Roe 8: Premier defends job loss claims despite mixed messages from senior ministers
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WA Premier Colin Barnett has defended his Government's claims of massive job losses from Labor's plan to cancel the Roe Highway extension across the Beeliar Wetlands, arguing the project is "desperately needed".
The Premier has returned from leave after a week where senior cabinet ministers faced tough questions over the Barnett Government's claim that 3,360 jobs would be lost if Labor cancelled the Roe 8 extension.
Labor has attacked the claim as false, arguing the Government's own media release announcing contracts for the project only specified 500 jobs for Roe 8.
But Mr Barnett insisted the figure was accurate.
"There are direct jobs on the project and there is a multiple of indirect jobs related to the project so it is a big employer," he said.
But the Premier's comments contrast sharply with statements made by Transport Minister Bill Marmion, when he was quizzed on the issue yesterday.
Mr Marmion explained the 3,360 jobs were not all directly employed on Roe 8 , but people who, at some point, were doing work associated with the project, no matter how minor the work would be.
"Let's be clear about the semantics. There are 500 people working physically on the job. Right? And there'll be other people associated [who] will be getting work," he said.
"A component of their income for the year will be derived, whatever the percentage is, small, large, medium, whatever, on getting services they provide to various people working on the job, so subcontractors et cetera."
Mr Marmion faced questions on the jobs issue after a series of contradictory statements from senior cabinet colleagues Deputy Premier Liza Harvey and Treasurer Mike Nahan.
As Acting Premier while Mr Barnett was on leave, Mrs Harvey launched a scathing attack on Labor's decision to axe Roe 8 and scrap the Perth Freight Link if elected.
"Mark McGowan has basically just said he will throw away $1.2 billion in Federal Government investment," she said.
"On March 12 if Labor get in, every single person working on Roe 8 at present will be sacked. 3,360 jobs will be lost."
Project not about jobs, Premier says
Labor immediately accused the Government of massively overstating the job losses.
"What I thought was so, so disgusting yesterday, was the Deputy Premier coming out, talking about 3,300 jobs, when that figure was not part of the Government's press release," Labor transport spokeswoman Rita Saffioti said.
It was then left to Dr Nahan to defend the jobs figure, which he said related not just to Roe 8, but to the entire $1.9 billion Perth Freight Link project.
He confirmed the additional 2,860 jobs would be generated by the second stage from Stock Road to Fremantle Port.
He was asked to explain how the second stage could require a workforce almost six times larger than that needed to build Roe 8.
"Just give us time to make a decision on the second stage," he said.
"Roe 8 is about 500 direct [jobs]. And then Roe 9, which will probably be a tunnel and will go down to Stirling Bridge, is much more labour-intensive."
But a day later, the Acting Premier was sticking to her guns.
"This is for Roe 8," she said.
"We actually know about the Roe 8 project. This is for the Roe 8 project. The project that the Government has under contract, taking Roe 8 to the Stock Road interchange."
A week later they were both contradicted by the person with direct knowledge of the project, Mr Marmion, who offered this detailed explanation:
"There are a lot of small businesses, small consultants, environmental consultants et cetera, that hang off [the project]," he said.
"They've got these figures, because they've collected these figures on the Gateway project, and they know from using that as empirical data, how many likely the multiplier would be - that involves somebody who might only have a one day or a sub-contract, two day or three day.
"If you add them all up at the end of the project there's 3,360 people that would be on, but on the actual, working on the project, it's 500."
Mr Barnett said the issue of jobs was secondary to the important impact Roe 8 would have on congestion and road safety in the southern suburbs.
"Look, we are not building this project because of its jobs," he said.
"Yes, job losses is something we don't need in this state at all while there is relatively high unemployment. We are building this project because it is desperately needed."
Topics: road-transport, government-and-politics, beeliar-6164
