THE final nail could be driven into the Perdaman fertiliser plant coffin amid reports the highly-anticipated South West project could move east within months.
The loss of the multi-billion dollar project would mean the South West would miss out on more than 2000 jobs at a time when employment is a number one concern for the region.
While the company claims “no final decisions” have been made on the plant’s location, formal negotiations are well underway with a Victorian company.
But the state government hopes that behind-the-scenes work to mediate the situation could make a difference.
Premier Colin Barnett said the government had been continuously urging the coal suppliers involved to reach an agreement on supply but “they are private companies and these are ultimately commercial arrangements.”
It has been reported this week that the government spent more than $13 million preparing for the arrival of the plant, with the Schotts Strategic Industrial Area at “project ready” status.
The stalled Perdaman project would turn nearly three million tonnes of coal into fertiliser each year for export to Asian markets.
The Miners Union released an urgent plea this week for the state government to work with coal mine operators to make sure this highly-anticipated project did not slip through our fingers.
On Monday, CFMEU Mining and Energy WA secretary Gary Wood said the plant was exactly the kind of project WA needed, providing job security for a new generation of mineworkers.
The call came on the same day WA Labor leader Mark McGowan visited Bunbury to spruik a plan to deliver jobs across the state’s regions by diversifying economies.
“As the mining industry begins to slow down, it’s important that we diversify local economies and provide new employment opportunities for people living in regional WA,” he said.
According to Mr McGowan, the current Buy Local Policy needs to be simplified to make it easier for local businesses and contractors to bid for state government contracts in order to secure more regional jobs.
As it stands 73 per cent of regional contracts are offered to businesses in Perth or interstate and Mr McGowan said people in regional communities felt they were missing out.
But Bunbury MLA John Castrilli said it was not just a matter of closing loopholes to simplify the policy.
“Contractors in regional areas often simply do not have the capacity to carry out large infrastructure projects, so the policy recognises this by including a Regional Content Preference,” he said.
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