The Western Australian premier has weighed in on plans to transform the historic mining centre of Kalgoorlie-Boulder into an inland port. Roger Cook says it can not happen until the states rail freight network is returned to public hands.
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00:00It's been decades in the making, but has reached a fork in the road.
00:08A proposed realignment of about 25 kilometres of track around Kalgoorlie Super Pit is part
00:15of plans to develop an intermodal transport hub.
00:18It could take hundreds of trucks off the road.
00:21We want to see more grain, we want to see more resources, we want to see more freight
00:25going onto rail.
00:26Early estimates suggest it could cost at least $170 million.
00:31But funding's not the only hurdle.
00:34The only way that realignment's going to take place is if we bring the rail freight network
00:38back into public hands.
00:40That is the only time that we'll have the opportunity to take advantage of these sort
00:44of initiatives.
00:45The re-elected Cook Government plans to end a 50-year lease of the rail freight network.
00:50Kalgoorlie business leaders want it to happen as soon as possible.
00:54Diversify our economy locally, de-bottleneck our existing state infrastructure and drive
01:00growth in our region.
01:01While opening up new areas for gold mining, it would also benefit a newly opened rare earths
01:07refinery.
01:08Australia is not particularly competitive on inland logistics.
01:13Improved infrastructure will certainly improve the efficiency, getting material to the plant as well as us getting material from the plant.
01:22Consultancy firm Deloitte was expected to deliver a detailed business case by the end
01:27of last year, but that's been delayed until June.
01:31Immensely frustrated because I think it's been really driven by a centralised view of supporting
01:38Fremantle and Fremantle is an important asset for WA.
01:40A warning to keep WA's economy on the fast track.