Greens federal candidate for Tangney Thor Kerr has questioned state Treasurer Mike Nahan’s comments that Riverton residents desperately wanted Roe 8 and the Perth Freight Link.
Last week Dr Nahan said the number of trucks on local roads was the biggest issue in his state electorate of Riverton and had been for many years, which was a major driver for the Roe Highway extension.
Dr Kerr has lived in Riverton for 10 years and said during his time there and during the federal election campaign no one he’s spoken to has brought it up. “Nobody mentions Roe Highway in the electorate in any of my conversations,” he said.
“I just think he’s making a grand misrepresentation.
“What gets brought up is people are worried about the economy, cost of living, they’re worried about their jobs.
“They’re basically worried about economic management so I feel that Mike Nahan would do better to concentrate on managing the economy, that side of things and stop talking about trucks when they’re really not an issue.”
Dr Kerr also spruiked his party’s recently released public transport plan Transit City.
Under the plan billions of dollars would be poured into heavy and light rail, rapid bus transport routes, more buses and better cycling infrastructure.
To connect outer suburbs a ring road would run from Joondalup to the airport then to the Thornlie line.
The Thornlie line would then link to Canning Vale, Cockburn and a new line would then run from Cockburn to Fremantle.
They would also extend the State Government’s now dumped MAX light rail project to Curtin University and create several rapid bus transport routes.
Dr Kerr said out metropolitan areas had been left out of public transport planning but the Greens’ plan fixed that.
Dr Nahan said he had participated in two elections, doorknocked the entire electorate multiple times, a number of polls have been conducted and he was regularly contacted by residents about the issue.
“There is no doubt in my mind that the number of trucks on Leach Highway and South Street is a major issue and has been for many years,” he said.
