CORONAVIRUS —
REGIONAL ROAD PROJECTS
496. Mr D.T. PUNCH to the Minister for Transport:
I refer to the vital role that the
McGowan Labor government's record investment in regional roads will
play in supporting jobs as the state recovers from the economic impacts of
COVID-19. Can the minister update the house on
what the $85 million widening of Bussell Highway will mean for motorists in the
south west; and can the minister outline
to the house how this and other regional road projects will support local jobs,
local businesses and the broader WA economy?
Ms R. SAFFIOTI
replied:
I thank the member for Bunbury for
that question and, of course, for his interest and involvement in helping
secure funding for the Bussell Highway duplication.
As has been outlined, the McGowan
government has yet again been successful in securing funds from the commonwealth government. The commonwealth
government came to the state government and asked, ''What projects
can you get underway in the next six months?'' We wanted to make sure
that we could be true to our word, so we identified projects that could get
underway very, very quickly. We looked at roads, particularly those in regional
Western Australia, because we believe that getting regional jobs underway as
soon as possible is very important, and also because of what these jobs and
contracts could mean for local businesses throughout regional WA. We put
forward a range of projects, including the regional road safety program that
the Premier outlined yesterday, and, of course, the Bussell Highway project.
The
member for Bunbury knows that we have been lobbying very, very hard for this
project. It has been undermined by
members in this place on the other side, but we have been working very hard to
get that funding. We went out on a limb and started the preliminary works on
the basis that we thought that if we presented the case, the commonwealth government
would give us the funding. As a result, we did preliminary works and the
preloading for stage 1. We spent $4.5 million on pre-construction works on
Bussell Highway earlier this year. That paves the way for stage 1 to commence;
we are aiming for October. That is very good news for everyone in the south
west and very good news for jobs and business in the south west.
If
members look around Western Australia, they will see the priority we have given
to the projects that the previous coalition government ignored, despite having
been in government for eight and a half years. Projects like Bussell
Highway were simply ignored. We have projects throughout regional WA, like
improving the Minilya–Exmouth Road and $20 million for Exmouth roads.
We have Toodyay Road, member for Moore, and, of course, other projects around Western
Australia. We are a government that governs for all, and none can be best described but the work that we are doing for
regional roads and regional road safety and the fact that we are delivering
roads throughout regional WA—roads that the previous Liberal–National
government completely ignored.
Ms L. Mettam: That's
pretty ordinary.
The SPEAKER: Your comment was
pretty ordinary. I call you to order for the first time, member for Vasse.
Mr M.P. Murray: Who's
said nothing for eight and a half years!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER: I wish you had
not spoken, but you did, and I call you to order for the first time, Minister
for Sport and Recreation. I know you have a scarf on, but it does not soften
you at all.