INDUSTRIAL LAND —
COLLIE
1359. Hon COLIN TINCKNELL to the Minister for Regional
Development:
I
refer to question without notice 1295 of 12 November. I note that the land
referenced in the answer, the Shotts Strategic Industrial Area, is
available for mining-related industry only, the land in Kemerton is not within
the Shire of Collie and the land in the Collie Light Industrial Area is not
available for heavy industry. Noting this government's stated
commitment to diversifying the economy of the Collie region, can the minister
outline what plans the government has, if any, to address the lack of land
available in the Collie shire for either lease or purchase for the operation of
job-creating heavy industry not directly related to the mining sector?
Hon
ALANNAH MacTIERNAN replied:
I thank the member for the question.
Some
months ago, the Collie steering committee resolved—I think it was
approved by cabinet—to proceed to change the zoning for that
heavy industrial site. Currently, it needs to be a coal-related heavy industry.
We are now going through the process of advertising the change to the local
planning scheme. We agree that it should not be limited to coal. That process
is underway at the moment. The comment period closes on 18 January. In the
meantime, if anyone is looking at that, we will be treating this as if that has
already gone.
In addition, the South West
Development Commission has commissioned an engineering assessment for current and potential industrial land in and around
Collie. The assessment seeks to identify current capability and constraints
on industrial land, including access to water, power and wastewater, and to
inform potential industry attraction and development strategies. That
assessment, which has been going on for some time, is due to be completed in
January 2021. As the member would be aware, we have already invested in excess
of $50 million to that diversification project. Some of those projects are
showing great success, in particular, the WesTrac Piacentini and Son project,
but many more are underway.