Three protesters have been dragged out of a resources sector breakfast that counted Prime Minister Anthony Albanese among its high-profile guests.
Albanese was due to deliver an address at the Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA event in Perth on Wednesday.
The event took an unexpected turn when the anti-gas advocates rushed onto the stage and began shouting.
Footage showed a security member grabbing one of the protesters by his jacket and pushing him towards the exit.
Guests watched on from their tables as the commotion unfolded, while others chose to ignore the stunt and continued their conversations.
Premier Roger Cook and Woodside boss Liz Westcott were among the other high-profile guests attending the event.
Albanese will announce $1.1billion in funding for road infrastructure, a crucial investment in Kwinana’s new container port, Westport.
‘This will be the industrial heart of Western Australia, and we want to make sure that road and freight rail connections are there from day one,’ Albanese will say.
Albanese was due to deliver an address at the Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA event in Perth on Wednesday (stock image)
‘We’ve backed the blueprint – and now we will partner with the WA Labor Government to lift it off the page.
‘Every Budget we have delivered has invested in WA infrastructure, and you will see that again on the 12th of May.’
The $1.1billion will contribute to vital road upgrades that will remove trucks from residential streets.
‘Western Australia’s economy is the strongest in the nation, and the future container port in Kwinana coupled with the Western Trade Coast will play a significant role in maintaining that strength,’ Cook told The West.
Anktell Road will be expanded to four lanes in some sections and a flyover-style intersection will be built at Rockingham Road.
‘Upgrading Anketell Road will help deliver this once-in-a-century economic infrastructure for WA,’ Cook said.
‘It will ensure our State has what it needs to meet my government’s priorities – including becoming a renewable energy superpower and a place that makes more things here.’
Albanese will also allocate $45million to speed up environmental approvals, slashing the amount of red tape surrounding new housing and energy projects.
The funding will be provided to encourage governments across the country to prioritise signing on to new assessment and approval agreements with the Commonwealth.
State and territory leaders who sign a new deal with the federal government will be allowed to assess proposals and green-light them on behalf of the Commonwealth.
Albanese will point to median approval times for projects under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act blowing out from 48 weeks 20 years ago to 118 weeks now.
The drawn-out process resulted in investors walking away from projects and communities missing out, the prime minister will say.
‘This will fast-track new energy, housing and resources projects by combining federal and state approvals, effectively removing an entire layer of bureaucracy from the process,’ Albanese will say.
‘So instead of a two-stage, two-track process, with that all the cost of delays and doubling up, this will be a one-step process, with one, clearer, faster, yes or no.
‘After too many wasted years, this can be a circuit-breaker – if the states step up and sign up.’
more to come
