The Liberal Government is committed to supporting the West Coast through the challenging economic circumstances prompted by the closure of the Mt Lyell mine.
Today the Minister for Infrastructure Rene Hidding moved a motion in Parliament to temporarily exempt for two years all works occurring within the West Coast Municipal Boundary from review by the Public Works Committee.
The Public Works Committee ordinarily is required to consider and approve any public works which will cost more than $5 million, a process which can take many months to conclude.
However, the Government is of the view that it is vital that we can speed up and bring forward projects on the West Coast.
This exemption, which will be debated by the House tomorrow, will allow work to proceed as soon as possible on the next stage of the $8 million Murchison Highway Upgrades – a 3km section from Pieman Road to Boco siding and a 3.5 km section from Boco siding to Animal Creek.
The requirement for the Public Works Committee to review these projects may have held up work from beginning this construction season. The exemption will ensure this project begins in the coming months, bringing vital jobs and activity to the West Coast.
The Murchison Highway Upgrades are in addition to the previously-announced $5.2 million road upgrades at Strahan to support the West Coast's growing aquaculture industry. It is expected that the Strahan Roads project will create 30 jobs during construction.
The Liberal Government continues to support the region through the West Coast Economic Working Group. At our latest meeting on Monday this week the Working Group further progressed several key initiatives – including seeking proposals and costings for a Mountain Bike Hub at Zeehan and a walking track to Princess Falls.
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