❓ The Minister for Energy confirms a recruitment drive for Western Power line workers, with about half to be posted to regional areas. The announcement is used to attack the opposition's past record on energy infrastructure investment.
AnsweredQoN 330Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the recent announcement of the minister - the world’s best Treasurer - about new Western Power line workers. Will any of those new workers be posted to regional Western Australia? Mr E.S. RIPPER
AnswerView source ↗
I am very pleased to confirm that the Government and Western Power have embarked on a recruitment drive to appoint more workers to restore power supplies in the event of faults arising from storms, fire damage or other causes. Mr P.D. Omodei: There are problems we could identify right now. Mr C.J. Barnett: How is winter shaping up for security of supply? Mr E.S. RIPPER: The Leader of the Opposition is not interested in additional staff being appointed by Western Australia but other people might be interested to know that we will spend $8 million over the next four years to improve response times and the reliability of power supplies by recruiting more than 100 workers. The member for Warren-Blackwood should stay still, silent and calm; I will quote him in a little while. His turn in the sun will come. Response times in the metropolitan area will be further improved with more Western Power emergency vehicles equipped with lights and sirens to allow repair crews to get to scenes more quickly in the event of traffic congestion. All of this is part of the Government’s record commitment of $1.8 million to the electricity network throughout the State to improve safety, reliability and quality of power supply. The line crews are the unsung heroes of the power supply system. They work in storms, in the aftermath of bushfires and on public holidays, including Christmas Day, restoring services when power supplies have been cut to families. The first of the new workers will join metropolitan regional line crews in about a month. About half the recruits will be posted to regional areas. Western Power currently has a complement of 370 people working on the lines, of which 200 are country based. The recruitment will mean that more linespeople are based in the Moora, Albany, Picton, Kalgoorlie, Northam and Mandurah depots. Field assistants will be located at Albany, Kalgoorlie, Margaret River, Picton, Mandurah, Bridgetown, Katanning, Narrogin, Three Springs, Geraldton, Koorda, Northam and Busselton. Dr G.I. Gallop: Hear, hear! Mr E.S. RIPPER: We want more young people, particularly from country areas, to consider a career with Western Power because there is a long-term shortage of linespeople. It is an ageing work force and it offers plenty of opportunities. As always, it is worth contrasting the investment of this Government in the network with that of members opposite. When the National Party was in coalition the then Minister for Energy decimated Western Power’s staffing levels, failed to make the necessary investment in maintenance and capital upgrades, broke the back of the uniform tariff principle, instructed Western Power that the uniform tariff mentality had to be broken and privatised anything he could get his hands on. He had plans to privatise Western Power, which he will take up again if he ever gets the opportunity. Now comes the turn of the member for Warren-Blackwood, who chimed in just at the right time. He knows how the Leader of the Opposition starved the network of investment. He threw a dead cat at the feet of the Leader of the Opposition with his comments in the Donnybrook Bridgetown Mail of 13 April, when he said - The power infrastructure in this State has been in a state of decline for a decade. Who was in charge of that infrastructure? The Leader of the Opposition. I think country people know the truth. They know that the Cottesloe conservatives will not look after the power needs of people in the country area of Western Australia. Unfortunately, although country people know that, the National Party has not yet tumbled to the truth.
Mr E.S. RIPPER replied: I am very pleased to confirm that the Government and Western Power have embarked on a recruitment drive to appoint more workers to restore power supplies in the event of faults arising from storms, fire damage or other causes. Mr P.D. Omodei: There are problems we could identify right now. Mr C.J. Barnett: How is winter shaping up for security of supply? Mr E.S. RIPPER: The Leader of the Opposition is not interested in additional staff being appointed by Western Australia but other people might be interested to know that we will spend $8 million over the next four years to improve response times and the reliability of power supplies by recruiting more than 100 workers. The member for Warren-Blackwood should stay still, silent and calm; I will quote him in a little while. His turn in the sun will come. Response times in the metropolitan area will be further improved with more Western Power emergency vehicles equipped with lights and sirens to allow repair crews to get to scenes more quickly in the event of traffic congestion. All of this is part of the Government’s record commitment of $1.8 million to the electricity network throughout the State to improve safety, reliability and quality of power supply. The line crews are the unsung heroes of the power supply system. They work in storms, in the aftermath of bushfires and on public holidays, including Christmas Day, restoring services when power supplies have been cut to families. The first of the new workers will join metropolitan regional line crews in about a month. About half the recruits will be posted to regional areas. Western Power currently has a complement of 370 people working on the lines, of which 200 are country based. The recruitment will mean that more linespeople are based in the Moora, Albany, Picton, Kalgoorlie, Northam and Mandurah depots. Field assistants will be located at Albany, Kalgoorlie, Margaret River, Picton, Mandurah, Bridgetown, Katanning, Narrogin, Three Springs, Geraldton, Koorda, Northam and Busselton. Dr G.I. Gallop: Hear, hear! Mr E.S. RIPPER: We want more young people, particularly from country areas, to consider a career with Western Power because there is a long-term shortage of linespeople. It is an ageing work force and it offers plenty of opportunities. As always, it is worth contrasting the investment of this Government in the network with that of members opposite. When the National Party was in coalition the then Minister for Energy decimated Western Power’s staffing levels, failed to make the necessary investment in maintenance and capital upgrades, broke the back of the uniform tariff principle, instructed Western Power that the uniform tariff mentality had to be broken and privatised anything he could get his hands on. He had plans to privatise Western Power, which he will take up again if he ever gets the opportunity. Now comes the turn of the member for Warren-Blackwood, who chimed in just at the right time. He knows how the Leader of the Opposition starved the network of investment. He threw a dead cat at the feet of the Leader of the Opposition with his comments in the Donnybrook Bridgetown Mail of 13 April, when he said - The power infrastructure in this State has been in a state of decline for a decade. Who was in charge of that infrastructure? The Leader of the Opposition. I think country people know the truth. They know that the Cottesloe conservatives will not look after the power needs of people in the country area of Western Australia. Unfortunately, although country people know that, the National Party has not yet tumbled to the truth.
I am very pleased to confirm that the Government and Western Power have embarked on a recruitment drive to appoint more workers to restore power supplies in the event of faults arising from storms, fire damage or other causes. Mr P.D. Omodei: There are problems we could identify right now. Mr C.J. Barnett: How is winter shaping up for security of supply? Mr E.S. RIPPER: The Leader of the Opposition is not interested in additional staff being appointed by Western Australia but other people might be interested to know that we will spend $8 million over the next four years to improve response times and the reliability of power supplies by recruiting more than 100 workers. The member for Warren-Blackwood should stay still, silent and calm; I will quote him in a little while. His turn in the sun will come. Response times in the metropolitan area will be further improved with more Western Power emergency vehicles equipped with lights and sirens to allow repair crews to get to scenes more quickly in the event of traffic congestion. All of this is part of the Government’s record commitment of $1.8 million to the electricity network throughout the State to improve safety, reliability and quality of power supply. The line crews are the unsung heroes of the power supply system. They work in storms, in the aftermath of bushfires and on public holidays, including Christmas Day, restoring services when power supplies have been cut to families. The first of the new workers will join metropolitan regional line crews in about a month. About half the recruits will be posted to regional areas. Western Power currently has a complement of 370 people working on the lines, of which 200 are country based. The recruitment will mean that more linespeople are based in the Moora, Albany, Picton, Kalgoorlie, Northam and Mandurah depots. Field assistants will be located at Albany, Kalgoorlie, Margaret River, Picton, Mandurah, Bridgetown, Katanning, Narrogin, Three Springs, Geraldton, Koorda, Northam and Busselton. Dr G.I. Gallop: Hear, hear! Mr E.S. RIPPER: We want more young people, particularly from country areas, to consider a career with Western Power because there is a long-term shortage of linespeople. It is an ageing work force and it offers plenty of opportunities. As always, it is worth contrasting the investment of this Government in the network with that of members opposite. When the National Party was in coalition the then Minister for Energy decimated Western Power’s staffing levels, failed to make the necessary investment in maintenance and capital upgrades, broke the back of the uniform tariff principle, instructed Western Power that the uniform tariff mentality had to be broken and privatised anything he could get his hands on. He had plans to privatise Western Power, which he will take up again if he ever gets the opportunity. Now comes the turn of the member for Warren-Blackwood, who chimed in just at the right time. He knows how the Leader of the Opposition starved the network of investment. He threw a dead cat at the feet of the Leader of the Opposition with his comments in the Donnybrook Bridgetown Mail of 13 April, when he said - The power infrastructure in this State has been in a state of decline for a decade. Who was in charge of that infrastructure? The Leader of the Opposition. I think country people know the truth. They know that the Cottesloe conservatives will not look after the power needs of people in the country area of Western Australia. Unfortunately, although country people know that, the National Party has not yet tumbled to the truth.
Mr P.D. Omodei: There are problems we could identify right now. Mr C.J. Barnett: How is winter shaping up for security of supply? Mr E.S. RIPPER: The Leader of the Opposition is not interested in additional staff being appointed by Western Australia but other people might be interested to know that we will spend $8 million over the next four years to improve response times and the reliability of power supplies by recruiting more than 100 workers. The member for Warren-Blackwood should stay still, silent and calm; I will quote him in a little while. His turn in the sun will come. Response times in the metropolitan area will be further improved with more Western Power emergency vehicles equipped with lights and sirens to allow repair crews to get to scenes more quickly in the event of traffic congestion. All of this is part of the Government’s record commitment of $1.8 million to the electricity network throughout the State to improve safety, reliability and quality of power supply. The line crews are the unsung heroes of the power supply system. They work in storms, in the aftermath of bushfires and on public holidays, including Christmas Day, restoring services when power supplies have been cut to families. The first of the new workers will join metropolitan regional line crews in about a month. About half the recruits will be posted to regional areas. Western Power currently has a complement of 370 people working on the lines, of which 200 are country based. The recruitment will mean that more linespeople are based in the Moora, Albany, Picton, Kalgoorlie, Northam and Mandurah depots. Field assistants will be located at Albany, Kalgoorlie, Margaret River, Picton, Mandurah, Bridgetown, Katanning, Narrogin, Three Springs, Geraldton, Koorda, Northam and Busselton. Dr G.I. Gallop: Hear, hear! Mr E.S. RIPPER: We want more young people, particularly from country areas, to consider a career with Western Power because there is a long-term shortage of linespeople. It is an ageing work force and it offers plenty of opportunities. As always, it is worth contrasting the investment of this Government in the network with that of members opposite. When the National Party was in coalition the then Minister for Energy decimated Western Power’s staffing levels, failed to make the necessary investment in maintenance and capital upgrades, broke the back of the uniform tariff principle, instructed Western Power that the uniform tariff mentality had to be broken and privatised anything he could get his hands on. He had plans to privatise Western Power, which he will take up again if he ever gets the opportunity. Now comes the turn of the member for Warren-Blackwood, who chimed in just at the right time. He knows how the Leader of the Opposition starved the network of investment. He threw a dead cat at the feet of the Leader of the Opposition with his comments in the Donnybrook Bridgetown Mail of 13 April, when he said - The power infrastructure in this State has been in a state of decline for a decade. Who was in charge of that infrastructure? The Leader of the Opposition. I think country people know the truth. They know that the Cottesloe conservatives will not look after the power needs of people in the country area of Western Australia. Unfortunately, although country people know that, the National Party has not yet tumbled to the truth.
Mr C.J. Barnett: How is winter shaping up for security of supply? Mr E.S. RIPPER: The Leader of the Opposition is not interested in additional staff being appointed by Western Australia but other people might be interested to know that we will spend $8 million over the next four years to improve response times and the reliability of power supplies by recruiting more than 100 workers. The member for Warren-Blackwood should stay still, silent and calm; I will quote him in a little while. His turn in the sun will come. Response times in the metropolitan area will be further improved with more Western Power emergency vehicles equipped with lights and sirens to allow repair crews to get to scenes more quickly in the event of traffic congestion. All of this is part of the Government’s record commitment of $1.8 million to the electricity network throughout the State to improve safety, reliability and quality of power supply. The line crews are the unsung heroes of the power supply system. They work in storms, in the aftermath of bushfires and on public holidays, including Christmas Day, restoring services when power supplies have been cut to families. The first of the new workers will join metropolitan regional line crews in about a month. About half the recruits will be posted to regional areas. Western Power currently has a complement of 370 people working on the lines, of which 200 are country based. The recruitment will mean that more linespeople are based in the Moora, Albany, Picton, Kalgoorlie, Northam and Mandurah depots. Field assistants will be located at Albany, Kalgoorlie, Margaret River, Picton, Mandurah, Bridgetown, Katanning, Narrogin, Three Springs, Geraldton, Koorda, Northam and Busselton. Dr G.I. Gallop: Hear, hear! Mr E.S. RIPPER: We want more young people, particularly from country areas, to consider a career with Western Power because there is a long-term shortage of linespeople. It is an ageing work force and it offers plenty of opportunities. As always, it is worth contrasting the investment of this Government in the network with that of members opposite. When the National Party was in coalition the then Minister for Energy decimated Western Power’s staffing levels, failed to make the necessary investment in maintenance and capital upgrades, broke the back of the uniform tariff principle, instructed Western Power that the uniform tariff mentality had to be broken and privatised anything he could get his hands on. He had plans to privatise Western Power, which he will take up again if he ever gets the opportunity. Now comes the turn of the member for Warren-Blackwood, who chimed in just at the right time. He knows how the Leader of the Opposition starved the network of investment. He threw a dead cat at the feet of the Leader of the Opposition with his comments in the Donnybrook Bridgetown Mail of 13 April, when he said - The power infrastructure in this State has been in a state of decline for a decade. Who was in charge of that infrastructure? The Leader of the Opposition. I think country people know the truth. They know that the Cottesloe conservatives will not look after the power needs of people in the country area of Western Australia. Unfortunately, although country people know that, the National Party has not yet tumbled to the truth.
Mr E.S. RIPPER: The Leader of the Opposition is not interested in additional staff being appointed by Western Australia but other people might be interested to know that we will spend $8 million over the next four years to improve response times and the reliability of power supplies by recruiting more than 100 workers. The member for Warren-Blackwood should stay still, silent and calm; I will quote him in a little while. His turn in the sun will come. Response times in the metropolitan area will be further improved with more Western Power emergency vehicles equipped with lights and sirens to allow repair crews to get to scenes more quickly in the event of traffic congestion. All of this is part of the Government’s record commitment of $1.8 million to the electricity network throughout the State to improve safety, reliability and quality of power supply. The line crews are the unsung heroes of the power supply system. They work in storms, in the aftermath of bushfires and on public holidays, including Christmas Day, restoring services when power supplies have been cut to families. The first of the new workers will join metropolitan regional line crews in about a month. About half the recruits will be posted to regional areas. Western Power currently has a complement of 370 people working on the lines, of which 200 are country based. The recruitment will mean that more linespeople are based in the Moora, Albany, Picton, Kalgoorlie, Northam and Mandurah depots. Field assistants will be located at Albany, Kalgoorlie, Margaret River, Picton, Mandurah, Bridgetown, Katanning, Narrogin, Three Springs, Geraldton, Koorda, Northam and Busselton. Dr G.I. Gallop: Hear, hear! Mr E.S. RIPPER: We want more young people, particularly from country areas, to consider a career with Western Power because there is a long-term shortage of linespeople. It is an ageing work force and it offers plenty of opportunities. As always, it is worth contrasting the investment of this Government in the network with that of members opposite. When the National Party was in coalition the then Minister for Energy decimated Western Power’s staffing levels, failed to make the necessary investment in maintenance and capital upgrades, broke the back of the uniform tariff principle, instructed Western Power that the uniform tariff mentality had to be broken and privatised anything he could get his hands on. He had plans to privatise Western Power, which he will take up again if he ever gets the opportunity. Now comes the turn of the member for Warren-Blackwood, who chimed in just at the right time. He knows how the Leader of the Opposition starved the network of investment. He threw a dead cat at the feet of the Leader of the Opposition with his comments in the Donnybrook Bridgetown Mail of 13 April, when he said - The power infrastructure in this State has been in a state of decline for a decade. Who was in charge of that infrastructure? The Leader of the Opposition. I think country people know the truth. They know that the Cottesloe conservatives will not look after the power needs of people in the country area of Western Australia. Unfortunately, although country people know that, the National Party has not yet tumbled to the truth.
Response times in the metropolitan area will be further improved with more Western Power emergency vehicles equipped with lights and sirens to allow repair crews to get to scenes more quickly in the event of traffic congestion. All of this is part of the Government’s record commitment of $1.8 million to the electricity network throughout the State to improve safety, reliability and quality of power supply. The line crews are the unsung heroes of the power supply system. They work in storms, in the aftermath of bushfires and on public holidays, including Christmas Day, restoring services when power supplies have been cut to families. The first of the new workers will join metropolitan regional line crews in about a month. About half the recruits will be posted to regional areas. Western Power currently has a complement of 370 people working on the lines, of which 200 are country based. The recruitment will mean that more linespeople are based in the Moora, Albany, Picton, Kalgoorlie, Northam and Mandurah depots. Field assistants will be located at Albany, Kalgoorlie, Margaret River, Picton, Mandurah, Bridgetown, Katanning, Narrogin, Three Springs, Geraldton, Koorda, Northam and Busselton. Dr G.I. Gallop: Hear, hear! Mr E.S. RIPPER: We want more young people, particularly from country areas, to consider a career with Western Power because there is a long-term shortage of linespeople. It is an ageing work force and it offers plenty of opportunities. As always, it is worth contrasting the investment of this Government in the network with that of members opposite. When the National Party was in coalition the then Minister for Energy decimated Western Power’s staffing levels, failed to make the necessary investment in maintenance and capital upgrades, broke the back of the uniform tariff principle, instructed Western Power that the uniform tariff mentality had to be broken and privatised anything he could get his hands on. He had plans to privatise Western Power, which he will take up again if he ever gets the opportunity. Now comes the turn of the member for Warren-Blackwood, who chimed in just at the right time. He knows how the Leader of the Opposition starved the network of investment. He threw a dead cat at the feet of the Leader of the Opposition with his comments in the Donnybrook Bridgetown Mail of 13 April, when he said - The power infrastructure in this State has been in a state of decline for a decade. Who was in charge of that infrastructure? The Leader of the Opposition. I think country people know the truth. They know that the Cottesloe conservatives will not look after the power needs of people in the country area of Western Australia. Unfortunately, although country people know that, the National Party has not yet tumbled to the truth.
The first of the new workers will join metropolitan regional line crews in about a month. About half the recruits will be posted to regional areas. Western Power currently has a complement of 370 people working on the lines, of which 200 are country based. The recruitment will mean that more linespeople are based in the Moora, Albany, Picton, Kalgoorlie, Northam and Mandurah depots. Field assistants will be located at Albany, Kalgoorlie, Margaret River, Picton, Mandurah, Bridgetown, Katanning, Narrogin, Three Springs, Geraldton, Koorda, Northam and Busselton. Dr G.I. Gallop: Hear, hear! Mr E.S. RIPPER: We want more young people, particularly from country areas, to consider a career with Western Power because there is a long-term shortage of linespeople. It is an ageing work force and it offers plenty of opportunities. As always, it is worth contrasting the investment of this Government in the network with that of members opposite. When the National Party was in coalition the then Minister for Energy decimated Western Power’s staffing levels, failed to make the necessary investment in maintenance and capital upgrades, broke the back of the uniform tariff principle, instructed Western Power that the uniform tariff mentality had to be broken and privatised anything he could get his hands on. He had plans to privatise Western Power, which he will take up again if he ever gets the opportunity. Now comes the turn of the member for Warren-Blackwood, who chimed in just at the right time. He knows how the Leader of the Opposition starved the network of investment. He threw a dead cat at the feet of the Leader of the Opposition with his comments in the Donnybrook Bridgetown Mail of 13 April, when he said - The power infrastructure in this State has been in a state of decline for a decade. Who was in charge of that infrastructure? The Leader of the Opposition. I think country people know the truth. They know that the Cottesloe conservatives will not look after the power needs of people in the country area of Western Australia. Unfortunately, although country people know that, the National Party has not yet tumbled to the truth.
Dr G.I. Gallop: Hear, hear! Mr E.S. RIPPER: We want more young people, particularly from country areas, to consider a career with Western Power because there is a long-term shortage of linespeople. It is an ageing work force and it offers plenty of opportunities. As always, it is worth contrasting the investment of this Government in the network with that of members opposite. When the National Party was in coalition the then Minister for Energy decimated Western Power’s staffing levels, failed to make the necessary investment in maintenance and capital upgrades, broke the back of the uniform tariff principle, instructed Western Power that the uniform tariff mentality had to be broken and privatised anything he could get his hands on. He had plans to privatise Western Power, which he will take up again if he ever gets the opportunity. Now comes the turn of the member for Warren-Blackwood, who chimed in just at the right time. He knows how the Leader of the Opposition starved the network of investment. He threw a dead cat at the feet of the Leader of the Opposition with his comments in the Donnybrook Bridgetown Mail of 13 April, when he said - The power infrastructure in this State has been in a state of decline for a decade. Who was in charge of that infrastructure? The Leader of the Opposition. I think country people know the truth. They know that the Cottesloe conservatives will not look after the power needs of people in the country area of Western Australia. Unfortunately, although country people know that, the National Party has not yet tumbled to the truth.
Mr E.S. RIPPER: We want more young people, particularly from country areas, to consider a career with Western Power because there is a long-term shortage of linespeople. It is an ageing work force and it offers plenty of opportunities. As always, it is worth contrasting the investment of this Government in the network with that of members opposite. When the National Party was in coalition the then Minister for Energy decimated Western Power’s staffing levels, failed to make the necessary investment in maintenance and capital upgrades, broke the back of the uniform tariff principle, instructed Western Power that the uniform tariff mentality had to be broken and privatised anything he could get his hands on. He had plans to privatise Western Power, which he will take up again if he ever gets the opportunity. Now comes the turn of the member for Warren-Blackwood, who chimed in just at the right time. He knows how the Leader of the Opposition starved the network of investment. He threw a dead cat at the feet of the Leader of the Opposition with his comments in the Donnybrook Bridgetown Mail of 13 April, when he said - The power infrastructure in this State has been in a state of decline for a decade. Who was in charge of that infrastructure? The Leader of the Opposition. I think country people know the truth. They know that the Cottesloe conservatives will not look after the power needs of people in the country area of Western Australia. Unfortunately, although country people know that, the National Party has not yet tumbled to the truth.
As always, it is worth contrasting the investment of this Government in the network with that of members opposite. When the National Party was in coalition the then Minister for Energy decimated Western Power’s staffing levels, failed to make the necessary investment in maintenance and capital upgrades, broke the back of the uniform tariff principle, instructed Western Power that the uniform tariff mentality had to be broken and privatised anything he could get his hands on. He had plans to privatise Western Power, which he will take up again if he ever gets the opportunity. Now comes the turn of the member for Warren-Blackwood, who chimed in just at the right time. He knows how the Leader of the Opposition starved the network of investment. He threw a dead cat at the feet of the Leader of the Opposition with his comments in the Donnybrook Bridgetown Mail of 13 April, when he said - The power infrastructure in this State has been in a state of decline for a decade. Who was in charge of that infrastructure? The Leader of the Opposition. I think country people know the truth. They know that the Cottesloe conservatives will not look after the power needs of people in the country area of Western Australia. Unfortunately, although country people know that, the National Party has not yet tumbled to the truth.
Now comes the turn of the member for Warren-Blackwood, who chimed in just at the right time. He knows how the Leader of the Opposition starved the network of investment. He threw a dead cat at the feet of the Leader of the Opposition with his comments in the Donnybrook Bridgetown Mail of 13 April, when he said - The power infrastructure in this State has been in a state of decline for a decade. Who was in charge of that infrastructure? The Leader of the Opposition. I think country people know the truth. They know that the Cottesloe conservatives will not look after the power needs of people in the country area of Western Australia. Unfortunately, although country people know that, the National Party has not yet tumbled to the truth.
Mr E.S. RIPPER replied: I am very pleased to confirm that the Government and Western Power have embarked on a recruitment drive to appoint more workers to restore power supplies in the event of faults arising from storms, fire damage or other causes. Mr P.D. Omodei: There are problems we could identify right now. Mr C.J. Barnett: How is winter shaping up for security of supply? Mr E.S. RIPPER: The Leader of the Opposition is not interested in additional staff being appointed by Western Australia but other people might be interested to know that we will spend $8 million over the next four years to improve response times and the reliability of power supplies by recruiting more than 100 workers. The member for Warren-Blackwood should stay still, silent and calm; I will quote him in a little while. His turn in the sun will come. Response times in the metropolitan area will be further improved with more Western Power emergency vehicles equipped with lights and sirens to allow repair crews to get to scenes more quickly in the event of traffic congestion. All of this is part of the Government’s record commitment of $1.8 million to the electricity network throughout the State to improve safety, reliability and quality of power supply. The line crews are the unsung heroes of the power supply system. They work in storms, in the aftermath of bushfires and on public holidays, including Christmas Day, restoring services when power supplies have been cut to families. The first of the new workers will join metropolitan regional line crews in about a month. About half the recruits will be posted to regional areas. Western Power currently has a complement of 370 people working on the lines, of which 200 are country based. The recruitment will mean that more linespeople are based in the Moora, Albany, Picton, Kalgoorlie, Northam and Mandurah depots. Field assistants will be located at Albany, Kalgoorlie, Margaret River, Picton, Mandurah, Bridgetown, Katanning, Narrogin, Three Springs, Geraldton, Koorda, Northam and Busselton. Dr G.I. Gallop: Hear, hear! Mr E.S. RIPPER: We want more young people, particularly from country areas, to consider a career with Western Power because there is a long-term shortage of linespeople. It is an ageing work force and it offers plenty of opportunities. As always, it is worth contrasting the investment of this Government in the network with that of members opposite. When the National Party was in coalition the then Minister for Energy decimated Western Power’s staffing levels, failed to make the necessary investment in maintenance and capital upgrades, broke the back of the uniform tariff principle, instructed Western Power that the uniform tariff mentality had to be broken and privatised anything he could get his hands on. He had plans to privatise Western Power, which he will take up again if he ever gets the opportunity. Now comes the turn of the member for Warren-Blackwood, who chimed in just at the right time. He knows how the Leader of the Opposition starved the network of investment. He threw a dead cat at the feet of the Leader of the Opposition with his comments in the Donnybrook Bridgetown Mail of 13 April, when he said - The power infrastructure in this State has been in a state of decline for a decade. Who was in charge of that infrastructure? The Leader of the Opposition. I think country people know the truth. They know that the Cottesloe conservatives will not look after the power needs of people in the country area of Western Australia. Unfortunately, although country people know that, the National Party has not yet tumbled to the truth.
I am very pleased to confirm that the Government and Western Power have embarked on a recruitment drive to appoint more workers to restore power supplies in the event of faults arising from storms, fire damage or other causes. Mr P.D. Omodei: There are problems we could identify right now. Mr C.J. Barnett: How is winter shaping up for security of supply? Mr E.S. RIPPER: The Leader of the Opposition is not interested in additional staff being appointed by Western Australia but other people might be interested to know that we will spend $8 million over the next four years to improve response times and the reliability of power supplies by recruiting more than 100 workers. The member for Warren-Blackwood should stay still, silent and calm; I will quote him in a little while. His turn in the sun will come. Response times in the metropolitan area will be further improved with more Western Power emergency vehicles equipped with lights and sirens to allow repair crews to get to scenes more quickly in the event of traffic congestion. All of this is part of the Government’s record commitment of $1.8 million to the electricity network throughout the State to improve safety, reliability and quality of power supply. The line crews are the unsung heroes of the power supply system. They work in storms, in the aftermath of bushfires and on public holidays, including Christmas Day, restoring services when power supplies have been cut to families. The first of the new workers will join metropolitan regional line crews in about a month. About half the recruits will be posted to regional areas. Western Power currently has a complement of 370 people working on the lines, of which 200 are country based. The recruitment will mean that more linespeople are based in the Moora, Albany, Picton, Kalgoorlie, Northam and Mandurah depots. Field assistants will be located at Albany, Kalgoorlie, Margaret River, Picton, Mandurah, Bridgetown, Katanning, Narrogin, Three Springs, Geraldton, Koorda, Northam and Busselton. Dr G.I. Gallop: Hear, hear! Mr E.S. RIPPER: We want more young people, particularly from country areas, to consider a career with Western Power because there is a long-term shortage of linespeople. It is an ageing work force and it offers plenty of opportunities. As always, it is worth contrasting the investment of this Government in the network with that of members opposite. When the National Party was in coalition the then Minister for Energy decimated Western Power’s staffing levels, failed to make the necessary investment in maintenance and capital upgrades, broke the back of the uniform tariff principle, instructed Western Power that the uniform tariff mentality had to be broken and privatised anything he could get his hands on. He had plans to privatise Western Power, which he will take up again if he ever gets the opportunity. Now comes the turn of the member for Warren-Blackwood, who chimed in just at the right time. He knows how the Leader of the Opposition starved the network of investment. He threw a dead cat at the feet of the Leader of the Opposition with his comments in the Donnybrook Bridgetown Mail of 13 April, when he said - The power infrastructure in this State has been in a state of decline for a decade. Who was in charge of that infrastructure? The Leader of the Opposition. I think country people know the truth. They know that the Cottesloe conservatives will not look after the power needs of people in the country area of Western Australia. Unfortunately, although country people know that, the National Party has not yet tumbled to the truth.
Mr P.D. Omodei: There are problems we could identify right now. Mr C.J. Barnett: How is winter shaping up for security of supply? Mr E.S. RIPPER: The Leader of the Opposition is not interested in additional staff being appointed by Western Australia but other people might be interested to know that we will spend $8 million over the next four years to improve response times and the reliability of power supplies by recruiting more than 100 workers. The member for Warren-Blackwood should stay still, silent and calm; I will quote him in a little while. His turn in the sun will come. Response times in the metropolitan area will be further improved with more Western Power emergency vehicles equipped with lights and sirens to allow repair crews to get to scenes more quickly in the event of traffic congestion. All of this is part of the Government’s record commitment of $1.8 million to the electricity network throughout the State to improve safety, reliability and quality of power supply. The line crews are the unsung heroes of the power supply system. They work in storms, in the aftermath of bushfires and on public holidays, including Christmas Day, restoring services when power supplies have been cut to families. The first of the new workers will join metropolitan regional line crews in about a month. About half the recruits will be posted to regional areas. Western Power currently has a complement of 370 people working on the lines, of which 200 are country based. The recruitment will mean that more linespeople are based in the Moora, Albany, Picton, Kalgoorlie, Northam and Mandurah depots. Field assistants will be located at Albany, Kalgoorlie, Margaret River, Picton, Mandurah, Bridgetown, Katanning, Narrogin, Three Springs, Geraldton, Koorda, Northam and Busselton. Dr G.I. Gallop: Hear, hear! Mr E.S. RIPPER: We want more young people, particularly from country areas, to consider a career with Western Power because there is a long-term shortage of linespeople. It is an ageing work force and it offers plenty of opportunities. As always, it is worth contrasting the investment of this Government in the network with that of members opposite. When the National Party was in coalition the then Minister for Energy decimated Western Power’s staffing levels, failed to make the necessary investment in maintenance and capital upgrades, broke the back of the uniform tariff principle, instructed Western Power that the uniform tariff mentality had to be broken and privatised anything he could get his hands on. He had plans to privatise Western Power, which he will take up again if he ever gets the opportunity. Now comes the turn of the member for Warren-Blackwood, who chimed in just at the right time. He knows how the Leader of the Opposition starved the network of investment. He threw a dead cat at the feet of the Leader of the Opposition with his comments in the Donnybrook Bridgetown Mail of 13 April, when he said - The power infrastructure in this State has been in a state of decline for a decade. Who was in charge of that infrastructure? The Leader of the Opposition. I think country people know the truth. They know that the Cottesloe conservatives will not look after the power needs of people in the country area of Western Australia. Unfortunately, although country people know that, the National Party has not yet tumbled to the truth.
Mr C.J. Barnett: How is winter shaping up for security of supply? Mr E.S. RIPPER: The Leader of the Opposition is not interested in additional staff being appointed by Western Australia but other people might be interested to know that we will spend $8 million over the next four years to improve response times and the reliability of power supplies by recruiting more than 100 workers. The member for Warren-Blackwood should stay still, silent and calm; I will quote him in a little while. His turn in the sun will come. Response times in the metropolitan area will be further improved with more Western Power emergency vehicles equipped with lights and sirens to allow repair crews to get to scenes more quickly in the event of traffic congestion. All of this is part of the Government’s record commitment of $1.8 million to the electricity network throughout the State to improve safety, reliability and quality of power supply. The line crews are the unsung heroes of the power supply system. They work in storms, in the aftermath of bushfires and on public holidays, including Christmas Day, restoring services when power supplies have been cut to families. The first of the new workers will join metropolitan regional line crews in about a month. About half the recruits will be posted to regional areas. Western Power currently has a complement of 370 people working on the lines, of which 200 are country based. The recruitment will mean that more linespeople are based in the Moora, Albany, Picton, Kalgoorlie, Northam and Mandurah depots. Field assistants will be located at Albany, Kalgoorlie, Margaret River, Picton, Mandurah, Bridgetown, Katanning, Narrogin, Three Springs, Geraldton, Koorda, Northam and Busselton. Dr G.I. Gallop: Hear, hear! Mr E.S. RIPPER: We want more young people, particularly from country areas, to consider a career with Western Power because there is a long-term shortage of linespeople. It is an ageing work force and it offers plenty of opportunities. As always, it is worth contrasting the investment of this Government in the network with that of members opposite. When the National Party was in coalition the then Minister for Energy decimated Western Power’s staffing levels, failed to make the necessary investment in maintenance and capital upgrades, broke the back of the uniform tariff principle, instructed Western Power that the uniform tariff mentality had to be broken and privatised anything he could get his hands on. He had plans to privatise Western Power, which he will take up again if he ever gets the opportunity. Now comes the turn of the member for Warren-Blackwood, who chimed in just at the right time. He knows how the Leader of the Opposition starved the network of investment. He threw a dead cat at the feet of the Leader of the Opposition with his comments in the Donnybrook Bridgetown Mail of 13 April, when he said - The power infrastructure in this State has been in a state of decline for a decade. Who was in charge of that infrastructure? The Leader of the Opposition. I think country people know the truth. They know that the Cottesloe conservatives will not look after the power needs of people in the country area of Western Australia. Unfortunately, although country people know that, the National Party has not yet tumbled to the truth.
Mr E.S. RIPPER: The Leader of the Opposition is not interested in additional staff being appointed by Western Australia but other people might be interested to know that we will spend $8 million over the next four years to improve response times and the reliability of power supplies by recruiting more than 100 workers. The member for Warren-Blackwood should stay still, silent and calm; I will quote him in a little while. His turn in the sun will come. Response times in the metropolitan area will be further improved with more Western Power emergency vehicles equipped with lights and sirens to allow repair crews to get to scenes more quickly in the event of traffic congestion. All of this is part of the Government’s record commitment of $1.8 million to the electricity network throughout the State to improve safety, reliability and quality of power supply. The line crews are the unsung heroes of the power supply system. They work in storms, in the aftermath of bushfires and on public holidays, including Christmas Day, restoring services when power supplies have been cut to families. The first of the new workers will join metropolitan regional line crews in about a month. About half the recruits will be posted to regional areas. Western Power currently has a complement of 370 people working on the lines, of which 200 are country based. The recruitment will mean that more linespeople are based in the Moora, Albany, Picton, Kalgoorlie, Northam and Mandurah depots. Field assistants will be located at Albany, Kalgoorlie, Margaret River, Picton, Mandurah, Bridgetown, Katanning, Narrogin, Three Springs, Geraldton, Koorda, Northam and Busselton. Dr G.I. Gallop: Hear, hear! Mr E.S. RIPPER: We want more young people, particularly from country areas, to consider a career with Western Power because there is a long-term shortage of linespeople. It is an ageing work force and it offers plenty of opportunities. As always, it is worth contrasting the investment of this Government in the network with that of members opposite. When the National Party was in coalition the then Minister for Energy decimated Western Power’s staffing levels, failed to make the necessary investment in maintenance and capital upgrades, broke the back of the uniform tariff principle, instructed Western Power that the uniform tariff mentality had to be broken and privatised anything he could get his hands on. He had plans to privatise Western Power, which he will take up again if he ever gets the opportunity. Now comes the turn of the member for Warren-Blackwood, who chimed in just at the right time. He knows how the Leader of the Opposition starved the network of investment. He threw a dead cat at the feet of the Leader of the Opposition with his comments in the Donnybrook Bridgetown Mail of 13 April, when he said - The power infrastructure in this State has been in a state of decline for a decade. Who was in charge of that infrastructure? The Leader of the Opposition. I think country people know the truth. They know that the Cottesloe conservatives will not look after the power needs of people in the country area of Western Australia. Unfortunately, although country people know that, the National Party has not yet tumbled to the truth.
Response times in the metropolitan area will be further improved with more Western Power emergency vehicles equipped with lights and sirens to allow repair crews to get to scenes more quickly in the event of traffic congestion. All of this is part of the Government’s record commitment of $1.8 million to the electricity network throughout the State to improve safety, reliability and quality of power supply. The line crews are the unsung heroes of the power supply system. They work in storms, in the aftermath of bushfires and on public holidays, including Christmas Day, restoring services when power supplies have been cut to families. The first of the new workers will join metropolitan regional line crews in about a month. About half the recruits will be posted to regional areas. Western Power currently has a complement of 370 people working on the lines, of which 200 are country based. The recruitment will mean that more linespeople are based in the Moora, Albany, Picton, Kalgoorlie, Northam and Mandurah depots. Field assistants will be located at Albany, Kalgoorlie, Margaret River, Picton, Mandurah, Bridgetown, Katanning, Narrogin, Three Springs, Geraldton, Koorda, Northam and Busselton. Dr G.I. Gallop: Hear, hear! Mr E.S. RIPPER: We want more young people, particularly from country areas, to consider a career with Western Power because there is a long-term shortage of linespeople. It is an ageing work force and it offers plenty of opportunities. As always, it is worth contrasting the investment of this Government in the network with that of members opposite. When the National Party was in coalition the then Minister for Energy decimated Western Power’s staffing levels, failed to make the necessary investment in maintenance and capital upgrades, broke the back of the uniform tariff principle, instructed Western Power that the uniform tariff mentality had to be broken and privatised anything he could get his hands on. He had plans to privatise Western Power, which he will take up again if he ever gets the opportunity. Now comes the turn of the member for Warren-Blackwood, who chimed in just at the right time. He knows how the Leader of the Opposition starved the network of investment. He threw a dead cat at the feet of the Leader of the Opposition with his comments in the Donnybrook Bridgetown Mail of 13 April, when he said - The power infrastructure in this State has been in a state of decline for a decade. Who was in charge of that infrastructure? The Leader of the Opposition. I think country people know the truth. They know that the Cottesloe conservatives will not look after the power needs of people in the country area of Western Australia. Unfortunately, although country people know that, the National Party has not yet tumbled to the truth.
The first of the new workers will join metropolitan regional line crews in about a month. About half the recruits will be posted to regional areas. Western Power currently has a complement of 370 people working on the lines, of which 200 are country based. The recruitment will mean that more linespeople are based in the Moora, Albany, Picton, Kalgoorlie, Northam and Mandurah depots. Field assistants will be located at Albany, Kalgoorlie, Margaret River, Picton, Mandurah, Bridgetown, Katanning, Narrogin, Three Springs, Geraldton, Koorda, Northam and Busselton. Dr G.I. Gallop: Hear, hear! Mr E.S. RIPPER: We want more young people, particularly from country areas, to consider a career with Western Power because there is a long-term shortage of linespeople. It is an ageing work force and it offers plenty of opportunities. As always, it is worth contrasting the investment of this Government in the network with that of members opposite. When the National Party was in coalition the then Minister for Energy decimated Western Power’s staffing levels, failed to make the necessary investment in maintenance and capital upgrades, broke the back of the uniform tariff principle, instructed Western Power that the uniform tariff mentality had to be broken and privatised anything he could get his hands on. He had plans to privatise Western Power, which he will take up again if he ever gets the opportunity. Now comes the turn of the member for Warren-Blackwood, who chimed in just at the right time. He knows how the Leader of the Opposition starved the network of investment. He threw a dead cat at the feet of the Leader of the Opposition with his comments in the Donnybrook Bridgetown Mail of 13 April, when he said - The power infrastructure in this State has been in a state of decline for a decade. Who was in charge of that infrastructure? The Leader of the Opposition. I think country people know the truth. They know that the Cottesloe conservatives will not look after the power needs of people in the country area of Western Australia. Unfortunately, although country people know that, the National Party has not yet tumbled to the truth.
Dr G.I. Gallop: Hear, hear! Mr E.S. RIPPER: We want more young people, particularly from country areas, to consider a career with Western Power because there is a long-term shortage of linespeople. It is an ageing work force and it offers plenty of opportunities. As always, it is worth contrasting the investment of this Government in the network with that of members opposite. When the National Party was in coalition the then Minister for Energy decimated Western Power’s staffing levels, failed to make the necessary investment in maintenance and capital upgrades, broke the back of the uniform tariff principle, instructed Western Power that the uniform tariff mentality had to be broken and privatised anything he could get his hands on. He had plans to privatise Western Power, which he will take up again if he ever gets the opportunity. Now comes the turn of the member for Warren-Blackwood, who chimed in just at the right time. He knows how the Leader of the Opposition starved the network of investment. He threw a dead cat at the feet of the Leader of the Opposition with his comments in the Donnybrook Bridgetown Mail of 13 April, when he said - The power infrastructure in this State has been in a state of decline for a decade. Who was in charge of that infrastructure? The Leader of the Opposition. I think country people know the truth. They know that the Cottesloe conservatives will not look after the power needs of people in the country area of Western Australia. Unfortunately, although country people know that, the National Party has not yet tumbled to the truth.
Mr E.S. RIPPER: We want more young people, particularly from country areas, to consider a career with Western Power because there is a long-term shortage of linespeople. It is an ageing work force and it offers plenty of opportunities. As always, it is worth contrasting the investment of this Government in the network with that of members opposite. When the National Party was in coalition the then Minister for Energy decimated Western Power’s staffing levels, failed to make the necessary investment in maintenance and capital upgrades, broke the back of the uniform tariff principle, instructed Western Power that the uniform tariff mentality had to be broken and privatised anything he could get his hands on. He had plans to privatise Western Power, which he will take up again if he ever gets the opportunity. Now comes the turn of the member for Warren-Blackwood, who chimed in just at the right time. He knows how the Leader of the Opposition starved the network of investment. He threw a dead cat at the feet of the Leader of the Opposition with his comments in the Donnybrook Bridgetown Mail of 13 April, when he said - The power infrastructure in this State has been in a state of decline for a decade. Who was in charge of that infrastructure? The Leader of the Opposition. I think country people know the truth. They know that the Cottesloe conservatives will not look after the power needs of people in the country area of Western Australia. Unfortunately, although country people know that, the National Party has not yet tumbled to the truth.
As always, it is worth contrasting the investment of this Government in the network with that of members opposite. When the National Party was in coalition the then Minister for Energy decimated Western Power’s staffing levels, failed to make the necessary investment in maintenance and capital upgrades, broke the back of the uniform tariff principle, instructed Western Power that the uniform tariff mentality had to be broken and privatised anything he could get his hands on. He had plans to privatise Western Power, which he will take up again if he ever gets the opportunity. Now comes the turn of the member for Warren-Blackwood, who chimed in just at the right time. He knows how the Leader of the Opposition starved the network of investment. He threw a dead cat at the feet of the Leader of the Opposition with his comments in the Donnybrook Bridgetown Mail of 13 April, when he said - The power infrastructure in this State has been in a state of decline for a decade. Who was in charge of that infrastructure? The Leader of the Opposition. I think country people know the truth. They know that the Cottesloe conservatives will not look after the power needs of people in the country area of Western Australia. Unfortunately, although country people know that, the National Party has not yet tumbled to the truth.
Now comes the turn of the member for Warren-Blackwood, who chimed in just at the right time. He knows how the Leader of the Opposition starved the network of investment. He threw a dead cat at the feet of the Leader of the Opposition with his comments in the Donnybrook Bridgetown Mail of 13 April, when he said - The power infrastructure in this State has been in a state of decline for a decade. Who was in charge of that infrastructure? The Leader of the Opposition. I think country people know the truth. They know that the Cottesloe conservatives will not look after the power needs of people in the country area of Western Australia. Unfortunately, although country people know that, the National Party has not yet tumbled to the truth.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.