Karratha Sidelined In Regional COAG Meeting
REFUGEE housing, military infrastructure and federal assistance to stop “homes falling into the sea” are high on Port Hedland’s COAG wish list. Prime Minister Scott Morrison, state and territory premiers and ministers will visit the Pilbara in July when the Council of Australian Governments meets to discuss issues of national importance, including biosecurity threats such as coronavirus.
Port Hedland commissioner Fred Riebeling told StreetWise the COAG meeting was a great opportunity to put forward projects the community wanted assistance with. “Hopefully, I will get to speak to the PM to push the case for Port Hedland,” he said, adding letters were sent to senior ministers raising issues such as detention centres and coastal erosion. “We want to impress on them the importance of the iron ore industry coming out of Port Hedland. Half a billion tonnes annually is exported though the port, but, “once technology improves and we get bigger ships, we want to get that up to one billion tonnes annually”.
Mr Riebeling said discussions will include the expansion of the port which, “is of national importance, and various projects that underpin Port Hedland’s survival such as coastal erosion”. “We are looking at spending $20 million to stop homes falling into the ocean,” he said, having watched two cyclones (Veronica and Damien) take its toll on the town’s foreshore areas. “I’m hoping the PM also will see the wisdom of putting in some military infrastructure in Port Hedland.”
He said Port Hedland will lose about 400 houses under the West End buyback scheme, paving the way for the possibility of housing refugees there. In 1991, the Australian Government requisitioned BHP’s defunct living quarters at Cooke Point to house refugees fleeing civil conflict in Cambodia. Asked why the PM chose to hold the COAG meeting in Port Hedland over Karratha, 237km away, Mr Riebeling said delegates wanted to visit the ‘powerhouse of the Pilbara’ to see firsthand how Port Hedland contributed to the national economy. He said he hoped delegates would visit other parts of the Pilbara, including Karratha and the Burrup Pensinsula industrial estate. He said the PM’s office already was in the process of locking away accommodation and ensuring security was in place. He said he didn’t know where the PM was staying, “possibly in one of the BHP executive homes, but it is up to the security people”. Asked whether the WA premier was shacked up with him, he said, “I don’t know where he is staying. I’m living in a caravan park. It’s all I need.”
Having discussed COAG with Mr McGowan since the PM raised the idea last year, Pilbara MLA Kevin Michel said COAG had never been held in regional WA in it’s 48 year history.
As reported by StreetWise last year, Mr McGowan informed parliament that when he told the PM the next meeting would be in the Pilbara, “I saw a lot of glum looks around the table. It will either be Karratha or Hedland. I will ensure Premiers, chief ministers and the Prime Minister – whoever might want to – will have a look at where a large proportion of Australia’s wealth comes from”.
Port Hedland is one of the biggest bulk export ports in the world. Total throughput increased from 247 million tonnes in 2011-2012 to 519 million tonnes in 2017-2018.
The City of Karratha said: “COAG coming to the Pilbara is good exposure for the whole region. We understand there will be meetings in Port Hedland and potential visits to the Burrup Peninsula.”
