Commissioner's Foreword

I am pleased to present Main Roads Western Australia’s Annual Report for 2018-19. Underpinning the achievements detailed in this report and those of Main Roads into the future is our responsibility to work with our Portfolio partners, the Department of Transport and the Public Transport Authority, to plan and deliver transport solutions for the prosperity of our State.

Together, we have made excellent headway on a number of key priorities in 2018-19 ranging from smaller policy, process and customer service improvements to large scale transformational infrastructure projects – all delivering huge benefits for the community.

Our road network is a vital part of this mix in terms of Connecting People and Places and Keeping WA Moving. We have seen record levels of investment and planning in the delivery of infrastructure across the Portfolio and that includes of course the work done by Main Roads over the last year. Investment drives jobs and opportunities for all Western Australians and allows us to focus on putting community outcomes front and centre.

Like Peter, I am particularly proud of the work that we have been doing in contributing to enhancing the wellbeing of Aboriginal people and businesses through increased employment and training opportunities. Our efforts in this space have been evident throughout the Bidyadanga access road and airstrip sealing, Great Northern Highway Maggie Creek to Wyndham upgrade and Bow River Bridge projects. Earlier this year our work was recognised by winning the Institute of Public Administration Australia’s 2019 Best Practice in Corporate Social Values award. 

We remain committed to creating lasting benefits for the community through the consideration of social, environmental and economic aspects in all that we do. However, we recognise that the development and operation of the State’s road network, if not undertaken with care and responsibility, can have the potential to cause negative impacts. We continue to set the benchmark for increasing the use of recycled material in new and sustainable ways through initiatives such as the Roads to Reuse Program and taking up the challenge of advancing infrastructure sustainability. Whether this is through ensuring an integrated transport network and providing different options for Perth commuters or building WA’s first- ever fully vegetated fauna bridge, our commitment is clear.

At the core of everything we do are our customers,the people who use our transport network. To ensure a continued high quality of service to the community and in line with the Public Sector Reform initiatives to provide a more stable workforce we are working towards a unified call centre bringing together services from Main Roads Contact Information Centre to the Department of Transport's Customer Contact Centre.

Retaining and bringing this expertise under single leadership offers greater flexibility to manage demand for services across the contact centres and is an important step towards a single view of our customer across the Portfolio. This will enable us to provide services that best meet customers' needs now and in the future.

Further examples of how the Transport Portfolio is working together on significant transport projects are highlighted in the 2018-19 Connecting People and Places publication. Connecting People and Places also provides an overview of the Portfolio's operations and the objectives, trends and influences guiding our work.

It is a privilege to lead such an organisation and have the opportunity to showcase some of our achievements over the past 12 months. I would like to thank everyone in Main Roads for their hard work, dedication and service and I look forward to what is already shaping up to be another milestone year for transport in Western Australia.

Richard Sellers
Commissioner of Main Roads