Freight rail network
15. Mr Kevin Michel to the Minister for Transport:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's record of protecting the Western Australian economy and creating new local jobs.
(1) Can the minister update the house on the Cook Labor government's decision to enter negotiations to secure control of the WA freight rail network?
(2) Can the minister advise the house what returning the freight rail network to public hands will mean for jobs, the economy and regional communities?
Ms Rita Saffioti replied:
(1)–(2) I thank the member for Pilbara for the question. Of course, one of the key commitments that we gave during the election was to make sure that we could enter into negotiations to bring back the regional rail network into public control. There are a number of reasons for it. One of the key reasons is to make sure that we can grow regional communities and we can support investment throughout regional WA. Of course, it was opposed by the Nationals WA and the Liberal Party, even though the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia, the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia, CBH Group and the farming community support bringing back the regional rail network into public control. Why? It is because it makes sense.
We need to support more freight on rail for a number of reasons, including the economic growth of this state and for regional road safety, which is another element, to make sure more freight is on rail. That is why we need bipartisan support. Not only did the opposition not support it, it tried to grossly inflate the figure, saying it would cost $5 billion. This reflects the financial stupidity of the other side. When the former government sold it, it sold a 50-year lease for $585 million and now the opposition says it is worth $5 billion, jeopardising negotiations and wanting the deal to fail. This is not just my view of the world; let us go to former National Party members of this place, Max Trenorden and Phil Gardiner who in Countryman this week were quoted as saying:
… we welcome the decision by the WA Labor to reopen discussions on the future of the grain freight network, owned by … conglomerate Brookfield through its subsidiary ARC Infrastructure.
These are National Party members. They also said:
The history surrounding Liberal and National governments' … sale of Westrail, the State's regional passenger and freight network could only be described as gross commercial incompetence, financial ineptitude and, regrettably, personal … point scoring.
This is them. They also said:
To add to this, certain shire representatives on WA Local Government Association at the time, including Liberal MLC Steve Martin, all failed to protect the interests of the people of WA in terms of road safety, productivity gains and extracting value from a … asset.
This was a failed privatisation that has had an impact across the state. The opposition knows it; the opposition knows it was a bad privatisation. We think it is time to fix the wrong of the past, to get into negotiations and to see what we can do to make sure we support the farmers, we support the resources sector, we get more freight on rail and safer roads.
Mr Shane Love: What have you done to reform the access code?
Ms Rita Saffioti: Let us go through this. Does the member for Mid-West want to go through this? The lease that the former government entered into has been described by—
Mr Shane Love interjected.
The Speaker: Leader!
Ms Rita Saffioti: The lease that the former government entered into—
Mr Shane Love interjected.
The Speaker: Leader of the National Party!
Mr Shane Love interjected.
The Speaker: Leader of the National Party!
Several members interjected.
Ms Rita Saffioti: You take responsibility. The National Party shut the rail lines and you have caused havoc on regional roads. Accept responsibility and back this buyback.
Several members interjected.
The Speaker: Members!
Ms Rita Saffioti: You sit there. All you care about is your office size and the amount of offices you have—the floorspace of your office; that is all you care about. In eight years you have done nothing on this issue—nothing! Take responsibility. It was the National Party and the Liberal Party that privatised the rail network, and then in government they shut down the rail lines. You shut down the rail lines and you have never ever accepted that responsibility.
Several members interjected.
The Speaker: Members!
Ms Rita Saffioti: The lease you entered into is the worst lease—
Several members interjected.
The Speaker: Members!
Mr Roger Cook interjected.
The Speaker: Premier!
Ms Rita Saffioti: The lease the former government entered into has been described as the worst commercial lease ever. It gives the state pretty much zero power. Then in government the Liberal and National Parties sat around and closed those rail lines. Then the opposition comes in here and talks about regional road safety. It was the former government's closure of those rail lines, its privatisation, that has meant more freight on roads. There is no doubt about that. That is the clear evidence. So there we are trying to right the wrong of the past, and we would expect that the Nationals WA, as guilty as anything, would say, "Do you know what? This is a good idea. We need to back it because this is for regional communities", and they cannot bring themselves to do it. Instead, you have the Liberal Party trying to jeopardise the process. Of course, it had legislation. If it had been up to the Liberal Party, Fremantle port would have been sold. It would have been sold. The debate currently about Darwin port and the Liberal Party, I mean, honestly, if it had been up to the previous government, it would have sold Utah Point and Fremantle port would have gone. Western Power would have gone.
The former government sold that rail line. It has been disastrous in regional communities and we want to fix that wrong. Do not jeopardise negotiations. I have a question on notice from Hon Steve Martin, can you believe, the one that Max Trenorden said stood by and let it all happen, asking for all the commercial dealings. Honestly! He wants to jeopardise this because he is as guilty as the National Party and the Liberal Party for selling off that rail line, for the impact on regional WA, and we are out there to fix that wrong.
