Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thoroughly enjoyed showcasing all that the Pilbara has to offer in business, tourism and culture, when I recently welcomed a visit of around 80 of the most senior members of the foreign diplomatic corps and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Julie Bishop to my electorate of Durack. This was a key opportunity to highlight three important resource projects in the region which are significant contributors to Australia's economy: BHP Billiton in Newman, Woodside in Karratha, and Rio Tinto in Dampier.

The Pilbara is undoubtedly the engine room of the nation's economy, with the Shire of Roebourne alone producing the sixth largest economic output of all Australian municipalities. The sense of optimism in this region is incomparable, which was also highlighted on my recent trip to the region, where I was joined by Senator Alan Eggleston and—I say this very proudly—the newly elected Western Australian Senator Linda Reynolds.

However, the Pilbara has been playing catch-up in terms of road and port infrastructure, land availability, community development and the availability of goods and services, due to the economic imbalance caused by the dominance of the resources sector. We need to work with industry and the community now to ensure history is not repeated, and the region's future prosperity and sustainability is not compromised through the inaction of underinvesting in these vital services.

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