❓ Opposition Leader questions the Premier about the impact of the foreign buyer surcharge on apartment demand and investments, accusing the government's policy of being job-destroying. The Premier defends the policy, citing increased building approvals and criticising the opposition's stance on density.
AnsweredQoN 325Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
FOREIGN BUYERS SURCHARGE
325. Dr M.D. NAHAN to the Premier:
I ask a supplementary question.
Given that the Treasurer argued, against all logic and commonsense, that this
policy would have ''no impact on demand for apartments from foreigners'',
now that the data shows that this government's policy is crippling
investments, why will the Premier not do another backflip and scrap his poorly
timed, job-destroying policy?
325. Dr M.D. NAHAN to the Premier:
I ask a supplementary question.
Given that the Treasurer argued, against all logic and commonsense, that this
policy would have ''no impact on demand for apartments from foreigners'',
now that the data shows that this government's policy is crippling
investments, why will the Premier not do another backflip and scrap his poorly
timed, job-destroying policy?
AnswerView source ↗
The
figures show a significant increase in building approvals in Western Australia.
Let me take members back to them.
Dr M.D. Nahan interjected.
The SPEAKER : Leader of the
Opposition!
Mr M. McGOWAN : The ABS
figures for March show that total dwelling approvals increased by 3.8 per cent. This is coming from the Australian Bureau of
Statistics, not the normally dodgy figures promoted by the Leader of the
Opposition. The figures for March increased by 3.8 per cent.
Dr M.D. Nahan interjected.
The SPEAKER : Leader of the
Opposition, I call you to order for the first time. That is the third time I have
warned you, Leader of the Opposition.
Mr M. McGOWAN : That was the
highest increase of any state, the highest monthly increase in six years, the
fourth consecutive monthly increase and the highest quarterly growth in the
country.
Mr A. Krsticevic interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Carine!
Mr M. McGOWAN : I have a good
relationship with the building industry in Western Australia. If members
opposite want to know what we are actually concerned about, it is the comments
of their deputy—the member for Scarborough—about density. If
members opposite actually talked to the property industry, they would find that
the commentary by the members for Scarborough and Cottesloe about density in Western
Australia is a real threat to industry. On that note, if we want to talk about
the opposition leader and the accuracy of what he has to say, yesterday he came
into this house —
Dr M.D. Nahan interjected.
The SPEAKER : Leader of the
Opposition, I call you to order for the second time, and member for Carine for
the first time.
Mr M. McGOWAN : He came into
the house yesterday and said that the Master Builders Association does not
support me or my government. It is recorded in Hansard . That is a bit of
bad timing, opposition leader. I have with me today's The West
Australian .
Dr M.D. Nahan interjected.
The SPEAKER : Leader of the
Opposition, do you want to go home early?
Mr M. McGOWAN : In it is a photo
of the Treasurer and me and the president and CEO of the MBA. We are all
smiling and building common ground. The story contains a whole range of
quotations and, indeed, some of the tweets indicate that the MBA supports a lot
of things that this government is doing—our Keystart initiative last
week, the East Perth power station initiative and the fact that we support
higher density across Perth to manage population growth in the future. The MBA
supports all those things. It does not support the Leader of the Opposition and
the sorts of things that he says. It does not support him and his crazy 1920s
arguments about density. The MBA does not support any of that. It supports a government
that wants to create more opportunities for people, wants to provide
infrastructure, wants to build Metronet and wants to resolve all these planning
issues that members opposite left in the too-hard basket.
figures show a significant increase in building approvals in Western Australia.
Let me take members back to them.
Dr M.D. Nahan interjected.
The SPEAKER : Leader of the
Opposition!
Mr M. McGOWAN : The ABS
figures for March show that total dwelling approvals increased by 3.8 per cent. This is coming from the Australian Bureau of
Statistics, not the normally dodgy figures promoted by the Leader of the
Opposition. The figures for March increased by 3.8 per cent.
Dr M.D. Nahan interjected.
The SPEAKER : Leader of the
Opposition, I call you to order for the first time. That is the third time I have
warned you, Leader of the Opposition.
Mr M. McGOWAN : That was the
highest increase of any state, the highest monthly increase in six years, the
fourth consecutive monthly increase and the highest quarterly growth in the
country.
Mr A. Krsticevic interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Carine!
Mr M. McGOWAN : I have a good
relationship with the building industry in Western Australia. If members
opposite want to know what we are actually concerned about, it is the comments
of their deputy—the member for Scarborough—about density. If
members opposite actually talked to the property industry, they would find that
the commentary by the members for Scarborough and Cottesloe about density in Western
Australia is a real threat to industry. On that note, if we want to talk about
the opposition leader and the accuracy of what he has to say, yesterday he came
into this house —
Dr M.D. Nahan interjected.
The SPEAKER : Leader of the
Opposition, I call you to order for the second time, and member for Carine for
the first time.
Mr M. McGOWAN : He came into
the house yesterday and said that the Master Builders Association does not
support me or my government. It is recorded in Hansard . That is a bit of
bad timing, opposition leader. I have with me today's The West
Australian .
Dr M.D. Nahan interjected.
The SPEAKER : Leader of the
Opposition, do you want to go home early?
Mr M. McGOWAN : In it is a photo
of the Treasurer and me and the president and CEO of the MBA. We are all
smiling and building common ground. The story contains a whole range of
quotations and, indeed, some of the tweets indicate that the MBA supports a lot
of things that this government is doing—our Keystart initiative last
week, the East Perth power station initiative and the fact that we support
higher density across Perth to manage population growth in the future. The MBA
supports all those things. It does not support the Leader of the Opposition and
the sorts of things that he says. It does not support him and his crazy 1920s
arguments about density. The MBA does not support any of that. It supports a government
that wants to create more opportunities for people, wants to provide
infrastructure, wants to build Metronet and wants to resolve all these planning
issues that members opposite left in the too-hard basket.
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