Mundijong Road Extension

MUNDIJONG ROAD EXTENSION

897. Hon LYNN MacLAREN to the minister representing the Minister for Planning:

(1) Can the minister confirm that the state government cost is about $100 000 for an independent expert to draft a new alignment of the Mundijong Road extension?

(2) As the realignment was necessary to provide a wider buffer between the road and BHP Billiton Ltd’s Nickel West tailings ponds, will the company contribute to the cost?

(3) What substances can be found in the tailings pond?

(4) Why was the route not changed to save the Bush Forever site and regional park?

(5) In arriving at this planning decision, were odour problems for BHP Billiton considered more significant than Bush Forever values and regional parkland containing the endangered tuart forests and other threatened ecological communities?

Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY replied:

I thank the honourable member for some notice of this question. The minister has provided the following answers —

(1) The Western Australian Planning Commission paid $69 242.80 to the City of Rockingham to have its consultants investigate options for the realignment of the Mundijong Road extension.

(2) No.

(3) The evaporation ponds contain water circulated through BHP Billiton’s Kwinana nickel refinery.

(4) The current metropolitan region scheme alignment preceded both Bushplan and Bush Forever, the establishment of the Rockingham Lakes Regional Park, and the other seven metropolitan regional parks. The modified alignment was selected to follow the existing MRS alignment in this section so as to maintain a minimum impact on Bush Forever site 356. The alignment impacts approximately 2.7 hectares of the approximately 2 300 hectares of Bush Forever site 356.

(5) No.