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

The Pilbara and Karratha region specifically is undoubtedly the engine room of the nation's economy with the Shire of Roebourne producing the sixth largest economic output of all Australian municipalities and a gross regional product of almost $19 billion in 2012. The sense of optimism in this region is incomparable, and was once again highlighted on my recent trip to the region on 14 March when I met with shire CEO, Chris Adams, and shire president, Peter Long, and other community leaders.

As many members would know, the structure of the Pilbara's economy is unbalanced due to the dominance of the resources sector with the mining sector in the Pilbara contributing annually some 75 per cent, which was the total output in 2010-11. No-one would criticise this growth and the economic prosperity it has brought to Karratha and the wider Pilbara region and, dare I say it, Australia over the past decade. However, you would be hard pressed to find someone who would disagree with the notion that all levels of government were, as you would say, 'caught with their pants down' when the boom hit.

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. The region's move from a construction boom to a sustainable production area has allowed it to gain its footing in many of these areas but it still requires significant investment in both economic and social infrastructure to prepare for what is likely to be another growth phase.