Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister
ZANETA MASCARENAHS, MEMBER FOR SWAN Good morning and welcome to Kings Park. My name's Zaneta Mascarenhas. I'm the Member for Swan and I'm here with Assistant Minister Patrick Gorman. How are you? I hope you're having a great morning. The thing that I'm really excited about is an Anthony Albanese Labor Government is wanting to provide a cost of living budget, which also provides an economic dividend for all Australians and that's something that we're wanting to do. We're wanting to be responsible. So one of the things that we're looking at today is electric bus vehicles and the infrastructure associated with them. This is something that we see as being critical for the future of Western Australia. This announcement, which Patrick will make, will have a look at the combination of community, jobs being created, but also action on climate change. One of the things that we saw with the previous Coalition government is that they weren't prepared to have a look at future infrastructure and unfortunately they weren't willing to catch the bus on a clean energy future. And that's something that an Anthony Albanese Labor Government is definitely interested in investing in. And that's why it's great to see an Albanese Labor Government and the Mark McGowan Government working together in partnership. I'll hand over to Patrick.
PATRICK GORMAN, ASSISTANT MINISTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER: Thank you, Zaneta. Zaneta has been a climate leader in the Perth community for many, many years and it's great to have her now as a climate leader as part of the Albanese Labor Government representing the people of Swan, but also being that strong voice for smart action on climate change. Before I talk about the bus commitment today, I do just want to say from where we're standing here in Perth, in Western Australia to everyone on the East Coast, particularly in Victoria, where they are experiencing awful floods and people who are being taken out of their homes and staying in shelters, it is an incredibly scary time. We just want to send our absolute best wishes and all of our compassion from here in the West to those who are battling those awful natural disasters. What we're here to talk about this morning is about investing in the future of Western Australia. One of the commitments that we made when we came to government was that we would work in partnership with the State Government to invest in the things that Western Australians need and to make sure that Western Australia gets our fair share and a fair deal from Canberra. And today's announcement is part of that. It was 30 years ago and it was Labor that electrified our train network, making sure we got the diesel trains off our train network and replaced them with the electric trains that we know today. Here in 2022, Labor's doing it again. Investing in electric bus infrastructure. Taking our diesel buses and turning them into new electric buses. The commitment that we have announced and we deliver on in the 2022 Budget is a commitment of $125 million to make sure that we can build electric buses here in Western Australia. For Perth commuters to get around this initial commitment from the Albanese Labor Government will deliver on the electric transport infrastructure that is needed. So electric buses like this, that are currently being trialled in Joondalup, can in fact roll through the CBD over to the electorate of Swan in South Perth and across our metropolitan area, because we know that the future is electric. We know that if we invest in this infrastructure today, we will get the dividends both on climate and in terms of lower running costs tomorrow. I'm also really pleased that this announcement delivers on jobs for Western Australians. Good, renewable, clean energy jobs. 100 new jobs will be created out of this partnership between the State Government and the Federal Government to make sure that we can have a big electric future here in the West. I'm excited about what this means. These buses are quiet, they're safe, and they'll be built here in WA. That's a really good thing. And it's part of a broader $9.6 billion package of infrastructure that will be in the budget for all of Australia, including $670 million of new projects here in WA. It's a great way to work in partnership with the McGowan Government to invest in the sorts of things that we're going to need for the years ahead to make sure that people can get around not just Perth but also Western Australia. And that's why many West Australians will be very pleased to see that the $400 million commitment for the Tanami Road upgrade to make sure that we seal that road, making it safer, easier to drive and easy to get around the north of Western Australia and indeed into the Northern Territory. Another big commitment of the Albanese Labor Government and Minister Catherine King. With that I'm happy to talk about electric buses for a very long time. I love the electrification of our transport network, but I'll throw it out to you.
REPORTER: Is someone actually making electric buses in Western Australia? Were these manufactured here?
GORMAN: I'd have to get back to you to on the particular example bus that is currently being used in Joondalup as a trial bus that enable us to work towards this project today. I'll have to get that answer to you, Geof. But when it comes to our commitment, it is to install the charging infrastructure so that we have that first generation, 130 electric buses built here in Western Australia. We currently build our buses here in Western Australia. We don't want to let that work go overseas and we want to make sure we've got a West Australian built buses for West Australian roads. That's our commitment. And again, supporting 300 existing jobs and 100 new jobs by this announcement that we're making today.
REPORTER: Obviously that will eventually do away with all the diesel buses that have been made here, but what - the electric buses will eventually replace, all the diesel buses won't they?
GORMAN: The first wave of buses that we're announcing today, 130 buses, and again, we'll provide the charging infrastructure. You can't put the buses on the road without the charging infrastructure and State Government will build the buses in partnership. We'll do two halves of the whole. Those first buses will be on the roads in 24-25. 2024, 2025. To make sure that people can get from Yagan Square over to eventually the Aboriginal Cultural Centre, then over to Curtin University or the South Perth foreshore or wherever you need to get within the great metropolitan area of Perth. We see that this is a step in the right direction. I acknowledge there's about 1500 buses in the Transperth fleet, some of them diesel, some of them are gas powered, but we know the future is electric. So, we're going to make that first big step towards that electric future, so that for $2.30, for anyone in the Perth metropolitan area, you can use electric transport to get to work.
REPORTER: How many hours a day can one of these buses spend on the road?
GORMAN: So it depends on obviously a range of things in terms of what you put in the battery, how much battery you put in, and of course, what we want to make sure with the infrastructure that we'll be building, the charging infrastructure is that that's based at bus ports so that we get the best value for money out of these buses. But what we also know is that electric transport requires a lot less maintenance. So when we talk about keeping the buses on the road, it's not just about the buses being on the road during the day, it's also about them not being out of service because they need to have extensive maintenance. So these buses will really make a huge difference. And I think if anyone who's ridden on one of these in the trial in Joondalup, you know, it is quite an enjoyable ride.
REPORTER: Can I ask it another way then? How many kilometres can they go?
GORMAN: The technology's always improving. Some of these buses can already do 300 to 400 kilometres in one charge. But again, it depends on how you have the charging integrated into the network that you run. And what we see again and again is that the first generation of electric cars that came to Australia only had a range of about 60 to 80 kilometres. The electric cars you can buy today have ranges of 500 to 700 kilometres. This technology is all going at a rapid pace. And again, the other core component of this technology is often the lithium of which Western Australia has some half of the world's best deposits. So again it's not just about what we can manufacture, but it's also about investing in those market, those Australia and Western Australian lithium products that we know the world wants, but we also want to make sure we have here in Western Australia in west Australian built buses.
REPORTER: You touched on the jobs that would be created by this project. Do you have any concerns about filling those jobs with so many industries really desperate for workers at the moment?
GORMAN: What we know is that there is going to be for the foreseeable future, a lot of competition for good, sustainable jobs in the renewable energy technology space. We can't avoid that. What we need to make sure is that we have the base of industry here in WA to sustain those jobs and to sustain that technology. So we say that there's no option. We can't choose to not be trying to get those skills. We've also, as you may remember, committed a number of months ago now to investing in those skills through our TAFE system. One of the projects that we've committed to is to make sure that for the work and the other parts of renewables industry, the generation site in wind. We've committed that we will have a TAFE out in Midland with a specialty course in wind turbine installation and maintenance, because we know that there's going to be growing and growing skilled demand there. And what this also recognises is that we need to do skill transfer. So people who currently work manufacturing buses such as this - buses for Transperth - their jobs will transfer across to be able to be part of that manufacturing of the buses of the future.
REPORTER: Just on another subject. New data today revealed that Perth CBD has had the best recoveries post-COVID, or had the best recovery post-COVID. What do you make of that?
GORMAN: I think it's pretty clear that Perth is new nightlife capital of Australia. It is very exciting to see that people both in Perth and indeed visitors that are now coming to Perth are getting out there and making sure they are enjoying all the Perth has to offer. But there's so much more we can do and that's why we continue to invest in making sure that people can enjoy the wonderful nightlife that we have in Perth, making sure that our public transport network is sustainable with the announcement we're making today, making sure that when visitors come be they from interstate or overseas, that they can get to Perth CBD on the train. We opened that last weekend, a really exciting day. You can now get the train to the nightlife capital of Australia - 20 minutes from the Perth International Airport. So it's really welcome. I know the people who work in the hospitality and entertainment sector in Western Australia have had a really tough time. So I think it's a real credit to the workers in that industry that they have been able to get through those really difficult, challenging, challenging times. And again, we've seeing that life come back. As I say, this data today shows that Perth is the nightlife capital of Australia.
REPORTER: What do you think is the reason why Perth is fared so well? It's the way the Government here handled COVID?.
GORMAN: Just hold off a second. It is the nightlife capital, we've also got some day life down with the speedboats. Speedboats, the jet skis and everything else. My instinct is to say to the question of why Perth has done so well is because Perth is not just the best capital in Australia, but Perth is the best place on earth. But in terms of a practical response, what we know is that we did have a strong health response during the pandemic. We've seen the State Government here invest quite a bit in terms of the revitalisation grants for our CBD. We've also had a lot of investment and a lot of things done in terms of making sure that we can grab the future opportunities. Because what we all know, those of us who live here in Perth, I live in North Perth, we know there's so much opportunity left for our city. That's why the Albanese Government is investing $50 million in the Aboriginal Cultural Centre to provide those new tourism attractions. It's why we're investing today $125 million in electric buses so that we have that future proofed public transport system to get tourists and people who enjoy getting out on the town on a Friday or Saturday night, getting them out safely on Transperth buses. It's a combination of factors but again I think it's a real credit to the hospitality industry and workers in particular who've been through some tough times, and it's a great reward for them to see that things are starting to bounce back.
REPORTER: The State Government announced today it's going to pour millions of dollars into an overhaul of Yagan Square. Obviously, this project has been branded in the past as a white elephant. Hoping this revitalisation will really keep something up there. What are your thoughts?
GORMAN: Yagan Square is a great opportunity for Perth. I think the Minister today acknowledged that the current model hasn't worked and so obviously when you know something isn't working, you've got to take action. And so I commend the action that State Government is taking today to make sure we invest in making what is a great asset work again. Obviously the Commonwealth, in a previous Labor Government invested in the big project of sinking the rail line so that we could connect the city and Northbridge. That has been a success, but we need to make sure that bit, Yagan Square, does have that vitality that we all expect. I go with the family and the kids to The Beaufort, which is a fabulous venue. So I'm excited about what this announcement means for Yagan Square as we head along with that revitalisation of that project. And what I'm also seeing is that we are seeing Northbridge become a much more family friendly place. Revitalising Yagan Square will make a difference. Having all of our great public transport there makes a difference. The WA Museum has made a difference as the biggest family friendly attraction in the Perth CBD. It's all heading in the right direction and I welcome the announcement from the State Government today. Thank you very much. Okay. Now, can we go on the bus?
