WA Premier Colin Barnett declines Perth Freight Link forum invite

WA Premier Colin Barnett declines
Perth Freight Link forum invite

source: joe spagnolop perth now

WA Premier Colin Barnett will not speak at a forum on the Perth Freight Link in his Cottesloe electorate.

• INFRASTRUCTURE: Doubts cast over Government’s decision to build Freight Link
• DIVISIONS EMERGE: Perth Freight Link causes cracks in Barnett Government

PREMIER Colin Barnett says he won’t be attending a Perth Freight Link forum in his electorate of Cottesloe on Tuesday night because he spoke at a community forum in North Fremantle.

But an email from his electorate office to Perth lawyer John Hammond suggests there are other reasons for his absence.

“The area in my electorate that is most affected by Perth Freight Link is North Fremantle,” Mr Barnett told PerthNow.

“I spoke at a community forum there, which was attended by more than 200 people and at which all of the issues were canvassed.”

But an email, from Mr Barnett’s electoral office to Mr Hammond — who heads SOS Cottesloe Inc (a residents and ratepayers association) — sent on August 11 paints another picture.

It says: “It was understood that the invitation to Mr Barnett was as local member, to join local speakers, including the Town of Cottesloe, and a local audience and as such he was prepared to attend.

“The material distributed by SOS Cottesloe is now under the banner of Rethink the Link and advertising what appears to be a political debate, mentioning the Premier, The Leader of the Opposition etc and with the main contact being Rethink the Link.

“This being the case, the invitation to take part is declined.”

Liberal sources say Mr Barnett is getting cold feet on proceeding with section two of the PFL, which will see a freight route from Stock Road to the Fremantle Port.

Mr Hammond has hit back at Mr Barnett, saying it was ‘disappointing that the Premier is not attending a meeting held in how own electorate over such an important issue”.

“To say that he is not attending because it appears to be a political debate is difficult to comprehend given the Premier engages in political debate every day as a politician.”

Tuesday night’s forum starts at 6pm at the Cottesloe Civic Centre.

See the original store HERE

PREMIER BARNETT ON THE PERTH FAILED LINK

Freo's View

PREMIER BARNETT ON THE PERTH FAILED LINK

Posted in fremantle, perth freight link by freoview on August 26, 2015

The North Fremantle Community had invited WA Premier Colin Barnett and CUSP Professor Peter Newman for a Q&A on the proposed PERTH FREIGHT LINK and the community came out en-masse and there was standing room only. Former Premier Carmen Lawrence was there, as were author and comedian Ben Elton and Member for Fremantle Simone McGurk. Freo Mayor Brad Pettitt was there, and it is election time, four Councillors also attended.

It was a surprisingly civil event with not much aggression. Colin Barnett was relaxed and matter of fact about how difficult Stage 2 of the project will be, reassuring the crowd that nothing had yet been decided because it was near impossible to find what he called an elegant solution to get trucks from Roe 8 to Fremantle Port. He stressed the route had not been finalised yet and engineers had not designed the road and/or tunnel, and the environmental work also had not been done yet. “No one will be making a decision tomorrow.” the Premier said, pointing out his cabinet and not the departments would make the final decision.

But he was adamant, and said it several times, that Roe 8 will be built. “No road has been studied as much as the Roe 8 and it will be built so it has minimal impact on the Beeliar wetlands.” Barnett assured the crowd. It will take 2,500 trucks per day off Leach Highway, he claimed.

The Premier also said it was impossible to get all containers to the port by rail and that the 14% we have in WA was the highest freight on rail of any port in Australia, but it was desirable to increase that. At least 70% of freight would be going by truck, and we are talking about 1,2 million containers that need to be moved around the city.

Barnett pointed out that WA accounts for 50% of international trade in Australia and that trade is going up because people buy more washing machines from China, etc. He also pointed out that even when an outer harbour is built at Cockburn Sound, that would take ten years, Fremantle Port will continue as a port and the outer harbour would initially be an overflow port only, but there would be severe environmental impacts on an outer harbour in that location and it “Will be contentious.”

Professor Peter Newman agreed on quite a few points with Colin Barnett but said there was a significant shift in the world to drive less and that urban rail is growing around the word. The Perth Freight Link is not good planning when the end is not clear, he said and “No one questions that the process is flawed.” “We need more intermodal hubs like the one in Kewdale.”

Newman said the economy will grow but there would be more growth in the non-resources-based industries.

Questions were asked about diesel fume pollution and health impact on the North Fremantle community and if health studies had been and would be done, and why pervious and the present governments had not made a start on the outer harbour when it would take so long to be built. The Premier assured the Perth Freight Link was not being built to support the sale of Fremantle Port.

Building an outer harbour would be the biggest infrastructure project ever done in this state Colin Barnett said, and that it would cost $ 4 billion. “It is a daunting project with enormous issues!”

Peter Newman said the PFL “Was the biggest threat I have seen to the future of Fremantle.” and former Councillor Anna Forma said it would be the end of North Fremantle and the area won’t survive this.

Barnett said he had no argument with building more public transport but what will we do with a million plus containers, and that he did not believe in doing nothing for ten years until an outer harbour might be built.

One of the last and most powerful words came from Kate Kelly of the Save Beeliar Wetlands who said there were significant defects in the environmental assessments of Roe 8 and they would take up a legal fight. “See you in court!”

I believe community information session like this one are very good and should happen more often, but I wonder why neither Barnett nor Newman went into details on the impact an outer harbour would have on Cockburn Sound.

Roel Loopers

ROEL FPOR FREO! TRULY INDEPENDENT

source: community news
Jon Bassett | August 25, 2015, 12:00 AM 

Cuttings considered

SWANBOURNE residents next to a highway cutting carrying trucks say southern suburbs’ residents facing Perth Freight Link (PFL) cuttings and flyovers should insist on suitable designs.

“Just don’t let them bull-ride over you and have a say on the final product,” Servetus Street resident Sylvia Peterson said.

The State Government estimates cuttings and flyovers to eliminate stop lights will shorten Fremantle Port container truck trips by nine minutes on the mooted $2.5 billion toll route.

Most Swanbourne residents who spoke to the Western Suburbs Weekly said they now liked the 1.5km West Coast Highway cutting that cost $29.7 million in 1999, including sound-deadening bricks and 2.8m boundary walls that were installed after they lobbied Cottesloe MLA Colin Barnett, who is not expected to attend a Cottesloe PFL forum next Tuesday.

“But we’re up high and look over the cutting and it’s not that bad, but if you were further down the hill or right close to it, it would be awful,” Servetus Street resident Patrick Gillespie said.

Cottesloe residents fought against the cutting’s dual carriageway going south into their suburb through Curtin Avenue, where it now bottlenecks.

The Government has allocated $40 million to move the avenue 3.5km further south to near the port, potentially leaving Cottesloe between upgraded sections of a long-mooted coastal highway that critics fear could be built for trucks avoiding the PFL’s toll.

PFL opponent and Cottesloe councillor Sally Pyvis said while the “costly” Swanbourne cutting had improved some amenity, Curtin Avenue’s upgrade could be “cheap and cheerless” with tilt-up concrete sound barriers.

The route is used by 1121 trucks daily and could increase to 3363 2030.

The FULL story can be read HERE from Community News

Nationals call on the State Government to not sell the Fremantle Port.

source: news.com.au - joe spagnolo
original title: Joe Spagnolo: WA Liberal, National party have strange relationship 

Nationals call on the State Government
to not sell the Fremantle Port.

Premier Colin Barnett and Nationals leader Terry Redman Source: Supplied

PARTNERS in government, the National and Liberal Parties continue to have a strange relationship indeed.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott will be in Perth next weekend for the WA Liberal Party’s annual conference.

Given the death of longtime Canning MHR Don Randall and the official launch of the Liberal Party’s candidate to contest the by-election later this year, this event will get significant amounts of media coverage.

But also on next weekend is the WA National Party’s state conference. Surely, if you had to bet your house on which conference will get top billing on the 6pm news you would go for the Liberal’s event.

Political Editor Joe Spagnolo Source: News Corp Australia

Senior Liberals tell me they pencilled in this date for the state conference well ahead of the Nationals announcing their date.

But what this “double booking” again highlights is how dysfunctional this marriage of convenience sometimes is.

Why schedule the National and Liberal conferences on the same weekend? Surely you get a better bang for your buck if you hold them a few weeks apart.

The agenda of the National Party conference, the motions to be debated, gives us further insight into how these two conservative parties are on different pages – possibly different planets – when it comes to the aspirations of this government.

Motion No. 1: “That this state convention ... re-affirms the party’s independent political stance as the only party that represents the country regions of Western Australia, now and in the lead-up to the next election.”

DON'T MISS THE BEST PART - Continue Reading HERE

Indian Ocean Gateway the ‘missing link’ in freight planning

Source: City of Kwinana Report see it HERE

20/Aug/2015

The local government responsible for the State’s premier industrial area has today released a bold vision proposing an alternative solution to Perth’s freight and port infrastructure issues.

The Indian Ocean Gateway, announced by the City of Kwinana earlier this afternoon, points to the Outer Harbour in Kwinana as the key infrastructure project that will be the catalyst for creating billions of dollars in revenue and tens of thousands of new jobs.

Kwinana Mayor Carol Adams said the Indian Ocean Gateway is the answer the community had been calling for.

“There has been much debate about what the best solution is to Perth’s long-term freight and trade infrastructure needs, but not much has been offered in the way of actual alternatives,” Mayor Adams said.

“That’s why we’ve released the Indian Ocean Gateway proposal – a strategic 50-year vision to encourage serious debate about providing a solution that delivers significant benefits and a substantial return on investment for all West Australians.”

Mayor Adams said the tender for the sale of Fremantle Port should require the construction of the first stage of the Outer Harbour within 10 years.

“That’s the core of the Indian Ocean Gateway proposal. Nearly everyone you ask – from government, to opposition, to industry itself – agrees that the Outer Harbour is the future of port trade in Perth.

“The early announcement by the Government of the sale of Fremantle Port has provided a unique and exciting opportunity to include the Outer Harbour in the tender specification and to expedite its staged construction.”

The Indian Ocean Gateway supports:
- Inclusion of a requirement for construction of the Outer Harbour by 2025 in the tender for the
sale of Fremantle Port.
- Construction of a land-backed port by the private sector with intermodal facilities at the berth
providing modern, state-of-the-art freight handling while unlocking the potential of thousands
of hectares of industrial land.
- A cap of 500,000 TEUs on the Inner Harbour by 2025 and full transition of all container freight
to the Outer Harbour by 2030.
- Improved productivity through the construction and extension of existing dedicated freight
routes, supported by improved rail connections to the industrial hub of Kewdale.

Mayor Adams said the economic and social benefits to all West Australians were immense.

“This proposal will create 25,000 direct jobs and a further 50,000 people will be employed indirectly as a result of the Indian Ocean Gateway.

“At full build-out it’s estimated an extra $42 billion will be added every year to the WA economy.

“The time to act is now. We urge debate on the Indian Ocean Gateway before key decisions are locked away. It’s clear that at the very least, a full and frank discussion needs to be had about what’s in the best interests of our state long-term,” Mayor Adams said.

The Indian Ocean Gateway consultation paper can be viewed, and feedback provided, at www.indianoceangateway.com.au or by contacting the City of Kwinana on 9439 0200.

IA confirms Perth Freight Link is the solution - Have a laugh here

This is starting to get embarrassing now! Media Release posted today by the Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development - You would think they would try a bit harder than this, wouldn't you? While everyone is reading this report for what it actually is, the Minister For Infrastructure and Regional Development has this to say in a media statement released today.

IA confirms Perth Freight Link is the solution

Media Release

JB090/2015

19 August 2015

Infrastructure Australia has confirmed that the Perth Freight Link is the infrastructure solution Western Australia needs to drive economic growth and boost the productive capacity of Perth's transport network.

Contrary to the article in this morning's Western Australian newspaper, the Infrastructure Australia assessment does NOT say the project will result in fewer benefits.

In fact, the assessment says the project aligns with Infrastructure Australia's strategic priorities to ‘increase productivity’, ‘expand productive capacity’ and ‘build on Australia’s global competitive advantages' through delivering a more efficient freight network.

Infrastructure Australia also acknowledges that the Perth Freight Link “will improve the connectivity and access between Perth's key industrial and activity centres and improve on-road safety and community amenity”.

The assessment also concludes that there is “good evidence that access to port gateways in Perth is a nationally significant problem” and that “Infrastructure Australia has a high level of confidence that the proposed solution will deliver net economic benefits.”

The Australian Government is focused on delivering this world class project as it will create 2,400 construction jobs and inject billions into the Western Australian economy.

By building the Perth Freight Link, we will create a new world class freight connection between Perth's strategic industrial areas and the Fremantle Port, providing travel time savings of almost 10 minutes from the Kwinana Freeway to Fremantle and delivering economic benefits of more than $3.9 billion to our state.

It will also reduce freight traffic and congestion on local arterial roads with 500 trucks a day expected to be removed from the Leach Highway by 2031.

Unlike Labor whose infrastructure policy consists of selling road corridors and moving freight by bicycle, the Coalition is building the world class infrastructure Perth needs to grow its economy and create more jobs for the future.

Hilariously read HERE if you want the original release

source: business news

Infrastructure spend under fire

A rail tunnel under the Swan River is a key element of the Forrestfield Airport Link

The state government's infrastructure spending priorities have been called into question, with a new report showing its new big ticket transport items – the $1.6 billion Perth Freight Link and the $2 billion Forrestfield Airport Link – do not stack up economically when compared to other potential projects.

The findings are part of an Urbis-produced report commissioned by the Property Council of Australia, which evaluated the economic impact and potential private sector spend which would be produced by a range of new infrastructure projects needed in Western Australia.

Consultation with industry groups identified a list of ten projects which would provide the most benefit to the state, a list which did not include the rail line to the airport or the Perth Freight Link.
Criteria under which the projects were assessed included the development of new markets, new businesses or industries, improving the supply chain, productivity enhancement and improvements in economies of scale.

The ten projects identified to provide the most benefit were the MAX Light Rail network, the Western Trade Coast, the Peel Economic and Environmental Initiative, the Breton Bay Deep Water Port, the Bunbury Very Fast Train, the Perth to Darwin Highway, the extension of the Mitchell Freeway, the Ellenbrook Rail Project and the Mundaring Infill Sewer Project.

Property Council of Australia WA executive director Joe Lenzo said the omission of the Perth Freight Link in particular was an illustration that the project simply did not stack up in the eyes of industry.
Mr Lenzo said the report's findings clearly showed the need for an independent infrastructure body to be established in WA, in order for the state government to get the most bang for its buck and remove politics from the decision making process.

"If you have that sort of body, these are the sorts of criteria that they would take into consideration to build a pipeline of infrastructure projects that would actually bring some private sector investment," Mr Lenzo told Business News.

"That's what we haven't got and this actually demonstrates that if you put it through an expert, independent lens you are going to do a lot better for the Western Australian community than the current process that we go through."

Mr Lenzo said there also needed to be a new evaluation of how infrastructure projects were funded in Western Australia, urging the state government to embrace private sector involvement instead of shouldering all the responsibility itself.

"In my opinion, it's inevitable that we move into that area where there is going to be private sector investment in infrastructure development," Mr Lenzo said.

"The private sector will invest as long as they see there is some returns for them and they see some economic benefit coming out for them."

Mr Lenzo said alternative funding methodologies should be considered, such as toll roads to fund major transport links.

"There seems to be a mindset that we're not allowed to talk about things like that, that infrastructure needs to be funded by a very old-fashioned and unsustainable way of increasing taxes, getting some money and doing it, and if we haven't got the money, we won't do it," he said.

"That is a pretty old fashioned and blinkered view of how infrastructure is funded and developed."
Urbis director of economics and market research, David Cresp, said the aim of the report, which he described as a high-level evaluation based on publicly available information, was to provide some clarity to the public around why governments should commit to certain infrastructure projects over others.

"What we're really advocating is there should be a process that these types of projects are put through," Mr Cresp said.

"There should be some availability to public scrutiny, and if you're coming out and announcing that you're building a train to the airport for example, tell us what benefits is it providing, how does it compare to other projects that you looked at to decide it was the project that you are going to spend in excess of $2 billion on and why is it the project that it's being spent on?"

Of the ten projects identified in the report, it was the highly-debated and delayed MAX Light Rail that was touted as potentially producing the most benefit for the state.

The report showed for the $2.1 billion estimate capital cost of a light rail network, $960 million in property development would be unlocked, and $5.5 billion in economic activity would be enabled over the next 20 years.

Productivity gains would also be provided from reduced congestion, with traffic issues expected to cost Perth industry $16 billion in 2031 if there is no additional transport capacity added to the network, while land values would be uplifted at an average rate of 9.5 per cent.

Mr Cresp said it was important that the project was not assessed and discussed in the public arena as simply a means of transporting commuters from the suburbs to the city.

"It's an enabling infrastructure, and if you get it right, you can have transport oriented development around the stops," he said.

"We need to think less about what's going to be the cheapest and have a look at what is going to be the solution that is going to enable that private sector expenditure and best enable the infrastructure to be built around the stops.

"If you look at the totality of the picture, the question of what is the cheapest way to do it becomes less important.

"We're also not saying a really well thought out bus rapid transit system couldn't deliver those benefits

"It certainly could, but you have to think about he totality of the picture, which is not just moving people from A to B, it's about being an enabler of development around stops and its about assisting with the city providing density and achieving our targets for Perth and Peel @ 3.5 million."

Urbis director of economics Nicki Hutley said the second phase of the light rail network, the 'Knowledge Arc' to connect the city's universities and hospitals, would also provide significant benefits outside of more efficient transport.

Ms Hutley said one of the strongest growth areas in the Australian and WA economies was what she described as the knowledge economy – education and health.

"That is where we still have a comparative advantage, and if we get the capital funding right for that, it would be a huge growth area for the state," Ms Hutley told Business News.

"Being able to connect and promote the connectivity of Curtin University, UWA and the hospitals makes a huge amount of sense.

"We're seeing this unfolding economic activity in health and education, where we should have significant export potential.

"It provides a nice balance to the economy and supports that knowledge and health economy, which is two areas that are growing quite significantly."

See the original article in all its glory HERE at Business News

Freo port deal pivotal for freight planning

source: business news

  Freo port deal pivotal for freight planning

SPECIAL REPORT: The privatisation of Fremantle Ports will have a major bearing on the future shape of freight movements across Perth.
In 2007, when in opposition in Western Australia, the Liberal Party came up with a radical policy to phase out commercial shipping activity at Fremantle in favour of a new outer harbour at Cockburn Sound.

The policy was the brainchild of Simon O’Brien, who had a relatively short stint in the ministry after the change of government, before losing favour with Premier Coin Barnett.
As the Liberals settled in to the government parliamentary benches, they reverted to the orthodox policy that favoured development of an outer harbour as an overflow port after Fremantle reached its capacity – at some indeterminate time in the future.

That is still the accepted policy; yet last week Transport Minster Dean Nalder was musing on the possibility of Fremantle being closed to commercial shipping.

His comments were made in the midst of a Committee for Economic Development of Australia transport forum, where Mr Nalder was defending the $1.6 billion Perth Freight Link project.
Critics believe the freight link heads in the wrong direction, because it services the inner harbour at Fremantle rather than looking to the future at Cockburn Sound.

Mr Nalder believes it makes sense, irrespective of future port developments.

“If we started yesterday, it would take a minimum of 10 years to develop the outer harbour,” Mr Nalder told the CEDA forum.

“On top of that, if a future government decided to transfer completely to the outer harbour, and decided there was another use, and a better use for the community, for the inner harbour, that would take a number of years as well.

“So we’re talking 15, 20 years before you could transition fully to an outer harbour project.
“In the meantime, we’re going to see the number of trucks coming out of Fremantle port in the next 10 to 15 years more than double, we’ll start seeing 6,000 trucks a day.”
He then expanded on this theme.

“If you were to remove the inner harbour out of Fremantle, you will not be replacing it with lawn.
“It will be high-density residential and commercial, and the number I’ve heard is that there will be up to 20,000 additional people, and I think that will be quite dynamic for Fremantle.”
Either way, the minister believes improved road links to Fremantle will be needed.
Mr Nalder said he was seeking more advice on how long it would take to fully transition to an outer harbour.

Privatisation
And clearly he won’t be the only one.

Banking group Rothschild and accounting firm Deloitte have been engaged by the state government to advise on the privatisation of Fremantle Ports – for likely proceeds of $2 billion.

The government is looking to link the sale of the existing port facilities with development of the outer harbour, at a cost of several billion dollars.

Treasurer Mike Nahan told a budget briefing in May the government would look to package-up land at Cockburn Sound, including some held by LandCorp and Synergy, to facilitate the outer harbour development.

This would draw upon extensive planning undertaken a decade ago, when then planning and infrastructure minister, Alannah MacTiernan, saw the outer harbour project as a priority.
Ms MacTiernan actually announced a preferred development option in 2006, with the outer harbour to be built north of the BP oil refinery at James Point.

Dr Nahan believes the outer harbour development opportunity will enhance the privatisation deal.
“The right to build, own and operate an overflow port is an extremely valuable asset, it will enhance the value, not detract from it,” Dr Nahan told the budget briefing.

Labor ports spokesperson Bill Johnston believes the sale process must specify the development obligations on the purchaser, to ensure the outer harbour proceeds.

“It would be in the interests of the purchaser to keep the inner harbour as a monopoly,” Mr Johnston said.

How long?
Mr Nalder’s view is that it will be 15 years before the inner harbour reaches capacity.
The port handled 703,000 twenty-foot equivalent units last year, with TEUs the industry measure for container freight.

The port’s capacity is generally seen to be about 1.3 million TEUs, a year though Mr Nalder said the stevedores – DP World and Patrick – had been telling him they could handle up to 1.8 million TEUs.
The state government is aiming to get more of this freight on to rail, with the aspirational target of 30 per cent about double the current level.

That still leaves most containers leaving the port on trucks, which is where the Perth Freight Link is meant to help.

Perth Freight Link is one of three major road projects, along with Gateway and Northlink, designed to create a freight corridor from Fremantle to north of Perth (see map).

Mr Nalder believes trucking companies using these roads will be willing to pay a freight levy, or toll, because the improved road network will deliver substantial efficiency gains.

However, the freight link has upset environmental groups, which are concerned the Roe 8 extension will damage the Beeliar wetlands.

It has also upset residents near Leach Highway, whose houses might be resumed.

That is why the government has asked the private consortia bidding to build the project to evaluate alternative routes for stage 2, including a tunnel.

Even if the government addresses all of these challenges, it still faces a major hurdle – how to manage the extra truck movements across Stirling Bridge and through North Fremantle.

Mr Nalder said last week the government had evaluated extending a tunnel under the Swan River, but concluded that was not viable.

That has led to speculation the government will need to build a new bridge across the Swan River, lifting the project’s total cost closer to $2 billion.

Labor’s transport spokesperson, Rita Saffioti, believes the problems facing Perth Freight Link reflect the genesis of the project.

“It wasn’t on the agenda at the 2013 state election,” Ms Saffioti said.

“It wasn’t a priority, it wasn’t funded.”

She said it was pulled together with the Abbott government, which was opposed to funding metro rail projects but wanted to find an alternative infrastructure development for Perth.

“Now it’s a massive priority,” Ms Saffioti said.

“It’s another example of chaotic and dysfunctional planning.”

Ms MacTiernan, who has been endeavouring to obtain documents used in the planning and evaluation of the Freight Link, suspects planning did not get underway until March 2014, just two months before the project was announced.

That is based on one of the few pieces of information thast has been released. A schedule of correspondence shows the first correspondence on Freight Link was in March 2014.

The original story can be viewed at Business News HERE

Senate will hold inquiry into Perth Freight Link debacle - Scott Ludlam Greens MP

source: scott ludlam greens mp

Senate will hold inquiry into
Perth Freight Link debacle

The Greens, ALP and all eight Senate crossbenchers have successfully moved to establish a Senate Inquiry into the Perth Freight Link, increasing the pressure on the besieged Barnett Government.
"The inquiry has been made necessary by the continued refusal of the Barnett and Abbott governments to publish basic information about the toll highway," Australian Greens Senator Scott Ludlam said today.

"Whatever your views on whether this project is a good idea or not, the public is owed an explanation as to how an open-ended funding commitment of up to $2.5 billion was made in the absence of basic information.

"I will propose to the committee that hearings are held in Perth, and that, among others, Minister Dean Nalder and Main Roads are asked to attend. It's time they provided factual evidence to back up their claims that the project is worth torching billions of dollars of taxpayers money."

Read more of this story HERE

Toll roads ‘inevitable’ in Perth, says expert - The West Australian

source: the west australian

Toll roads ‘inevitable’ in Perth, says expert

University of Leeds traffic expert Robert Bain. Picture: Michael O’Brien/The West Australian

More toll roads are inevitable for Perth — it is only a matter of when.

That is the opinion of visiting British traffic consultant Robert Bain, who said road pricing was one of the obvious solutions to funding important transport infrastructure.

Perth could learn a lot from other cities around the world who were using the latest technology to ensure road pricing was used cleverly strategically. Dr Bain said that in addition to raising funds, pricing could also be used to manipulate traffic and improve traffic flow.

For example, pricing could be restricted to peak periods to encourage motorists to use other times of the day. Perth will have its first toll road when the Perth Freight Link is completed, though the toll will apply only to big vehicles.

The Barnett Government has consistently ruled out any other form of road pricing.

Read the rest from The West Australian HERE

Victory at the AAT! - Alannah MacTiernan

source - Alannah MacTiernan

Victory at the AAT! 

The Federal Government has been ordered to waive charges it had tried to impose on attempts to gain access to information on the $1.6 billion Perth Freight Link as part of a cone of silence imposed on the project.

The Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development had demanded more than $2400 for a mere 88 documents on the grounds that the documents requested were “primarily of interest to [me] and not of a general public interest”.

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal’s Senior Member Walsh handed down a decision late yesterday, finding that given the $1 billion-plus scale of the project, “giving of access to the documents is in the general public interest, or at the very least, in the interest of a substantial section of the public”.

The Federal Government had refused to negotiate on the fee, choosing instead to spend thousands of dollars on engaging black label commercial law firm Clayton Utz to defend the case after we launched an appeal.

In the past 18 months, the Abbott and Barnett Governments have used every measure to stop the public from learning about the genesis of this discredited project.

The Perth Freight Link is likely to end up costing more than $2 billion, once the cost of a new bridge is added – all to build a road to a port that will need to be relocated in the next seven to 10 years.

We are now moving to challenge the attempts to use ‘Commonwealth-State relations’ as an excuse to block the release of any documents about the costs and benefits of this project.

Labor backed a Senate motion this week ordering the Abbott Government to table further documents on this project, which it has, unsurprisingly, refused.

We will keep on fighting to shed light on this ill-conceived and highly flawed project.

A big thanks to our pro bono legal team Tim Hammond, Simon Millman and David Scaife - an unbeatable team.

Divisions emerge within Barnett Government on Perth Freight Link

source - joe spagnolop perth now

Divisions emerge within Barnett Government
on Perth Freight Link

 

DEEP divisions are emerging within the Barnett Government over the $1.6 billion Perth Freight Link, with a senior minister now questioning the project. 

The Sunday Times has learnt Planning Minister John Day raised concerns about section two of the PFL at a Cabinet meeting three weeks ago.

Under the plan, the second phase will see a freight route built from Stock Road to Stirling Hwy in Fremantle, before being linked to Fremantle Port. Sources say Mr Day asked why the State was sinking $650 million into a freight road for Fremantle Port when a new container port at Kwinana would be needed in the near future.

read more of this story HERE

 

Perth Freight Link: Economic benefit ‘massive’, WA transport minister Dean Nalder tells business lunch

source: joe spagnolo perth now

Perth Freight Link:
Economic benefit ‘massive’, WA transport minister Dean Nalder tells business lunch

Transport Minister Dean Nalder has defended the Perth Freight Link at a business lunch in Perth. 

Source: News Corp Australia

TRANSPORT Minister Dean Nalder has used a speech at a business luncheon to defend his government’s decision to build the $1.6 billion Perth Freight Link, saying the project was warranted despite future plans to develop a new port at Kwinana. 
 
Mr Nalder, speaking at a Committee for Economic Development of Australia gathering in Perth, said it was wrong to suggest the link — which would move trucks from the industrial areas of Kewdale and Welshpool to Fremantle Port — would become a white elephant once a new port at Kwinana was built.

He said eventually, the Fremantle Port could become a high density residential-commercial area housing 20,000 people.

continue reading more of this story HERE

Tunnel under Swan River was considered as part of Perth Freight Link, Dean Nalder says

source: jade macmillan of the west australian

 Tunnel under Swan River was considered as part of
Perth Freight Link, Dean Nalder says

"this rediculous plan included the use of your tax money to prove what a child would have concluded - this option was never an option - it was a costly way for Nalder to appear to say he has explored all options before pressing forward on a half assed and unwanted road infrastructure project. If your money is being used so flagrantly, consider the entire scope of this project and its $2 Billion dollar price tag offering no useable benefit to anyone within the communities it affects."

 this commentary added by No Roe 8 Perth Freight Link Info Hub - The preceding was not part of the original article

The West Australian Government considered tunneling underneath the Swan River as part of the Perth Freight Link project, Transport Minister Dean Nalder has revealed.

However, the proposal was found to be economically unviable, he told a Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) function.

Mr Nalder requested different options be explored for the second stage of the $1.6 billion project, following angry reaction from Palmyra residents whose homes would be demolished under the original proposal.

Please continue reading the original article HERE

A great Letter shared by Rethink The Link

Thanks Tomas Fitzgerald for this letter from The West on about 23 July. It highlights issues when public infrastructure is privatised. Not sure how selling a monopoly infrastructure right was ever going increase competition. Duh!

Perth Freight Link still on track, WA Transport Minister Dean Nalder says - ABC News

source: abc news - andrew o'connor

 Perth Freight Link still on track,
WA Transport Minister Dean Nalder says

The State Government says the final route for the $1.6 billion Perth Freight Link project is still due to be announced before the end of the year.

Transport Minister Dean Nalder confirmed the government was expecting to award contracts for stage two of the link to Fremantle by December.

"We're still working towards that timetable," he said. Premier Colin Barnett last week appeared to back away from the original schedule. Mr Barnett said the government was committed to the completion of Roe 8 through the Beeliar Wetlands, but said no decision had been made about how or when the government would proceed with the second stage of the freight link from Roe Highway to the port.

continue reading Andrew O'Connor's article HERE

Past News: Feds want freight link documents kept secret - The West Australian

souce: the west australian

Feds want freight link documents kept secret

Trucks travelling east along a busy section of High Street between Stirling Highway and Carrington Street. 

Picture by Megan Powell/The West Australian

The Federal Government is refusing to release nearly 90 documents about the $1.6 billion taxpayer-funded Perth Freight Link on the grounds that to do so would compromise commercially sensitive modelling work done by by an accounting firm and could damage relations between the Commonwealth and WA. 

read the rest of this important article HERE

 

Union favours harbour over road - Community News

source: community news

Union favours harbour over road 

WHETHER the State Government goes with the $1.6b Perth Freight Link (PFL) or performs an unlikely backflip and brings forward development of an outer harbour at Cockburn Sound, the Transport Workers Union says current conditions are not helping drivers.

WA branch secretary Tim Dawson said the stop-start nature and congestion of the road network out of Fremantle and along Leach Highway was causing undue stress on truck drivers.

“All the stopping and starting, the number of cars on the road – people should sit in a truck and see the pressure on the drivers. It can be horrendous,” he said. “It’s not good for stress and fatigue and something has to be done.”

read more HERE

 

 

Cottesloe breaks chain in Perth Freight Link - Community News

source: community news

Cottesloe breaks chain in Perth Freight Link

COTTESLOE Council has voted against opposing the controversial $1.6 billion Perth Freight Link for a second time, after claims container trucks will avoid the link’s toll by going through the Town.
“I urge you to be less political, and more thoughtful for the long-term future of Cottesloe,” motion proponent Cr Sally Pyvis said at Monday’s meeting, not attended by Mayor Jo Dawkins who is on leave.

Last month, a vote on another motion opposing the PFL was tied 4-4, before Mrs Dawkins used her casting vote for the status quo.

On Monday, PFL opponent Cr Jack Walsh criticised staff advice that said Curtin University and Fremantle Council reports on the PFL, both of which used Fremantle Port Authority figures of up to 13,200 trucks in North Fremantle by 2031, were “not based on particular references and require the reader to accept the findings as fact”.

“I see a graph, used by the reports and the officers, showing trucks doubling by 2027, and therefore trucks doubling on Curtin Avenue,” Cr Walsh said.

Main Roads WA estimates up to 42 per cent of port trucks use side roads.

However, deputy mayor Peter Jeanes, a daily commuter on the PFL’s proposed route to Roe Highway, said the “worst” outcome for Cottesloe would be if the PFL and a stalled Kwinana harbour for containers were not built.

Cr Jeanes said this could result in more trucks using Cottesloe to avoid a current North Fremantle to East Fremantle traffic bottleneck.

Cr Rob Rowell said opposing the PFL would not change trucks’ use of Curtin Avenue until there was a heavy haulage alternative to the route through the Town.

Opposing the PFL failed in a 3-5 vote, before all councillors backed asking the State Government to remove Cottesloe roads from routes used by trucks with restricted loads, to cap the number of Fremantle Port containers and build the Kwinana harbour and provide PFL costs and modelling.

read the original story HERE

A NEW ROE 8 / PERTH FREIGHT LINK MAP ISSUED BY MAIN ROADS

A NEW ROE 8 / PERTH FREIGHT LINK MAP
ISSUED BY MAIN ROADS

A new map showing what can only be called a ridiculous minimization of the destructive Roe 8 Highway / Perth Freight Link - Those look like spaghetti noodles, not 6 lanes of highway!!!

See HERE for more details