Burrup Support from Commonwealth at odds with State Liberal Leader

1/8/03
State Development Minister Clive Brown today called on the Prime Minister to restate the Commonwealth Government's support for projects proposed for the Burrup Peninsula at this week's Liberal Party State Conference.
Mr Brown said the conference was an excellent opportunity for Mr Howard to address the negativity towards the projects within the Western Australian division of the Liberal Party.
"Both my office and the Department of Industry and Resources have been working closely with Invest Australia and the office of Federal Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, Ian Macfarlane, to secure billions of dollars in major projects for the Burrup," the Minister said.
"Both the State and Commonwealth Governments understand the contribution that these projects make to both the economy and the community and are committed to seeing them through to fruition."
Mr Brown pointed to a report in the Financial Review that predicted that: '...investment in major projects is expected to underpin the (national) economy over the next few years,' with Access Economics predicting that new investment projects would create more than 60,000 new jobs across Australia over the next three years, with over 50,000 of these in WA.
"The projects proposed for the Burrup are a core component of the Gallop Government's vision to create 125,000 jobs over the next five years and we will continue to work closely with the Howard Government to secure these new jobs and opportunities for WA," the Minister said.
"I encourage the Prime Minister to share his Government's enthusiasm for these exciting developments with his WA colleagues while he is in Perth this weekend."
Minister's office: 9222 9699