CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS
Mr JOSH WILSON (Fremantle—Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy and Assistant Minister for Emergency Management) (10:54): The other day, I had the privilege and joy of standing on the new Fremantle Traffic Bridge, which is under construction, and being part of an announcement with WA government colleagues that this momentous project will be completed before Christmas, substantially earlier than expected.
This new bridge, the most significant piece of connective infrastructure to be delivered in Freo in my lifetime, is being delivered with the support, engagement and input of the broader community on both sides of the Swan River. Indeed, it's a project that we've worked towards since my time as deputy mayor back in 2011. In the city's Freo 2029: transformational moves document, we identified the new bridge as a key objective to be achieved by the bicentenary of colonial settlement.
As part of the Albanese government, I'm very proud to have helped deliver $215 million in federal funding to see this transformational move achieved three years early. It's an outcome that the entire community has sought and the entire community has enabled, in both the design and construction phases, but especially during the last six months, when we lost one of our two points of river crossing, putting enormous pressure on traffic and impacting local businesses.
I want to pay credit to the WA government and the Freo and East Freo local governments for how the traffic issues have been managed. I want to give huge credit to the way our entire community stepped up to the challenge, made sensible alternative arrangements where possible, showed flexibility and forbearance for the delays that couldn't be avoided and made sure to support our local businesses more than ever.
The new bridge is and will be an understated, functional and elegant first-of-a-kind span across the Swan River, bringing 21st century design excellence to join a harbour landscape that has been a meeting place for the Whadjuk Noongar people for thousands of years. It will deliver smoother and safer passage for the vehicle and bicycle traffic above and for the watercraft below, and the biggest difference will be for people walking and cycling, with generous-lane-width pathways on both sides, instead of the single cramped strip that previously meant a cyclist and a pedestrian couldn't pass one another.
As someone who's crossed the bridge thousands of times at almost every hour of the day in the past, I can tell you this new bridge will be a revelation. But, beyond its function, the new old bridge will also make a contribution to the quality and character of an incredible landscape—a place with great bones and layers of history, where the Swan coastal plain meets the Indian Ocean coast, where the river meets the sea; a portscape of red cranes and massive shifts, with the silvery upturned dinghy of the Maritime Museum at one end and the rainbow sculpture of sea containers at the other.
What is most distinctive about Freo is our capacity to imagine and embrace positive change that meets the test we rightly apply out of respect for the special character of the place we share. The new old Fremantle Bridge will bring a generational example of how we achieve that together to our community. The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Fernando ): In accordance with standing order 193, the time for members' constituency statements has concluded.