Mr HAASE (5:55 PM) —I rise this evening to bring the attention of the House to a long-awaited announcement in the Pilbara area of Western Australia. For the past few months we have all been following the Woodside versus Shell saga very carefully. The outcome of whether Shell will be permitted to take over the Western Australian company is yet to be ascertained. What is well known, however, is that the takeover of a Western Australian icon is not welcomed by the people of Western Australia and is most unwelcome in the town of Karratha.

This week the focus on Woodside Petroleum has shifted slightly with the announcement that we in Western Australia have all been waiting for: the announcement of a $2.4 billion expansion in the North West Shelf liquefied natural gas project. There is no doubt that this expansion, increasing the project to the biggest liquefied national gas production train in the world, is going to have immense benefits for the local Pilbara, Western Australian and national economy. I congratulate Woodside, as the operator of the project, for its commitment to Western Australia, for its ongoing investment in infrastructure in the Pilbara region and its regional support overall. I congratulate the other partners in the project also for their commitment: Royal Dutch Shell, BHP, BP, Chevron and MIMI, Mitsubishi and Mitsui.

I am happy to learn that Western Australian companies are to have a major role to play in the expansion of the project, which is located on the Burrup Peninsula near Karratha. Karratha is a key township within the Pilbara region and within the federal election of Kalgoorlie, which I am privileged to represent here in the House. It is a region where I have spent many years in business, and I personally know the boost that this project is going to give to industries and businesses in the Pilbara area. This is reward for the great effort and tenacity that has been shown by Karratha small business proprietors in hanging on for many years waiting for this announcement.

I heard this week that the 4.2 million tonnes a year train would be designed in Perth, the first time the plant has been designed in its own home country. That is a major coup for that company, a major coup for Western Australia and a major coup for Australia as a whole. It is testament to the very high level of technical expertise to be found in Western Australia. The employment created is estimated at 400 new jobs in Perth during the initial stages and in Karratha the construction work force is expected to peak at about 2,000 people. I know this will be a welcome injection of employment in the Pilbara and it will have a tremendous flow-on effect to the social and economic prospects in that area.

I am visiting Karratha next week with Minister for Financial Services and Regulation, the Hon. Joe Hockey. I know feeling in the town is going to be very positive and brimming with confidence and optimism. Studies have shown that the project will support about 9,000 jobs, directly and indirectly nationally during the construction stages. Construction is due to start in September, and once the project reaches the full peak in production, it is expected to increase state exports and gross state product by about $1 billion.

The train 4 project includes an $800 million second trunkline to the gas fields, supplementing the existing submarine pipeline that runs from Rankin A platform into the Burrup LNG plant. This is a major injection into our local and national economy and the willingness of this level of commitment by the partners in this project is indicative of the level of justly deserved confidence many industries have in the future of Australia.

Question resolved in the affirmative.