The Western Australian Government’s Westport Taskforce has identified ten packages of research categories that will be pursued for the Westport Strategy in their consultation report.
The report, Westport: What you have told us, outlines the community feedback received during the first round of consultation on the development of the Westport: Ports and Environs Strategy, and how this information will help shape the approach in which the plan for Western Australia’s freight, trade and logistics needs will be developed.
The ten packages identified include factors relating to future port facilities such as location, size, operating model and timing.
Westport chairperson, Nicole Lockwood, said consultation is critical to the development of the Westport Strategy, because the Taskforce thinks the people that will be impacted by the recommendations should have a voice.
“Today we are publishing the inputs we received to ensure we are absolutely transparent about the feedback we have heard and will be considering, as we develop the strategy,” Ms Lockwood said.
“I am meeting with interested stakeholders daily and will continue to engage with the community to ensure we get this planning right.”
Other outcomes of the consultation period include:
- Widening the scope of the strategy to include a review of world’s best practice governance of port facilities
- Adding questions to the project methodology that define key themes identified during the consultation period as integral to the strategy development
- Developing a discussion paper explaining why Cockburn Sound has been identified as a potential location for additional port facilities
- Adding an indigenous heritage representative to the Westport Taskforce Reference Group
- Having an innovation and technology specialist within the Westport Project Office
The next phase of public consultation on the Westport Strategy will take place later in 2018 in conjunction with the release of a discussion paper, which will outline the findings to date and seek feedback on how options should be prioritised.
Minister for Transport, Rita Saffioti, said consultation and communication will be integral to the development of the Westport Strategy and will occur across each of the key stages.
“More than 200 formal submissions were received in this initial phase of engagement, so there is clearly strong community interest in finding better solutions for WA’s freight and port related transport issues,” Ms Saffioti said.
