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WA Labor yet to decide if it will axe Roe 8 if elected

Thursday, 20 Oct 2016 17:18:15 | Andrew O'Connor

The Roe 8 project will extend the Roe Highway to divert trucks off existing city routes. (ABC News: Andrew O'Connor)

WA Labor will seek legal advice on the termination clause of the $330 million contract for Roe 8 before deciding whether it will axe the project if elected to government.

Just five months from the March state election, the Barnett Government has signed a contract with a seven-member consortium for the extension of Roe Highway, and is finalising a contract for construction of an $110 million interchange connecting it to Stock Road.

Labor opposes the Roe 8 project, which will place an elevated dual carriageway for heavy transport and cars across the Beeliar Wetlands between Bibra Lake and North Lake.

But it has so far declined to say if it would axe the project in government, demanding the Government release the contract so it can assess potential termination costs.

In Parliament today, Transport Minister Bill Marmion faced repeated Opposition questions about when he would release the contract, and caught Labor off guard when he did so immediately.

The 113-page contract includes a termination clause that sets out the conditions and costs the Government would have to meet if the project was halted.

Main Roads can terminate the contract at any time, but under the schedule for termination payments, it would be liable for a range of costs, including corporate overheads and profit and performance payments.

Labor has referred it to lawyers for assessment and advice.

"It will give us advice as to potential exposure. Ultimately, these things are slightly unknown because we don't know what will be happening over the next few months and exactly how much work will be undertaken," transport spokeswoman Rita Saffioti said.

Labor said would also scrutinise the contract for the Stock Road interchange, to assess the full implications of cancelling the project.

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