3.3.12. Public-private partnerships Lithium Valley partnerships need to invite private investment
It is recommended that the State Government embraces Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects to better manage risk, reduce costs and maximise economic benefits in establishing the Western Trade Coast with the New Energy initiative. In order to assist Lithium Valley the Government needs to develop a framework for the use of PPPs to develop vital WA infrastructure and create the necessary investment opportunities. It is also recommended that the Government implement the unsolicited proposal framework completed by the Department of Premier and Cabinet. PPPs are an important channel for attracting private investment into a wide range of projects initiated by government in areas like infrastructure and public services and there is much private investment that is needed in the New Energy era. There have only been a few PPPs in WA in recent years though the Perth Stadium project shows they can be very successful. Due to the very limited utilisation of PPPs in WA, private industry will necessarily retain doubts over funding, legal, regulatory and the political environment as long as the possibility remains that arbitrary government intervention might affect the contractual agreement entered into between public and private entities. Hence, development of a PPP framework would benefit industry by providing greater clarity and increased transparency for all parties. The use of such a framework could be trialled on the Kwinana SIP and associated industries as part of the Lithium Valley initiative. 3.3.13. Direct mining investment Review the involvement of the State Government in New Energy minerals and industries. The Government should review whether it is in the State’s interest to again become directly involved with mining operations either as a majority or minority shareholder in companies that are prepared to enter into local value-added activity in the New Energy arena. As outlined above the WA Government has a history of direct involvement in mining and resource development. The state should consider partnering in developing resource deposits if the partner companies are committed to developing quality products that would then be processed into Lithium Valley industries and associated value adding activity. The state government could be involved on a short term basis to help capture more of the benefits of these finite resources. This would particularly be to catalyse industrial activity in the SIP. Although this would be a major change from recent government policy, the current budget deficit and the dramatic changes in industry and society resulting from technological advances would justify at a minimum reviewing the risks and rewards to the state. As in the past this involvement would only need to be in the early stages of the transition to a New Energy economy. 3.3.14. Become a model for the circular economy Develop a program to capture and recycle 100% treated wastewater to the southern groundwater aquifers. The New Energy economy is also associated with what is known as the Circular Economy where wastes are minimised. Kwinana is globally known for its industrial ecology and waste exchanges that dramatically reduced wastes going into the air and water in the region. The next stage of industrial development in the region needs to take this further and use global best practice waste treatment, especially on wastewater. It is recommended that discharges of wastewater into the sea be scaled down and eventually prohibited as soon as practically possible to enable the local development of alternative wastewater uses for agriculture and industry and maximise the economic and social benefits for the region, especially the value of Cockburn Sound. Treated wastewater with reduced dissolved
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