The Local Member of Federal Parliament Madeleine King says the WA Government has thumbed its nose at the people of Rockingham and Kwinana by choosing to build a road rather than a new Outer Harbour in Kwinana.

Ms King said she was extremely disappointed that State Liberals were pushing ahead with their deeply flawed, divisive and expensive Perth Freight Link.

A new Outer Harbour was a nation-building project that would create desperately-needed jobs and economic opportunities for both local people and for Western Australia.

“The Liberals’ decision to sign contracts for Roe 8 is a kick in the pants for hard-working people concerned about employment opportunities in the local area,” said Ms King.

“It ignores the benefits to the local, state and national economies that investment in this game-changing infrastructure would deliver long into the future.”

In her first speech to the Federal Parliament on Tuesday Ms King called out the State Government for moving away from a bipartisan approach to the Outer Harbour.

“First raised in the 1960s, it is only in recent years that bipartisan support has withered as the Liberal state government has focused on other, mainly road based, priorities, Ms King said in the national parliament.

Ms King said it made no sense for both State and Federal Government to ignore the Kwinana Outer Harbour project which would deliver an estimated 25,000 new direct jobs.