Government of Western Australia
Department of the Premier and Cabinet
TRANSCRIPT
DATE: Wednesday, April 27, 2011
TIME: 9.05am
PROGRAM: 720 ABC – Mornings with Geoff Hutchison
SUBJECT: Royal wedding gift donations; State Budget speculation; CCC
and the public service; job opportunities from resources
sector growth; ‘boom’ talk and international perceptions;
release of Varanus Island report; Swan Districts Hospital; rail
freight closures and road network spending; delays in public
hospitals over long weekend; James Price Point negotiations;
Ellenbrook railway plans; AFL stadium funding; Northam
detention centre and Villawood protests
This transcript is produced for information purposes only. Although all care is taken, no warranty as to its accuracy or completeness is
given. It is the reader’s responsibility to ensure by independent verification that all information is correct before placing any reliance on it.
GEOFF HUTCHISON
You’re with Geoff Hutchison, you’re also with the Premier of Western Australia, Colin
Barnett... and he’d like to hear your questions. [gives talkback number – greetings not
transcribed]
Are you caught up in royal wedding fever?
COLIN BARNETT
My wife is... Lyn..
GEOFF HUTCHISON
Is she?
COLIN BARNETT
Yes, she is watching everything... look I think it’s exciting and obviously great for Britain.
It’s a huge lift for London and like it or not everyone is watching and listening and taking
part in one way or another so I think it’s a great day for Britain and I think many people,
particularly probably women, will really enjoy this week.
GEOFF HUTCHISON
Are you proud of the gift?
Page 1 Transcript
COLIN BARNETT
Yes. Western Australia, we as a state gave $10,000... the royal couple nominated
charities. We were a little different than the other states Geoff, we gave $5000 to the
Royal Flying Doctor Service and the Australian Government and most other states did
similarly.
I think we were the only state that also gave $5000 to Save the Children Fund to be
spent in Africa, particularly in the Commonwealth countries of Malawi and Mozambique.
So I hope your listeners believe we did the right thing in that.
GEOFF HUTCHISON
You’re not boasting, but you think perhaps it was slightly more generous than the
toaster offered up by New South Wales?
COLIN BARNETT
Well... I think giving money to the Royal Flying Doctor Service, of which we’ve done, I
think is... great, it’s an Australian charity and the state... independently gives millions of
dollars, but I think this is... an event of importance to the Commonwealth, so why not be
a little more generous and give some of that money not to Australian charities but to
needy charities particularly for children in Africa.
So I hope Western Australians agree with my decision on that.
GEOFF HUTCHISON
Premier what kind of budget will your government be handing down in a couple of
weeks?
COLIN BARNETT
It will be a responsible budget, and it’s probably a cliché to say that. You will see
funding for the major projects that we’ve been working on for the last two years and you
will see a... commitment to social policy of the like that West Australia has never seen
before.
And as I’ve said before on your program Geoff, at the time of the last state election, I
said apart from our economic achievements which I think will be many, I would hope
that a government I lead will also be remembered for being caring and compassionate
for those in need and this is the budget that addresses that.
GEOFF HUTCHISON
Do you think people will look beyond the obvious headline... the obvious headline that
says, ‘utility prices rise again’ to see your social conscience with the rest of the things
you’re going to announce in the budget?
COLIN BARNETT
Page 2 Transcript
I hope so and obviously people are... worried about cost of living pressures and... I fully
understand that, but the main focus on this budget is one of social policy rather than
economic policy. The economics are still there, it’s continuing on from previous
announcements, but the big shift is helping those most at need in Western Australia.
GEOFF HUTCHISON
You’ve got a pretty ambitious development agenda. We’re hearing a lot about rising
costs on... major projects, can you tell us again why you are not troubled by WA’s debt
burden... hitting nearly $20million [sic] in 2013-2014?
COLIN BARNETT
Well I live in the here and now, not in the distant future of forward estimates. Western
Australia’s debt level is about $13billion... that’s about what it was in the early 1990s, so
20 years ago. Now it could rise and it probably will rise over coming years, that’s why
we’ve set a target of keeping debt around about $20billion. That is well within the
capacity of the West Australian Government to fund.
GEOFF HUTCHISON
And you can promise that will not hamper your ability to deliver... projects on time as
promised?
COLIN BARNETT
Well big projects tend to slip a bit in time and we’re seeing that with some of them now.
It seems inevitably something will happen that delays them. So... we... we’re just... we’ll
try and dovetail all the major projects, but we will continue with the ones that we’ve
announced and ones we’re committed to. And indeed, you know, some of them are
underway the Ord River expansion is about 40 per cent built... virtually doubling the size
of the irrigation area in the Kimberley... work is literally about to begin on the sinking of
the railway project and straight after CHOGM, as I’ve said before, work will start on the
waterfront and... Geoff, the important one, is that the children’s hospital will start... by
this time next year and Fiona Stanley, which was built under this Government, is now
about 40 per cent built.
So, you know, the big ones and the most important ones are happening.
GEOFF HUTCHISON
When you say slippage, specifically where might that slippage be – what projects?
COLIN BARNETT
Well often...
GEOFF HUTCHISON
...Because we should be alerted if it’s going to happen.
COLIN BARNETT
Page 3 Transcript
...Well not slippage of any great consequence, but even if you take the sinking of the rail
line. I thought we probably would have been into construction, you know, three or
months earlier than is going to be the case and that’s just design and technical issues
and the like. That tends to happen... even the Ord River, because of the exceptional...
wet year we’ve had over this summer means that construction in the... it can’t start as
early as it normally would have. So that will push it into a third year of construction,
rather than a two year construction period.
GEOFF HUTCHISON
[gives talkback number] ..will be our first caller. [greetings not transcribed]
[CALLER]
Premier, there was a report a week or two ago... highlighting misappropriation and theft
in the public service. It was a federal report and the figures were enormous, 3-400
million dollars I seem to think.
We’ve got our problems over here... goodness sake and we’ve... got them in the courts
now and yet you like many politicians seem intent on switching the focus from the CCC
away from its overview of corruption in the public service. Can you tell us why you
would do that?
COLIN BARNETT
Yes (Caller), look... I see it a little differently than you do. What I said is that the
resources of the CCC, which are very extensive including incredible investigative
powers, will be focussed on what I think most people consider the most urgent need
and that is organised crime in this state which is far more prevalent than any of us
would hope.
With respect to public service matters, I think its... it has been of concern to me that the
CCC, which is very heavy handed in some respects, has often been investigating fairly
minor breaches within the public service. If there is serious theft, serious corruption, the
CCC will still investigate that in the public service, but relatively minor breaches will now
be dealt with by the Public Sector Commissioner and I think that’s an appropriate
balance and we’ve seen situations where public servants have been named, drawn
before the CCC and it’s probably been very heavy handed for them maybe not doing
things by the book perhaps unintentionally making mistakes. So I just want to bring that
back into balance, but serious issues within the public service, I assure you John, will
still come under the CCC.
GEOFF HUTCHISON
(Caller) thank you for your call. On the day that Deloittes referred to the prospects of a...
a boom in the North-West as an Aladdin’s Cave of resource development, John’s got a
question on... sorry, Glen’s got a question on that subject. [greetings not transcribed]
[CALLER]
Page 4 Transcript
Yeah... just the... all the work up north and Kwinana... there’s... we always read in the
media and hear about in the media... I don’t see it happening, I mean even a couple of
years ago I saw Aborigines put off that were in a program... working program and yet
we seem to have millions of 457s coming in... and yet we don’t seem to have enough
work in Kwinana strip... or up north to... keep... our own Australians in employment... I...
I’m just wondering... you know, how’s that work?
COLIN BARNETT
Well (Caller), a lot of work is building up and many of the projects that are being talked
about haven’t even gone into construction yet, so I think that we need cognant...
cognisant of the time it takes to get projects underway.
With respect to Kwinana and there is underutilisation of the capacity of the steel
fabricators and other industries down there. I opened a new fabricating business last
week, Civmec, I went there in January they had about three per cent capacity being
utilised I think they’re up to 40 or 50 per cent now. So... and they’re very confident about
the way they see the future, so I think as... this year goes on and more projects go into
construction I think you will see that work pick up, but I do agree with you there is still
unemployment in that Kwinana area, part of the reason and I’m not critical here but
many of the workers there who have probably, you know, beyond the stage of their
career where they want to go up and work on a mine site. So we’re trying to get more of
the work done in Kwinana not overseas or necessarily at the mine site itself.
GEOFF HUTCHISON
Can you restate for us, Premier how you’re going to deal with the kind of labour
shortages that we’re speaking of and every couple of weeks another organisation
comes out with another statistic. We need 33,000 by next year, we need hundreds of
thousands... a decade from now.
COLIN BARNETT
Yeah, and I wish they’d stop doing that...
GEOFF HUTCHISON
...Why?
COLIN BARNETT
...and get a bit of a touch of reality, because we’ve just heard from (Caller) who
obviously knows a bit about the working situation in Kwinana saying people are
unemployed, and he’s right – they are. The unemployment rates I think, 13/15 per cent
in Kwinana. Now we do have some big projects coming on and we do need to manage
the workforce. But every time an organisation comes out and says we can’t do this
because we haven’t got the workers, what do you think the overseas investors do?
They say, well we’ll build it out of Australia and ship it in and that’s what’s happening...
that’s what’s happening...
GEOFF HUTCHISON
Page 5 Transcript
Now... now... the people who are doing some of the talking are the Chamber of
Commerce and Industry...
COLIN BARNETT
...Yeah... and... and they...
GEOFF HUTCHISON
... Your former organisation...
COLIN BARNETT
Yeah and they need to take a reality check and stop talking about booms and hundreds
of thousands of workers short.
Now we are going to see strong economic growth and strong employment growth in this
state. What we need to be doing is - yes, we do need to bring in specialist workers
under 457, we do need to, as we are, increase the training of our local people and we
need to encourage, particularly younger skilled Australians to move across the country
to where the work is. And if the Commonwealth Government wanted to play a really
constructive role in this that’s what they should be supporting.
If they were to give, for example, a $10,000 grant to people to relocate to where the jobs
are in Western Australia and northern Queensland, that would do more for the national
interest than probably anything else.
GEOFF HUTCHISON
Well why should they do that and not you? And indeed, should Government be
throwing money at people to go and live somewhere else?
COLIN BARNETT
Well they shouldn’t, but one of the problems of the Australian workforce is it hasn’t been
a mobile workforce unlike the Americans and even the Europeans. I’m just saying if
they want to really make a difference that would happen. Why should they do it,
because they’re going to find rising unemployment on the east coast of Australia and,
you know, we are fortunate in this state, we’re going to, yes, probably have labour
shortages, on the other parts of Australia I think there’s going to be significant
unemployment in the next two or three years.
GEOFF HUTCHISON
If you don’t mind me making this observation, you seem quite irritated, not irritated, but
you’ve continually talked down notions of a boom, you have been laughed at too for...
for refusing to accept the reality of this. And, you know, I quoted Deloittes talking about
the Aladdin’s Cave and all these other organisations saying this is coming. John
Nicolaou said, well actually boom mark 2 is already here.
Can you... I think you started there, but can you better explain what the consequences
of talking this thing up is? Do you genuinely think people... investors are saying, we
Page 6 Transcript
really will take our business elsewhere ‘cause you haven’t got the people to do the
work?
COLIN BARNETT
Well we know that’s happening, that’s happening now.
GEOFF HUTCHISON
Where’s that... give us some examples of that?
COLIN BARNETT
Oh, I think, you know, the CITIC Pacific project which is... and I think the unions were
saying footpaths were being built in China and brought in. I’m having a continual
discussion, I guess, with the major resource projects, particularly the LNG projects,
about increasing the Australian content. The easy thing for them to do is to simply build
it in Singapore or the Philippines or Korea and ship it in, that’s the easy thing to do. And
the... and the constructors in those countries are good. They weren’t good a few years
ago but they’ve got high standards now, they can deliver, so that’s the competition we
face.
So, you know, that’s what I’m... working on trying to do. What are the consequences of
boom talk, speculation in the property market for a start, watch that take off, and you
know we had that back in around 2006 when prices of real estate in Perth went through
the roof, there was a land shortage, and there are thousands of people probably
listening to this show this morning, Geoff, who are paying far too much... a far too bigger
mortgage because of that speculation and rising property prices. I’m trying to keep hold
of that, I don’t want to see that get away and I don’t want to see wages growth get away
too, because that will simply cost jobs in the longer term.
Now people on these projects get well paid and they’ll probably get better paid in years
to come, but if we start to get periods were we get wage rates going up 30-40 per cent a
year, as has happened in this state, that’s when we... if there is a golden egg that’s
when we kill it.
GEOFF HUTCHISON
Could you, a year now or 18 months from now, if you’re not right on this, could you be
seen to be naive for pretending that this wasn’t coming, that... that... that these
shortages aren’t arriving?
COLIN BARNETT
Oh look I am very conscious of the pressures that we’re going to face in the... in the... in
the labour market and that’s why we’re trying to work on a number of fronts. But Geoff,
you know... I’m not having a go at you, but, you know, to say I wasn’t aware or naive, I
mean what else have I done since I’ve been Premier than get major investment
underway in this state...
GEOFF HUTCHISON
Page 7 Transcript
No...
COLIN BARNETT
...that has been my major focus. So I think I know probably better than most people
where these projects are at and the issues that they face.
GEOFF HUTCHISON
That... that’s not actually the point I was making, I was saying... and not me, I’m saying
that 12 or 18 months from now, if we see all the problems that were associated with
prev... the previous boom people will say, ‘well, Colin, you know, we told you it was
coming, why didn’t you do something about it?’
COLIN BARNETT
Well... well, I think, you know, we are doing a lot in the... there are more people in
training now than there has ever been in the State’s history. And if you look at the
property market, John Day, Troy Buswell in Housing, are bringing on more land, more
opportunity for housing. The issue is that some of the land developers aren’t
developing the land that has been zoned and approved for development, but at least it’s
there and it can be brought on quickly.
In 2006 when the prices went through the roof there was no reaction in the market, no
land came on, land and house prices soared about a hundred thousand dollars a house
and people now have got that on their mortgage. That’s the legacy they were left of
the... the previous boom if you like.
GEOFF HUTCHISON
‘Morning, (Caller).
[CALLER]
I’d like to ask two quick questions about the Varanus Island explosion, going back a
year or two ago. Firstly, Premier, why hasn’t the report into that been released to the
public?
COLIN BARNETT
Ah... the report, I think I’m right in this, the operators of Varanus Island have objected to
the release of the report. Obviously from their point of view they face potential legal
cases over people seeking probably industry seeking compensation for loss of gas
supply, so they’ve held it up.
From the State Government point of view, we are wishing to release that report and
Norman Moore, the Minister, has been very keen to release it for some time.
[CALLER]
Page 8 Transcript
Okay. Secondly and quickly, it took about two weeks for the boss of the Apache to front
the media and, you know, talk to them about... following the explosion and one of the
first things he said was, you can’t expect us... I mean this whole thing happened due to
a lack of maintenance obviously... and someone said... he said, well you can’t expect us
to keep a one million dollar valve sitting on the shelf in case we need it, and I was
staggered that the press and everybody else let him get away with that. I mean that’s
absolute rubbish.
He should absolutely have to, they should have to keep things like that on the shelf
because look at all the money they’re making from it and secondly I know from
experience that things like that, no suppliers going to have it on the shelf; something like
that’s going to be a six, eight, ten, twelve week delivery time from overseas more often
than not, so they should be forced to keep those sorts of critical spares up there.
COLIN BARNETT
Yeah. Look I think what... Varanus showed us... how dependant we are on two projects
at the moment, the North West Shelf and the Apache project on Varanus Island for our
natural gas, and of course it all comes down a single long gas pipeline.
With Gorgon, with BHP’s Macedon Project, there will be other gas producers coming on
the market; there’s also proposals currently being considered by Government for a gas
storage facility to the north of Perth so hopefully that will take away the... you know, the
economic damage that was caused by the Varanus incident.
I mean... it’s a reminder, and I don’t excuse anything, but it is a reminder of how
vulnerable we can be.
GEOFF HUTCHISON
Thank you for your call. This is (Caller)...[greetings not transcribed]
[CALLER]
I’ve just got one question, Mr Barnett, when are you going to do something about Swan
Districts Hospital? It’s falling down around our ears, we’ve been promised it, the big
signs go up, nothing. You can build stadiums, you can build foreshores, there’s a large
population in the Hills that have to... rely on public transport if necessary to get to Swan
Districts or further afield... Charlie Gairdners. We do not have sufficient medical cover
in the Hills.
COLIN BARNETT
(Caller), I agree with you and I went to Swan Districts Hospital a couple of years ago
and it is old and it is run down. Good staff, they work hard, but the facilities aren’t up to
it. I wish Kim Hames was here ‘cause he could give you the exact date, but the State
Government, along with the Commonwealth, is building a new Swan Districts Hospital
on the site of the old railway yards so it’s more centrally located and construction I think
gets underway in about 12 months time, I’m not sure of that so perhaps we can get that
to Geoff a bit later in the morning. But that’s about a... three or four hundred million
dollar... I think a four hundred million dollar hospital project. It will be state-of-the-art and
it will overcome the neglect that has gone on in the eastern suburbs for years. And I’ll
Page 9 Transcript
also say, we’re also trying to work on getting some tertiary education options into the
eastern suburbs.
That area has been neglected by previous governments; this Government’s going to try
and do something about it.
[CALLER]
Well I really hope it will happen.
COLIN BARNETT
No look, (Caller), can I just reassure you it is happening; contracts are going out to
tender. There is no doubt it is happening, but I can’t give you the exact date as to when
construction starts and when it opens, but I will get that information to Geoff, maybe
even before the end of the show, but I can confirm it is definitely happening.
GEOFF HUTCHISON
(Caller), thanks for your call. This is from a text for the Premier. ‘We cannot believe
that after all the road stats that were read out this morning... I think this is the
Conservation Foundation saying that for every one dollar spent on public transport,
three dollars is spent on public roads in Western Australia... how can you even be
contemplating closing rail lines in the Wheatbelt and putting heavy haulage on the
inadequate road network?’
COLIN BARNETT
...Look some rail lines are closing on the Wheatbelt and these are smaller ones that
many of the farmers actually don’t want to keep and CBH don’t want to keep. But as a
State Government we’re also putting $170 million into upgrading the ones that are being
used that carry the bulk of the grain. So, you know, one of the dilemmas out there is
that it is a free society, many farmers now have bought large trucks and they choose to
cart wheat down to port and take fertiliser back and that is putting pressure on our
roads.
GEOFF HUTCHISON
(Caller)...[greetings not transcribed]
[CALLER]
A couple of weeks ago your Minister for Police, Mr Robert Johnson, announced that all
money that was generated from... I think it was the Fines Enforcement Agency, would
be spent 100 per cent on road safety, is that correct?
COLIN BARNETT
...Yes, speeding fines and... red light fines, yep, a 100 per cent would go into road
safety.
[CALLER]
Page 10 Transcript
Maybe it’s going to be pre-announced in the... in the upcoming budget, but what
programs has the Government got in mind in regards to spending that money on road
safety?
COLIN BARNETT
...Well a whole range of things. Some of it is public awareness, you know... safety
campaigns and the like, but a lot of it is physical improvements to roads, you know,
putting barriers on roads on dangerous corners, fixing up dangerous intersections,
installing traffic lights... rumble strips on the side of roads particularly in country areas.
So it... at the moment one-third of the fine collections goes into the Road Trauma Trust
Fund, that works out at about $13 million a year, that will be doubled as of the 1st of July
this year, and then by the 1st of July next year, 2012, all of it, 100 per cent, will be going
in. At that stage it... could be well over $50 million a year going into it.
GEOFF HUTCHISON
(Caller)...[greetings not transcribed]
[CALLER]
My son was admitted to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital by an ambulance on Sunday
morning, he’d severed an artery in his arm... albeit that he is in a ward, he has been
waiting and obviously fasting for... to go to theatre, he still hasn’t seen a plastic surgeon,
they just keep saying, you know, he’s on the operating list to have plastic surgery. I’m
just quite [inaudible] you know, at this situation. I mean, they had to [inaudible] stopping
the bleeding and that but they’ve got to actually... got to go in... and I was told that the
plastic surgeon was working between Royal Perth... Princess Margaret and Sir Charles
Gairdner Hospital and that he [inaudible] they could only fit their hours in... in... in public
holidays.
COLIN BARNETT
... Well look, (Caller), obviously your son, you know, from his injury, however he severed
artery so the important thing was the emergency treatment of that and surgery if that’s
presumably what’s required, if he subsequently requires plastic surgery that will come,
but that... not in the nature of probably the emergency treatment.
So I think you... just have to, if I can say so, be patient there. Plastic surgeons are in
heavy demand, there’s a lot of requirement for their services and in the public health
system you do have to wait a little bit but it will come. And I know sometimes people
can get frustrated but, you know, basically the free service that is provided through our
public health system is second to none in the world and we need to be thankful for that
in Australia.
GEOFF HUTCHISON
James Price Point, the development there, traditional owners in the Kimberley have
accused Woodside of not negotiating in good faith. Are you concerned things are
Page 11 Transcript
getting tense and are you going to push ahead with the compulsory acquisition of that
land?
COLIN BARNETT
Well we had a meeting... I had a meeting with the Aboriginal leaders in my office a
couple of weeks ago and I thought pretty well everything was finalised and, you know,
we shook hands and smiled and took photos and it was a good feeling. Now there’s
been another little sort of hiccup because there’s two processes running together, one is
the negotiation by agreement, by consent, the other one is a formal process through the
Native Title Tribunal and they run concurrently.
The Native Title Tribunal process requires a document to be lodged at certain stages,
and that happened last week and that upset some of the Aboriginal people.
GEOFF HUTCHISON
So was that a lodging of the compulsory acquisition?
COLIN BARNETT
Yeah it was and... we... at the same time we made it clear to the Native Title Tribunal
we did not want them to act on that until the meetings have been held in the Kimberley
of which they are being held over the next couple of weeks.
Had we not lodged that document we would have gone back to square one again, so I
wasn’t going to allow that to happen.
GEOFF HUTCHISON
Okay. So does that... do we interpret that as saying the traditional owners looked at
that as a... as a sign of bad faith on your... your behalf, that you were still going to hang
this over their head, are you saying that the message to them was different than that?
COLIN BARNETT
... Well I can see how they could... would interpret it that way and... that’s probably my
fault I guess, that... happened, but we still want to achieve consent. But I made it very
clear that the legal process under the Native Title Act is also being followed.
So consent would be better for a number of reasons because it would be an act of self
determination by Aboriginal people, something that I think they will feel very proud of. If
it ends up by compulsory acquisition then there is nothing unusual with that and our
land is acquired compulsory right across the state from all sorts of landowners.
GEOFF HUTCHISON
Sure but you also know why that’s enormously unpopular in many circles as well.
COLIN BARNETT
Oh yes, I do understand that, yeah, I do, and I’ve always want... I’ve spent the time...
bear in mind, back in April 2009, two years ago, we signed on the beach at James Price
Page 12 Transcript
Point an agreement with the Aboriginal people which was to be finalised within six
months of that date. Now we’re two years on so I’ve been... I have been patient.
Geoff, can I just... to (Caller), I think, who rang in, the new Midland Hospital will cost
$360 million; work will start in 2012 and it will be completed by 2015... and it will have
307 beds, so that is committed, that is underway in terms of, you know, tenders going
out and the like.
GEOFF HUTCHISON
(Callers)... [greetings not transcribed]
[CALLER]
I’ve actually got a couple of questions, but my... I’m only going to ask one. First what I’d
like to know is, we’ve got a ring line to Alb... sorry from Armadale to Joondalup, going
through Midland, how... how... how’s the progress going on something along those lines
to also include Ellenbrook? Sorry, my question is...
COLIN BARNETT
You’re talking about rail?
[CALLER]
Yes, for a railway line. There’s a railway line cruising up through... up Great Northern
Highway, going past that... you see a lot of freight trains here... trains [inaudible]
There’s talk about having a line going to Ellenbrook, on my Facebook a fair bit and
there’s a few groups that are requesting, you know, there’s a lot of people saying well
we need a ring line from Armadale through to Joondalup that incorporates the Midland
area and Ellenbrook. Is there any plans at all to actually get this underway?
I’d be... in fact, a stadium to me is not necessary... I don’t do sports, but that’s
something [inaudible] public transport... you know... [inaudible] carbon taxes and all
that... what’s the plans? Is there any ideas as to what’s going on there?
COLIN BARNETT
Yeah look... I... in the long term, I’m talking very long term, there’s likely to be a ring rail
system around Perth, I mean, that’s part of the sort of very long term planning for the
city. With respect to Ellenbrook, the population at present... would not justify a rail line.
This State Government has increased the bus services to Ellenbrook and I’m told... I
was told the other day by people, that while that’s good and it’s appreciated, the buses
are hardly full. Now I might be wrong in that, eventually and I don’t know when, I’d
imagine there will be some sort of public transport investment into Ellenbrook as it
grows, because that north-eastern corridor is a growth corridor of Perth, and ultimately
that will become a rail line. But that’s something that I said if this Government is re-
elected we will look at in our second term, if we get a second term.
GEOFF HUTCHISON
Page 13 Transcript
Premier, you said you’d like the AFL to cough up... now about $50 million for the new
stadium.
COLIN BARNETT
I thought it was a fair number.
GEOFF HUTCHISON
Started low, got bigger... If it doesn’t happen does it cast any doubt on the project in any
way, shape or form? Similarly are you so reliant on federal funds for it to be delivered?
COLIN BARNETT
An AFL contribution is not a deal breaker, but it may affect the way in which we
negotiate with the AFL for the use of the stadium. So... what I’m saying is, one way or
another, they’re going to chip in...
Now with respect to the Commonwealth funding; the Commonwealth has contributed to
major stadium upgrades or new stadiums around Australia... obviously for the Sydney
Olympics, also for the... Adelaide Oval redevelopment and also for the MCG and I think
some of the Queensland stadiums. So I would expect the Commonwealth would make a
contribution...
GEOFF HUTCHISON
...Have you made a formal request for a... Federal Government contribution?
COLIN BARNETT
Yes, Terry Waldron’s had a discussion with the Federal Minister for Sport... so they’re
very much aware of that and we will as we finalise decisions we will formally approach
them... they’ll formally approach the Prime Minister.
But... they’re very much aware of this project... it’s the biggest sporting issue probably in
Western Australia... so... the Commonwealth was going to contribute $250million had
Australia won the World Cup soccer, we didn’t get that... so discounted I think
$150million would be okay.
GEOFF HUTCHISON
Last question... getting any more or less anxious about the detention facility for Northam
in the wake of recent events and ongoing issues at both Christmas Island and Curtin?
COLIN BARNETT
Yes I am, and I am trying not to be alarmist, because these issues do cause all sorts of
tensions and emotions run high.
GEOFF HUTCHISON
So what’s worrying you about it?
Page 14 Transcript
COLIN BARNETT
What’s worrying me about it is security, simple as that. And what’s worrying me right
now is the lack of engagement by the Commonwealth Government with the West
Australian Government, and yet as we saw in Curtin, it is the West Australian Police that
have to go in and try and stabilise the situation and why the Commonwealth
Government is allowing people in... what’s the name in New South Wales?
GEOFF HUTCHISON
Villawood.
COLIN BARNETT
Villawood, why they are allowing people still to be on the roofs is beyond me. That is
just failure to enforce some standards in that centre...
GEOFF HUTCHISON
What would you do?
COLIN BARNETT
Take them off the roof, simple as that.
GEOFF HUTCHISON
Who would do it?
COLIN BARNETT
You’d send the police up to get them off the roof.
GEOFF HUTCHISON
Thanks for talking to us this morning.
Ends...
Page 15 Transcript