$2.3 billion jobs and infrastructure boost for Western Australia

The Turnbull and McGowan Governments have reached agreement on a substantial $2.3 billion road and rail infrastructure package for Western Australia which will be included in the federal Budget on Tuesday.

The significant agreement will provide a major boost to WA’s local economy, with 6,000 jobs expected to be created as a result of the 17 new projects.

The package includes a $1.6 billion investment from the federal government and $745 million from the state government.

The total $2.3 billion State-Federal package includes:

$1.86 billion reallocated from the Perth Freight Link project (including $1.2 billion in federal funding);
$211 million from savings on existing road projects; (including $166 million in federal funding)
$226 million from the latest federal government GST top-up payment for Western Australia

The WA Infrastructure Package includes the following road projects:

Armadale Road/North Lake Road (Kwinana Freeway) – Constructing bridge and collector roads (Project Costs: $237 million)
Leach Highway (Carrington Street to Stirling Highway) – Upgrade to High Street (Project Costs: $118 million)
Fiona Stanley Hospital & Murdoch Activity Centre Access from Kwinana Fwy & Roe Hwy – (Project Costs: $100 million)
Roe Highway (Kalamunda Road) – Constructing Grade Separated Intersection (Project Costs: $86 million)
Reid Highway (Altone Road to West Swan Road ) – Constructing Dual Carriageway (Project Costs: $70 million)
Wanneroo Road (Ocean Reef Road) – Constructing Grade Separated Intersection (Project Costs: $65 million)
Wanneroo Road (Joondalup Drive) – Constructing Grade Separated Intersection (Project Costs: $50 million)
Kwinana Freeway (Russell Road to Roe Highway) – Widening of Northbound Lanes (Project Costs: $49 million)
Kwinana Freeway (Roe Highway to Narrows Bridge) – Implementing Smart Freeways (Project Costs: $47 million)
Mitchell Freeway (Cedric Street to Vincent St) – Widening of Southbound Lanes (Project Costs: $40 million)
Kwinana Freeway (Manning Road) – Constructing Freeway On-Ramp (Project Costs: $35 million)
Outback Highway Seal Priority Sections (Project Costs: $33 million)
Wanneroo Road (Joondalup Drive to Flynn Drive) – Constructing Dual Carriageway (Project Costs: $31 million)
Karel Avenue (Farrington Road to Berrigan Drive) – Upgrades (Project Costs: $15 million)
Bunbury Outer Ring Road – Planning Work (Project Costs: $12.5 million)
Woolworths Drive/Hale Road Intersection Upgrade (Project Costs: $600,000)
METRONET – Denny Avenue and Davis Road (Armadale Rail Line) Level Crossing Removal (Project costs: $62 million)

In addition, a combined $1.2 billion will be allocated towards the State Government’s METRONET project, including, subject to positive business cases $700 million from the federal government towards future METRONET projects like the Thornlie and Yanchep line extensions and a further $86 million towards other METRONET related projects.

As part of the overall package, the Australian Government will also provide $44.2 million towards regional road projects to improve regional road safety across Western Australia.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said that both governments had worked together to deliver the best possible outcome for Western Australia and will continue to do so.

“We recognise the priorities of the new WA State Government and will work with them to deliver high quality outcomes for Western Australia,” Mr Turnbull said.

“In particular, the State Government’s METRONET initiative fits in well with my Government’s Smart Cities agenda, and we will continue to work with the Premier and his team to help make it happen,” he said.

Premier Mark McGowan said the substantial package will help ease congestion, improve road safety and generally improve connectivity across Perth and Western Australia.

“This package will deliver a significant jobs boost across Western Australia.” Mr McGowan said.

“We’re getting on with the job and delivering on our promises to the people of Western Australia, delivering new job creating and congestion busting projects.”

There will also be other opportunities for Western Australia to access federal funding towards vital productivity enhancing and congestion busting infrastructure.

John Stoa’s latest exhibition

I was delighted to be invited to the Lady in Red art exhibition at John Stoa’s studio (17a Menzieshill Road in the West End) and Janet and I popped in yesterday.

There are superb paintings on the “Lady in Red” theme as well as John’s Scottish landscape paintings as well as some still life studies.

The exhibition finishes today but is open from 11am until 5pm, so it is not too late to make a visit. Here’s examples of the excellent exhibition :

Tests, the curriculum and learning

Yesterday I got involved in an important conversation on a doorstep about education.

I was told by a teacher that she felt strongly the present stretching curriculum backed up by regular testing was getting in the way of encouraging a love of learning in primary school children. She felt there was now too much emphasis on knowing facts and science, to the exclusion of wider education.

It is a difficult issue. I think you can make a case that too much emphasis on requiring mental recall of a fixed body of knowledge with testing to try to ensure pupils have memorised it can put some pupils off. It may inculcate an attitude of learning for the test and not bothering about anything that is not needed to pass the test. On the other hand if you go too far the other way and do not insist on mastery of the basics of number and words children can arrive at Secondary school ill equipped to carry out the more complex tasks there.

I remember at my own primary there was a strong emphasis on learning tables, spelling well, writing neatly, and being able to respond quickly to mental arithmetic challenges. There was a lot of rote learning and endless classroom tests to see if you had put in the work to memorise what was needed. The more creative work took place through projects, where you were encouraged to use your own initiative and time at home to flesh out a folder on the appointed topic. This mixture worked for some of us well.Today we now have the welcome development of smaller classes which should mean we can do better.

I would be interested in your thoughts on what is the right balance and the best approach. I agreed with the teacher that it is best if the system used does develop in a child a wish to know more, and a spirit of enquiry which will lead them to learn more through their own initiatives. If education is just a process of learning by rote and repeating for a test it will miss some of the most important features of personal development, but in the schools I have visited there is usually a balance in these matters which the national curriculum does not prevent. What are your thoughts.

Promoted by Fraser Mc Farland on behalf of John Redwood, both at 30 Rose Street Wokingham RG40 1XU

Казнь Сергея Острикова в Беларуси

Another execution has taken place in Belarus: that of Siarhei Vostrykau. The European Union again reaffirms its strong opposition to capital punishment in all circumstances.

The continued application of the death penalty goes counter to Belarus’ stated willingness to engage with the international community, including the European Union, on the matter and to consider the introduction of a moratorium on the use of the death penalty.

The European Union urges Belarus, the only country in Europe still applying capital punishment, to commute the remaining death sentences and to introduce without delay a moratorium on the death penalty as a first step towards its abolition.

Green Party promises “walking and cycling revolution”

6 May 2017

The Green Party has pledged to invest £2bn in renovating and creating safe cycling and walking routes. The funding will be drawn from a cancellation of the Government’s new roads programme which was expected to cost £1.2bn and from environmental taxes which will be used to fight climate change.

The party argues that Government’s walking and cycling investment strategy [1] does not go far enough. The Greens would make a proper commitment to enabling walking and cycling, while redesigning dangerous junctions and roundabouts.

The party’s announcement, its second major announcement on environmental legislation, comes after a plan for cleaning up Britain’s air [2] was launched yesterday (May 5).

Amelia Womack, Green Party deputy leader, announced the policy at an event in Totnes today, where she also launched the South Devon Green Party’s election campaign.

Womack said:

“While the Government dithers around with half measures and evasion, the Green Party is promising to invest in the solutions we know will clean up our air. We want a walking and cycling revolution to replace the diesel fuelled congestion that’s choking Britain.

“The air quality crisis in the UK is now a public health emergency, costing the NHS billions of pounds. But the Green Party has clear policy solutions which will transform our transport system to take us away from diesel, make polluting companies pay, and rapidly roll out renewables.

“It’s a time to be bold and hopeful – yesterday in the local elections we saw the absolute collapse of UKIP while the Green Party won seats up and down the country. People are ready for something new and only the Greens will build the confident and caring country we need to be.”

The party’s general election candidates are Kathryn Driscoll, Andy Williamson, Win Scutt and Jacqi Hodgson, who was also elected as a councillor in yesterday’s local elections.

Notes:

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