Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to talk about an issue that I have discussed in this chamber many times before—the Reid Highway-Mirrabooka Avenue intersection. This intersection has been a black spot in my electorate for many years. It has been the subject of much sound and fury in my electorate, as successive politicians who have represented the area have promised to do something about this terrible black spot. My predecessor, Jann McFarlane, promised in the election campaign of 2004 to address this black spot. Indeed, I have here the document that promised it. It says:

Federal MP for Stirling Jann McFarlane has secured a commitment for $6 million from the Latham Labor Government to fix WA’s worst black spot—the Reid Highway/Mirrabooka Avenue intersection.

It also says:

A Federal Labor Government will work in partnership with the WA Government to deliver this project and the two levels of government will contribute equally.

I have taken up this issue since I was elected in 2004. Funnily enough, the sound and fury from the former member has been joined by the local state Labor members, who constantly talk about the issue but have never delivered one dollar of funding to address it.

Another newsletter has recently gone out in my electorate from Senator Chris Evans and Senator Webber. It has a picture of Labor’s federal finance spokesman, Lindsay Tanner, who visited this black spot at the Reid Highway-Mirrabooka Avenue intersection. It says that local residents have been campaigning for action to improve safety at this intersection. It reminds the people of Stirling that at the 2004 federal election the federal Labor government committed to work with the state Labor government to build an overpass and save lives. It says that the shadow minister was very concerned and said that this issue was very important to Labor and they would keep working to improve road safety in the Stirling community. Yet, lo and behold, even though federal and state Labor Party members have talked about this issue for years, not one dollar has been allocated by the state Labor government to construct this road.

Steve Gibbons (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

How much has the federal government allocated?

Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very glad you asked that question. I am very happy to report to you that, in this year’s budget, $10 million has been allocated by the Howard government for the construction of an overpass. Now $10 million will not build the overpass at the Reid Highway-Mirrabooka Avenue intersection. We need the state Labor government to fulfil the commitment that they have consistently given to my electors to build an overpass. They have always said that we cannot build it unless the Commonwealth government is prepared to allocate some money. I think that is purely an excuse for their inaction. Unfortunately, that is what we are now seeing—the Commonwealth government has allocated $10 million and the state Labor government has come forward and argued about the process.

The Reid Highway is 100 per cent the state Labor government’s responsibility, yet it has failed to do anything about it. In desperation, I have spent time lobbying my colleagues in the government to come to the party and allocate some money towards this overpass. That is what we have done. Now I get feedback that the state Labor government is not going to take up this offer. It has until the middle of June to take up the offer, because the money needs to be expended by the end of this financial year. The residents of my electorate are about to find out how seriously the state Labor government takes their safety. An overpass should have been built many years ago. This overpass will serve areas of my electorate that have traditionally voted heavily towards the Labor Party. Because these are what would be considered to be safe Labor areas, the state government believes that it does not need to take their needs seriously and that these people will just continue to vote it in.

Over the next few weeks, I will be running a campaign to get the state Labor government to fulfil their responsibilities to my constituents and to fulfil the promise they have consistently made. I do not want to talk about statistics. The Labor state government would say, ‘More people were killed and injured at another Perth intersection, so we are not going to build this overpass.’ I want them to listen to my community. I have been running an online poll asking people to support me and to encourage the state Labor government to fulfil their commitment, and I have had hundreds of responses. I ask that the state Labor government fulfil the commitment that they have consistently given. (Time expired)

Question agreed to.