State govt to review Southern Ports Authority

The state government has ordered a review of the effectiveness of the Southern Ports Authority since its formation in late 2014, after receiving conflicting reports about its success.

The Southern Ports Authority was created through the amalgamation of the Albany, Bunbury and Esperance ports authorities in October 2014, after the port authorities of Broome, Port Hedland, Dampier and Geraldton were amalgamated into three overarching regional ports authorities – Kimberley, Pilbara and Mid West.

In a statement today, the state government said it would review the performance of the ports that make up the Southern Ports Authority, before and after their amalgamation.

“It will examine to what extent the expected benefits of amalgamation have been achieved, whether original concerns about the merger have been justified and if further changes are required for the future operation of the ports,” it said.

A working group chaired by Agricultural Region MLC Laurie Graham will provide a report to Transport Minister Rita Saffioti by December.

“It is clear to me from my travels in the South West, Great Southern and Goldfields-Esperance regions in the past couple of years that people hold a range of views about the success or otherwise of the amalgamation, and whether it has been good for the regions,” Ms Saffioti said.

“The working group will go into the process with an open mind and will present their findings to government towards the end of the year.”