Car import plan raises alarm

The automotive sector is concerned at a state government proposal to shift motor vehicle imports from Fremantle to Bunbury.

Planning Minister Rita Saffioti told a Business News event on Friday the government was assessing options for motor vehicle imports as part of broader plans to turn the existing harbour at Fremantle into a tourism and residential precinct.

About 94,000 new motor vehicles were imported through Fremantle last financial year; Ms Saffioti said this activity consumed 13 hectares of space at Victoria Quay.

“This is not the best use of this land and we are currently working with industry to help identify the best alternative location for this trade and timetable for this relocation,” she told the State of the Future lunch.

“We will be announcing this plan by the end of the year with one option being trade through Bunbury port.”  

The plan to relocate the motor vehicle trade is being developed alongside the planned construction of a new container port at Cockburn Sound.

“The inner harbour is increasingly unsuited to the modern logistics task,” she said.

“Eventually passenger cruise vessels will be the only substantial trade remaining in that area.”

Motor Trade Association of WA chief executive Stephen Moir said it was very disappointing to hear the minister’s update.

“That would add significantly to our costs,” he said.

“It’s a 200-kilometre trip and the costs will be borne by the consumer.”

Mr Moir said he had initial discussions with the government a year ago, at which point four options were canvassed.

“We pushed strongly for transferring the trade to North Quay,” he said.

(This land would be available for other uses after the container trade shifted to Cockburn Sound.)

Another option was transferring to Kwinana, which Mr Moir said the industry would accept at a pinch.

The remaining options were Geraldton and Bunbury.

“We expressed grave concern, Bunbury would be totally unacceptable,” Mr Moir said.

The minister said construction of the Bunbury Outer Ring Road was a plus for the Bunbury option.

Mr Moir said that was a bypass road and made no difference.

Ms Saffioti also noted the large amounts of land available at Bunbury that could be used for the pre-delivery processing of vehicles.

This work is currently undertaken at holding yards at Perth Airport, where companies such as PrixCar and Auto Care prepare vehicles for delivery to car yards.

PrixCar and Auto Care will need to find new premises in coming years as their current sites are earmarked for the planned third runway at Perth Airport.

Mr Moir said he did not expect that work would be undertaken at Bunbury as vehicles would get dusty and dirty from the trip to Perth.

He also expressed concern about imports of heavy machinery, which require special transport corridors for ‘high wide loads’.

Prestige Toyota managing director Mark Lauren said a shift to Bunbury would create major upheaval.

“We’re the biggest player in the market and it would create significant logistical issues for us,” he said.

“I’d suggest the same would apply for everyone else.”

He noted that Toyota had its own processing centre at Kewdale.

“I would be lobbying extra hard to not have our vehicles come in through Bunbury,” Mr Lauren said.

Fremantle Ports CEO Michael Parker said he was working very closely with the Westport project office and our other government partners to develop a plan for the port and to facilitate trade and an effective supply chain.

"We’re continually looking for opportunities to improve the efficiency and reliability of the port ecosystem to deliver benefits for the importers and exporters of WA, while the bigger questions of future locations for trades are brought together under the Westport umbrella," Mr Parker said.

Ms Saffioti told Friday’s lunch that relocating the container trade and other freight away from Fremantle would allow for redevelopment of the existing harbour precinct.

“We are keen to develop the inner harbour into an exciting commercial, tourism and residential centre,” she said.

“We will be progressing this in stages.”

She also provided an update on the Westport project saying key design work for the new container port was under way.

A business case for the project was being progressed and the government plans to establish a Westport Authority to help streamline the project.

Ms Saffioti said a new road freight route would be developed along Anketell and Thomas roads to link the proposed container port with Tonkin Highway.

She added that upgrades of regional ports across WA was also needed, including for the import of wind farm equipment and the export of larger grain harvests.