WA Investment Prospectus (RDA)

Context WA sits astride Indian Ocean Basin, the world’s third- largest body of water and the fastest growing global region, strategically positioning Australia to grow and diversify economically while playing an important international trade facilitation role. The State Government’s commitment to develop a world-class, industry backed port in Kwinana (Westport) signals to investors that WA is transitioning into a Western gateway to Australia, with global transhipment and sustainment services and growing value-added industrial exports. Industry is responding. Low cost renewable energy generated in the regions and reduced labour requirements through automation are increasingly shifting the focus of WA’s regions from exporting primary goods to local value-adding. Plans and projects are under way to establish or increase value-added production capacity throughout the State. To capitalise on this generational opportunity, WA will need to boost improve freight efficiencies throughout the network. Across most of WA, freight rail is the missing element in the productivity equation. In the Eastern States and across the developed world, freight moves according to a mix of drivers – speed, capacity, flexibility and cost – as follows: 10 • Air freight – highest speed, lowest capacity and highest cost. • Road freight – point to point and scheduling flexibility, medium capacity, speed and cost. • Rail freight – high capacity, lower speed, flexibility and cost. • Maritime freight – slowest speed, highest capacity and least cost and flexibility.

The State Government’s commitment to develop a world- class, industry backed port in Kwinana (Westport) signals to investors that WA is transitioning into a Western gateway to Australia, with global transhipment and sustainment services and growing value- added industrial exports.

The growing global mandate to decarbonise supply chains and the commercial imperative to reduce carbon offset costs is driving freight onto the lowest carbon option. Inland freight will benefit from the 16-fold carbon efficiency per tonne kilometre offered by rail over road freight, particularly during the transition to renewable energy. Safety benefits and savings from road accidents avoided also favours rail over road. This savings is estimated to be in the neighbourhood of 1 cent per tonne kilometre. 11 Further, labour constraints in trucking experienced in WA growth cycles would be reduced by the growth of rail.