City of Rockingham pushes State & Federal governments for solutions to Garden Island ‘traffic nightmare’

The State and Federal governments are being pushed to explain what they will do to ease expected traffic chaos around Garden Island with the introduction of AUKUS. AUKUS and the nearby Henderson Defence Precinct are expected to increase demand on infrastructure and services from additional workers in the region. In February the State Government set up an AUKUS community taskforce to try to manage these pressures. It aims to identify local needs and opportunities for transport infrastructure, housing, health services and community assets in relation to AUKUS. Feedback was sought from residents and stakeholders in the Rockingham community on matters such as transport infrastructure. A Main Roads feasibility study last year found there was no justification for a Garden Island highway. The City of Rockingham says it was not part of this and it was not a detailed transport analysis. It now wants to know what is being planned to ease traffic woes around Garden Island access. The council voted 10-1 at its March meeting in favour of a motion from Cr Peter Hudson for the city to seek an “urgent update” on the status of Garden Island highway feasibility studies and other road upgrades to reduce traffic congestion. Cr Hudson is behind a petition for the State Government to commit funding to the Garden Island highway and to release a timeline for its planning and delivery. He said the existing road network was not fit for purpose but he had yet to see a solution or alternative to the Garden Island highway or associated upgrades. “We need to be very clear, there is only one primary access corridor to the base,” Cr Hudson said. “We’re already seeing what that means in practice. Peak-hour congestion isn’t an occasional inconvenience, it is a daily reality for thousands of people. “Defence personnel are delayed getting to and from their critical duties. Contractors and freight operators face inefficiencies. “Local residents, most importantly, experience much longer commutes and reduced amenity, and importantly, any constraints on access raise legitimate concerns about our emergency response capacity.” He said the burden for finding a solution seemed to have been shifted to the city. “It is not the role of the City of Rockingham to fund or lead strategic transport planning for infrastructure of national defence significance. This responsibility sits squarely with State and Federal governments,” he said. Mayor Lorna Buchan said she and city staff had met Defence West and State and Federal government representatives in January and a Cape Peron transport network working group had been formed, which had met twice. “It is envisaged that this working group will feed into the AUKUS task force that was set up by our local member Magenta Marshall,” she said. “The AUKUS task force has a confidentiality agreement, so I can’t say much on that.” Ms Buchan said the council resolution would give her a stronger case to push for a solution. Cr Ryan Robertson said he had travelled across the causeway many times during his stint in the military and as a submariner. “I’ve experienced the delay when there’s just one problem, whether there’s been an accident, whether the high level bridge is closed due to weight restrictions when we’re bringing over cranes,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense to me that we continue to go down the path of allowing 3500 cars to come through residential roads and not have some realistic or appropriate means to get to Garden Island.” Deputy mayor Robert Schmidt agreed it was a “nightmare out there”. Cr Robertson was also concerned about who would pay for damages to local roads caused by military transports. “Residents are concerned that ammunitions and large trucks carrying heavy vehicles or inflatable boats down a domestic drive and then damaging council-owned roundabouts or State road, who then foots that cost?” he asked. Cr Dawn Jecks said although she did not agree with the bulk of what Cr Hudson said, she agreed there was an “information vacuum”. “I have no idea what’s happening and I think the community want to know what’s going on,” she said. Cr David Rudman was the sole vote against, saying he found it difficult to separate the infrastructure aspect from the “military industrial complex content”. “The dilemma I face with this is that the usual AUKUS propaganda is presented in the text of this motion,” he said. The Government has committed funding for further road studies and upgrades for key entrances into the Kwinana Strategic Industrial Area. Land adjacent to Lake Richmond was reserved 50 years ago to provide direct access to Cape Peron, but the highway project has remained on hold. Current vehicle access to the base is via local roads such as Parkin Street. A council report said projections by the Department of Defence in 2023 showed transport issues would be “significantly exacerbated” with the introduction of AUKUS. “The transport modelling concluded that without intervention, the road network will not have the capacity to accommodate the anticipated traffic by 2030,” the report said.