6 July
2006 - The biggest threat to the future of Western
Australia’s ports is Planning and Infrastructure
Minister Alannah MacTiernan and the State Labor
Government, Western Australian Senator Ian Campbell
said today.
Senator Campbell said Ms MacTiernan’s
comments that infrastructure funding would decline
if sea ports were controlled by the Commonwealth
were grossly hypocritical given that her decisions
were preventing the growth of two of the State’s
biggest ports – Fremantle and Bunbury.
They also ignored the Australian
Government’s $1.67 billion contribution to land
transport funding and infrastructure projects
in WA announced in the Federal Budget in May.
“It was Minister MacTiernan
who stopped the construction of the Fremantle
Eastern Bypass and Stage 8 of the Roe Highway,
roads planned for more than 40 years to provide
an efficient and safe link to handle the growth
in freight traffic to and from the Fremantle Port,”
Senator Campbell said.
“The scrapping of these transport
corridors has restricted the port’s capacity to
expand – there’s only so much freight traffic
local roads can handle. This was a decision of
Ms MacTiernan and the Labor Government taken purely
for political reasons at the expense of good,
safe road planning and the future growth of Fremantle
Port.”
Senator Campbell said Ms MacTiernan’s
opposition to building and funding much-needed
roads also was standing in the way of the expansion
of the Bunbury Port.
“The Commonwealth has committed
$170 million towards the construction of the Perth
to Bunbury Highway, providing the work starts
by the end of this year. This long-overdue road
will, among other significant benefits, aid the
expansion of the Bunbury Port by providing extra
capacity for freight transport and cutting travel
times,” Senator Campbell said.
“However, despite knowing in
June 2005 that Australian Government environmental
law required a Commonwealth environmental assessment
of the project, it took Ms MacTiernan 11 months
to provide us with the necessary documents to
start this process.
“If Ms MacTiernan had not stalled
on this project, work could have been underway
six months ago,” he said.
Rob Broadfield
