3.2 Regions and Prospects

The South West has a quality road network that has benefited from upgrades to the Collie Highway and ongoing Bunbury Outer Ring Road (BORR) works with associated duplication of the Bussell Highway. BORR planning works with the 1350ha Waterloo Industrial, links Kemerton, Bunbury Port and services the timber precinct as well as facilitating the smooth flow of traffic to the Capes.

A future bottleneck is likely to be the Busselton Bypass which will require duplication. That will service Yalyalup Industrial Park close to Busselton-Margaret River Airport and go to the South of Vasse Newtown to Carbanup in 15-20 years. Before that, the Vasse-Dunsborough link will require enhancement and grade separation works are likely to be needed on the main Forrest-Bussell Highway corridor. Additional passing points will be necessary on the South Western Highway.

The Claisebrook-Picton (Perth-Bunbury) main rail line has been close to capacity for some time, particularly from Brunswick to Picton where freight from Worsley and Collie join the line to Bunbury Port. There remain limitations on containers and constraints due to the lack of standard gauge tracks (21-tonne axle loads). Long term growth at Kemerton would also benefit from a rail spur to service investment.

Investigations into the re-establishment of the Greenbushes rail line have been inconclusive due to the volatility of minerals prices affecting planning and extraction volumes. However, the option remains on the agenda for volumes of 2mtpa. Standard gauge rail options might also generate more opportunities.

The port is split across two sites – the Inner and Outer Harbours although the latter will likely be decommissioned and trade consolidated to the Inner Harbour by 2030.  This will free up land for integration into the Bunbury Waterfront project over the coming decade.

The Inner Harbour features 400ha of quality and available development land with potential to accommodate any overflow of freight from Kwinana and Fremantle. Bunbury Port has broken records for throughput every year, excepting the GFC, since it was founded more than 100 years ago. In 2021-22 throughput was more than 18mt for the year.

While the 2019 Westport Taskforce recommendations on container options focused on Perth, 20,000 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) are generated in the South West each year. Population growth and inbound demand may also prompt a rethink on containerisation at Bunbury while pressures on the Western Trade Coast is driving interest in Bunbury as a roll on/off (ro-ro) port.

Regionally, the port services the resources sector which produces the bulk of the region’s output wealth, alumina exports representing the majority of throughput.

Busselton Margaret River Airport is the region’s principal airport. Airside redevelopment work features a 2520m runway supporting Code 4E commercial aircraft (Boeing 737 and Airbus 320, 330) with the capacity for services to reach China. The airport is currently used by Jetstar which flies direct to Melbourne, with other capital city routes being considered. BMRA aims to serve the region’s tourism potential as a powerful economic driver on the back of up to 250k passengers projected to pass through the BMRA in 2026. Those numbers will exceed the capacity of existing landside infrastructure and underpin development of a new terminal, particularly if Sydney or another capital is added to the timetable.

The airport currently has 31 scheduled Fly in Fly out (FIFO) charter flights that service mine sites in the state’s Mid and North West and 3 direct services per week to Melbourne. In 2022-23, a total of 140,000passengers are expected to pass through BMRA. Additionally, the airport serves ad hoc charters, tourism operators, emergency services (DFES, RFDS) and a growing general aviation community. With BMRA’s close proximity to Perth, the regional facility is also an alternate airport for airlines when Perth Airport may not be available.

Potential for the airport includes expanded destinations in Australia and overseas, serving passengers and freight. The airport benefits from extensive and nearby greenfield development opportunities which could serve freight as well as transport logistics, aircraft engineering and maintenance and other industries.

Bunbury Airport has the highest number of light aircraft movements after Jandakot in Perth. Bunbury services private aviators and supports two flying schools as well as the region’s rescue helicopter and seasonal water bombers. The site is home to more than 50 hangars and 100 aircraft. Expansion would require the realignment of the South Western Highway.

Manjimup Airfield caters for various aviation services such as the Royal Flying Doctor, emergency fire-fighting operations, private aircraft and has a small number of FIFO flights. Expansion at Busselton is likely to deflect some services to Manjimup.

The energy landscape is changing in the face of climate change, the appetite for renewables, government policy and disruption to traditional baseload production. Homes are the new power generators and it is clear that the next two decades will look nothing like the last two. Rooftop solar take up (300MW across the state) has impacted on the grid and none more so than the South West Interconnected System (SWIS). At the heart of the SWIS is Collie and since the 19^th Century coal has been Collie’s major contribution to the State. However, that is changing as policy transitions to renewable and low emission energy production on an increasingly decentralised trading grid. Coal-generated power will end in 2029.

Synergy is the State’s key energy producer but there are other interested parties, particularly in renewable energy production and it is the State Government’s strategy to pursue a future that includes hydrogen energy produced by wind and solar. Western Australia has the nation’s first Hydrogen Minister who has stated that the WA Renewable Hydrogen Roadmap will lead to decarbonising the gas sector, supporting remote communities and fuelling vehicles, particularly freight in the mining sector by 2030. Surplus energy will be exported, leveraging off industry skills developed in LNG production.

The South West is also the likely beneficiary of multi-billion-dollar investments in offshore wind energy production given the high levels of interest being shown.

However, energy issues remain with the lack of energy in Scott River and limited supplies to Kemerton.

Water security will be one of the region’s greatest challenges. CSIRO found that the South West was ‘one of the most water challenged’ parts of the country. Rainfall has declined 15% since 1975 and continues to see a contraction along a NW-SE axis towards Cape Leeuwin.

Agriculture uses about 60% of all water in the region and Wellington Dam (the State’s second largest surface water supply) is increasing in salinity. Industry leaders believe that water is under valued. Owing to current water economics, this has led to wasteful practices, particularly industrial use of potable water.

The long terms prospects for water security are dire without significant investment. It is preferred that interventions are pre-emptive rather than reactive.

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The South West is relatively well served by high speed communications, domestically at up to 100Mbps and in Business Fibre Zones at 1Gbps in Bunbury, Busselton, Margaret River and Collie. It is expected that the greatest short-term communications impact will be 5G which will “enable unprecedented levels of connectivity, upgrading 4G networks with five key functional drivers: superfast broadband, ultra-reliable low latency communication, massive machine-type communications, high reliability/availability and efficient energy usage.” (PWC 2020) NBN Co reported setting a world record long range 5G transmission in January 2021.

A 1Gbps signal was sent more than 7km from a fixed wireless tower. The South West features a concentration of towers that could benefit users as technology progresses.

Quality telecommunications are critical to the region’s proposals to create a Digital Innovation District/Advanced Manufacturing and Technology Hub.