Transcript - Press Conference, Perth

ROGER COOK [NEW WA PREMIER]: Look, good morning, everyone. Thank you very much for coming, it's great to be here with the Deputy Premier and Minister Catherine King, our Federal Minister for Transport, and of course here in the seat of Hasluck and I'm delighted to have the opportunity to talk today about the manufacture, ongoing manufacture of our C-class series of passenger railcars.

Behind us is the third C-series rail car that's been produced here at METRONET. But importantly, today we have actually undertaken the full manufacture of these cars and have been watching [indistinct] they are. So this is a massive milestone for local rail car manufacturing in Western Australia.

I remember when I was a young man watching the previous Liberal Government pull apart Western Australia's rail car manufacturing capacity with those [indistinct] railyards. That was a huge blow to the manufacturing in Western Australia, and [indistinct] fighting a historic block, rebuilding our manufacturing capacity in Western Australia and bringing manufacturing of railcars back to WA. We're going to be making stuff in WA over the next few years, passenger railcar manufacture is an important part of what we want to do to bring manufacturing back to Western Australia.

In October last year, you saw some exciting announcements from BHP around the iron ore railcar manufacture in WA, with over 100 iron ore railcars to be manufactured here in the [indistinct] area in Western Australia. So this is the next opportunity for us to celebrate manufacturing coming back to Western Australia, producing great railcars, passenger railcars, and then [indistinct].

But these trains will ultimately replace B-series, so what we are looking at here is a 10-year pipeline of over 240 railcars which will be manufactured here in Western Australia, creating hundreds of jobs and over 15 companies are involved in providing supplies to this facility as part of that manufacturing process. Over 50 per cent of these cars are being developed through local products, and local manufacturing facilities are creating great local jobs, but of course, more importantly, continuing to raise the opportunity to create skills in Western Australia, particularly around training, apprenticeships, and so forth.

So I want to commend Minister Saffioti for the work that she's been doing over many years as the Minister for Transport. METRONET is a transformative project. It's going to reinvent the way people move around Perth and Western Australia and we'll continue to make sure that we are driving local jobs through local manufacturing.

It's an exciting day and it's one about which we are very, very proud. Creating local jobs through the manufacturing sector, it's a key objective, and creating local jobs through manufacturing is a key objective under the McGowan Government – excuse me. Creating local jobs through manufacturing is a key objective under the Cook Government, as part of our diversification of Western Australian industry and economy.

We're going to continue to drive for local jobs; we're going to continue to make great high-value jobs here in Western Australia as we look to expand our advanced manufacturing capacity, and right across the other areas; tourism, international education, and continuing to make sure we grow our resources in agriculture sectors. An exciting time, and accordingly a very exciting and proud day for local manufacturing [indistinct]. I'll hand you over to the Deputy Premier.

RITA SAFFIOTI [DEPUTY WA PREMIER, WA TRANSPORT MINISTER]: Thank you. It is really exciting to now see the progress of our commitment of making our trains here in WA. I have with me, of course, Catherine King, the Federal Minister for Infrastructure, and WA is actually hosting Transport Ministers from around the nation, and yesterday afternoon I was able to show this facility and our trains to both the Queensland Transport Minister and the New South Wales Transport Minister.

As many states are looking at bringing back rail manufacturing to their home state. We've seen in particular in other states, where there were many mistakes made in relation to abandoning local manufacturing and going overseas. And of course that happened in WA 30 years ago. What we're just seeing is our first fully-fitted-out train. That train will be entering the public transport network by the end of the year.

We have two trains being tested currently. What they're doing is sending back information to this facility and there's continued modifications to make sure our trains are absolutely right from the get-go. So, the train we just saw will be the first train that enters service on the Public Transport Network by the end of the year.

You can see it's a new look, it's more spacious inside, greater capacity, better disability access, USB ports, and, all up, a whole new look for our new C-series. These will be running between of course the new Yanchep rail station and of course Mandurah in the north-south corridor. Increased capacity and making sure that we continue to deliver brand-new, efficient public transport on our network.

This is one of our greatest achievements, I believe, over the past six years. This was a position we took to the people in 2017 to bring back rail manufacturing in the state. People said we couldn't do it; we were criticised by the then Government when we made that commitment. But look, we've actually now delivered on that commitment.

Of course this facility, as you can see, is state-of-the-art, this is a facility that the Government owns and will continue to expand into our new facility too for the diesel railcars as well. So this is a great, great, I think, achievement. Of course this will again support further local manufacturing for our cars across the private sector too, and I think the Premier will be making more statements on that in the coming weeks.

As I said, very proud, I was very excited to show my colleagues around, including the Federal Minister yesterday too. They've all been very surprised and acknowledged just how great our trains are looking and how great this facility is. Thank you very much, and I now refer to the Federal Minister.

CATHERINE KING [MINISTER]: Thank you. Well, I am so privileged to be here with Premier Cook and Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti, both of whom I've known for decades. Well-known to the Federal Albanese Labor Government, and we really want to extend our absolute congratulations on the elevation to Premier and Deputy Premier and we are all so much looking forward to working closely with you.

We know how important WA is to the economy of the nation, and we know what a great job the McGowan Government has done, and we're looking forward to even more greater things from the Cook Government. Here at the Bellevue Rail Centre is a fantastic example of the [indistinct] of MetroNet being able to bring back rail manufacturing here in the great state of WA.

The Albanese Labor Government has a national rail plan, and this is exactly the sort of work we want to see. More trains made here in this country, more trains made in WA and more trains made in other states, and I commend the Cook Government for the great work that you've done, and particularly the vision that you had from opposition, not an easy thing to do to say you're going to bring back the entire industry, and look what's happened, you've now got the first train ready to get into service.

Of course, as part of METRONET, the Albanese Labor Government is investing $3.9 billion in the 16 projects under METRONET. It is a transformational project for the state of Western Australia, not just in terms of public transport but very much changing suburbs, creating new places, new opportunities for social and affordable housing and ensuring that the way people move around this great state and this great city really is efficient and it's also contributing significantly to getting our carbon emissions down.

We're also of course partnering with the Cook Government with electric buses, $125 million from the Albanese Labor Government to ensure that we've got charging stations at the depot, and I know in the recent budget the Cook Government has committed that money as well, and we're likely to see more and more electric buses all over the roads in Perth and [indistinct] this great city.

It's a great partnership; we're here for infrastructure and transport, [indistinct] the Tourism Minister on her first day, she was there telling every single one of the state transport ministers how incredible WA is, and how we should all be coming back [indistinct] on a happy note in Victoria or other AFL games that might be able to come across here, and all sorts of things happening.

So can I just say from the Albanese Labor Government point of view, we are absolutely delighted to have Premier Cook and Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti. We are looking forward to that great partnership between WA and the Federal Labor Government continuing, and I do congratulate my two very good friends [indistinct].

JOURNALIST: Minister --

CATHERINE KING: Me, yes, sure.

JOURNALIST: [Indistinct].

CATHERINE KING: Yes. So we're in the really early days of the review, it's a 90-day review into the Infrastructure Investment Pipeline, it is $120 billion, all of that [indistinct] in the budget, $120 billion over the course of the pipeline.

What we're trying to do is just make sure that we can deliver what we can, deliver those great projects here in Western Australia, but including the [indistinct] and the construction, and really that's where we're up [indistinct] all of the premiers committed to working with us to help our way through ensuring that that pipeline is not just sustainable but we're able to deliver to communities, but there will be announcements as part of the geo-economic financial process in December about projects that we'll be continuing with as well as the [indistinct] number of states and territories for additional money and additional [indistinct].

JOURNALIST: Are these new trains going to run [indistinct]?

RITA SAFFIOTI: These trains are being made for the Yanchep and Mandurah line [indistinct] will be running north-south, and now that depot will become the maintenance facility for C-series while this depot will become the maintenance facility for the B-series. The B-series will move on to the heritage line including the [indistinct] line which incorporates the heritage line [indistinct].

JOURNALIST: [Indistinct]?

RITA SAFFIOTI: It's primarily the capacity, these are bigger trains with more capacity, and the current demand for [indistinct] Mandurah through to Yanchep [indistinct] Butler. So as we know, we've bounced back our public transport package, really well, and again, comparing to other states, well, we don't want to dismiss the other states, but we've done really well in relation to our public transport package, in particular on the standard passenger, so the going-to-work passenger.

So we believe that we're going to increase that patronage over coming years and having more capacity on those trains in particular from Mandurah, from Mandurah to Butler [indistinct] very much the focus, so the trains are bigger capacity, that's why they're being [indistinct].

JOURNALIST: How long will it take to construct each one?

RITA SAFFIOTI: Well, each train takes, I think, around - it's six days per station, so I'll just check, I think around 30 days? We'll confirm, but there's a lot of work that's done offsite too by other suppliers as well, as has been outlined by the Premier, there's 15 suppliers that are also manufacturing.

So when you look at the entire length of time, for example, the [indistinct], there's a lot of work that's done off in another workshop [indistinct]. So there's a lot of different components, but they go through to the stations, and I think the aim is that for the train to be in every station for about six, one railcar every six days, so in relation to a train, would be a bit more than 30 days, because there's six railcars [indistinct].

JOURNALIST: You mentioned a tenth train running on the network at the moment. How is that going?

RITA SAFFIOTI: Oh, that's going well. I was on the first train that was tested on 22 December last year, [indistinct] a very incredible experience, so the testing has been going really, really well. And so there's a lot of diagnostic equipment on those two test trains, feeding back information here to the facility, making sure this third train is incorporating feedback, but the testing is going well, I think they're very happy with what's been happening.

So they test everything, you know, the brakes, the speed, all those different - the way it moves around corners, they test all those different aspects, and feedback has been going really, really well.

JOURNALIST: Can you say any of the changes that have been made based on that feedback?

RITA SAFFIOTI: I'm not aware, but I think the testing has been going well, so there's been no major changes, or any major issues from the feedback [indistinct] testing has gone extremely well.

JOURNALIST: What will happen to the A-series?

RITA SAFFIOTI: The A-series will be retired progressively. So I think they look at the number of requests from railway heritage museums, you might see them as cafés, pop up the A-series train, so there's been, I think there's been a request from another jurisdiction in Australia, possibly as well.

So, the Public Transport Authority is talking to a lot of people, as I said, railway heritage museums, and some regional towns, they're requesting them. So we're going through a process now. I don't know - I can't remember exactly how many, but there's quite a few. Those railcars often make very good little tourism spots, and I think we've all probably had a coffee in a train carriage somewhere around the nation, so - pardon?

JOURNALIST: [Indistinct]?

RITA SAFFIOTI: We'll put it on the Facebook Marketplace and see how it goes.

JOURNALIST: Have you seen any [indistinct]?

RITA SAFFIOTI: There's been some discussions, some discussions, but as I said, I haven't got a latest update, but there is a program that the Public Transport Authority's running in relation to the [indistinct].

JOURNALIST: [Indistinct]?

RITA SAFFIOTI: [Indistinct].

ROGER COOK: Thank you very much, and can I just also thank [indistinct] for having us. This is a great facility. Before we go to questions, I just want to say that the events that have occurred earlier this week in relation to the policeman [indistinct] trying to undertake an arrest [indistinct], line of duty. It's just disgraceful [indistinct]. That gentleman received horrific injuries carrying his work on behalf of the people of Western Australia.

Quite frankly [indistinct] our hearts go out to the family of that police officer and indeed the whole [indistinct]. They must be [indistinct] as one of their own is injured in the line of duty. It's horrific to talk about, unnecessary violent behaviour, and we just simply want to let them know that we [indistinct] and express how [indistinct]. My understanding is his condition is unchanged overnight, but I do know that overnight someone has been charged in relation to these [indistinct]. [Indistinct] briefed yesterday morning and asked [indistinct] condolences to the family and [indistinct].

JOURNALIST: [Indistinct]?

ROGER COOK: Look, let's allow the police investigation to be undertaken and charges to be laid and let justice prevail, but obviously we're all absolutely appalled by this despicable behaviour and this violent unnecessary behaviour, and that one of our first responders is injured in the line of duty is just unacceptable.

JOURNALIST: How's the officer doing this morning?

ROGER COOK: My understanding is his condition is unchanged, which is encouraging, but these are horrific - he's still in a critical condition in ICU, and [indistinct].

JOURNALIST: [Indistinct].

ROGER COOK: Look, the police will be making further comment about the details of these charges later today and so I'll [indistinct].

JOURNALIST: [Indistinct] health issues, how much is that needed?

ROGER COOK: Look, we know that the [indistinct] have severe impact [indistinct] particularly on our young people, and governments all around the world [indistinct] to build those facilities, those support services for people who find themselves in situations of stress and anxiety.

These facilities are absolutely crucial for this work. We want people to be able to see [indistinct] so when they do get into a situation where they have [indistinct] they have these great safe places to go to receive the therapy [indistinct] some to do [indistinct] very pleased that we continue to see such a significant expansion, the mental health budget is the largest in the State's history and [indistinct] further expansion of services.

JOURNALIST: [Indistinct].

ROGER COOK: As you saw earlier in the week, we now have a new Minister for Protective Services. I'll be sitting down with him and his team over the coming days to talk about the [indistinct] these issues to make sure that we do a [indistinct] keep people safe [indistinct] kids and provide them with better opportunities to [indistinct].

JOURNALIST: Do you believe enough consultation has been done with the Aboriginal Heritage Act?

ROGER COOK: I do, this consultation that's taken place over many years, originally under Minister Wyatt who is the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and consultation by Minister Buti. This is a piece of legislation that was put together from consultation with industries, community, and [indistinct].

JOURNALIST: [Indistinct]?

ROGER COOK: Look, technically speaking, this is Day 1 for the tender, and Day 1 for [indistinct] couple of days I've had the opportunity to reach out to some of the stakeholders and the community and take the initiative [indistinct] issues there and had a look at [indistinct].

JOURNALIST: [Indistinct]?

ROGER COOK: Look, I think we're all concerned, [indistinct] and we are providing the safest environment [indistinct] facilities, and we want to make sure that [indistinct].

JOURNALIST: In terms of those new [indistinct] that have been left in the dark?

ROGER COOK: Look, no one's been left in the dark in relation to the Aboriginal community, they've been consulted extensively right along the [indistinct] and nothing has changed. [Indistinct].

JOURNALIST: [Indistinct] our back yard, [indistinct] these people [indistinct]?

ROGER COOK: Look, every opportunity [indistinct], quite frankly the ball is [indistinct]