SPOILBANK MARINA —
PORT HEDLAND
979. Hon JACQUI BOYDELL to the Minister for Regional Development:
I refer to the government's
announcement regarding the revised marina concept for Port Hedland.
(1) Why has the
proposal changed substantially in scope from 100 to 150 boat pens, as announced
by the previous government, to just 20 to 25 boat pens?
(2) Has the
government garnered the support of BHP for the marina proposal and community
activation in the west end?
(3) If yes to (2), what commitment
or assurances has the government made to BHP to gain this?
Hon ALANNAH MacTIERNAN
replied:
I thank the member for the question.
(1)–(3) When
we came to government and we approached the Town of Port Hedland about its
obligations under the document that had been drawn up, we pointed out that
there would be a yearly $2 million maintenance cost for the project as it had
been originally drawn up. Only $6 million had been set aside, so only for the
first three years would the maintenance be covered and then it was presumed
that that would be picked up by the Town of Port Hedland. The Town of Port
Hedland made it absolutely clear that it was not able to fork out for such an
expense and, indeed, that it was under a lot of pressure and would like to
reduce its capital expenditure as well.
In addition to that, we looked at the
figures that had come in for the demand for boats and boat pens in Port Hedland. Certainly, there was no strong
evidence to support the number of boat pens that were involved.
Fundamentally, as we see it, this
facility provides some boating facilities, but it is very much about providing
a linkage to the foreshore and some foreshore amenity for the people of Port
Hedland and South Hedland. We worked on how we could achieve something that was
going to be financially possible and sustainable for the Town of Port Hedland
and, indeed, for the state government. We have pulled it back to a scale that
we think is imminently possible. The cost structures and the maintenance are
reasonable and we can be satisfied there will be a demand for those pens.
Of course, we have been having good
discussions with BHP as part of our Pilbara collaboration and it has expressed
interest in supporting some of the landside activation. There has been no
formal agreement in that regard, but we hope that perhaps the member could work
with us in also getting Roy Hill to bring its project for an Aboriginal
cultural centre into this precinct so that we can get a very good outcome for
the people of this region.