drainage and
flooding is a big issue in that area. A lot of the local businesses are
welcoming this project not only from a road safety perspective but also because
they sometimes have to face flooding, and this will assist. We are very
committed to regional road spending and I will be making further announcements
in coming months. Of course, today, I outlined at the Western Australian Local
Government Association conference this morning our commitment to try to get
federal funding for the regional run-off program. As I said, we have $1.2 billion
sitting there; let us spend it now. Let us spend it now on improving regional
road safety—500 jobs per annum over a period of nine years. That has a really
good economic benefit and will save lives and prevent injuries in regional WA.
These types of projects are very
much welcomed by industry. Let us compare this approach to the former
government's approach to toll roads in WA. Remember the incredible
launch of the recommitment to Roe 8 and 9 by the Leader of the Opposition who,
unfortunately, is not here. The next morning, she went on radio and talked about it being a truck toll road—her words.
Industry was not only prepared to pay for it, but it welcomed the idea of
paying the toll. It wants to pay. It was prepared to pay a toll to fund not
only that road but also more roads. That is how prepared industry was. Of
course, later in the afternoon, it moved a bit; it was not a toll and it was a levy. Then it moved to, ''We might not need
a toll at all'' to then industry saying it does not support a toll and
they did not know what she was talking about. The Leader of the
Opposition was opposition spokesperson for transport for over two years. We
would think the Liberal Party would have done its homework on this. We really
want to know how much that toll was going to
produce. Some of the numbers that the member for Bateman is running out are
a lot more than the $300 million that the Liberal–National government
was suggesting. I cannot wait for the Liberals to finally, one day, release the
amount of revenue that it was predicting in its business case for that toll.
I
think members opposite are hiding that business case for a reason. I cannot
wait for them to volunteer and tell me how much they were preparing to
collect under the Roe 8 and Roe 9 toll.
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