❓ Premier McGowan outlines initiatives to prioritise local jobs in WA, including the WA Jobs Act, industry participation strategies, and the 'Work and Wander Out Yonder' campaign, while addressing challenges posed by COVID-19 and FIFO workers.
AnsweredQoN 626Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
MCGOWAN GOVERNMENT —
JOB CREATION
626. Mr K.J.J. MICHEL to the Premier:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's commitment to making Western Australians a priority for
local jobs. Can the Premier outline what the government has done to help make
that happen?
JOB CREATION
626. Mr K.J.J. MICHEL to the Premier:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's commitment to making Western Australians a priority for
local jobs. Can the Premier outline what the government has done to help make
that happen?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Pilbara for
the question. The government has put a lot of effort into providing local
employment over its time in office, including the Western Australian Jobs Act,
the Western Australian Industry Participation Strategy and the Buy Local 2020
policy. Prior to the advent of COVID, 72 000 jobs had been created in Western Australia on this government's
watch. Obviously, COVID has caused some issues, which we are currently dealing with, but I think we are getting our state's economy back on
track.
There have also been some issues
with getting a workforce out to regional Western Australia, so we have now launched the Work and Wander Out Yonder campaign
to get Western Australians out there and linked with regional employers,
particularly in agriculture. We are seeing some very, very good and pleasing
results in terms of people interested in employment linking up with employers
through some of the sites like Seek and Studium. The results, even in the short time that this program has been
released, have been very, very pleasing. As I outlined the other day , I have
raised with the Prime Minister the idea—I think they should implement
it immediately—that if a person is prepared
to go and work in seasonal agriculture, they should be able to receive that
income on top of their JobSeeker payments for at least this year,
because the situation requires those sorts of extraordinary measures. People
would not go and work and lose JobSeeker so they are not in any way better off.
Otherwise, we will not secure people to go and do that sort of work. On top of
that, the Minister for Agriculture and Food today announced the primary industry workers regional travel and accommodation
support scheme, funded by the state government. That provides support of up to $3 360 to people from the state
government if they go and do 12 weeks of work, and up to $500 in travel
allowance for people from the city to go to the regions. This will provide
support for Western Australians to go out there, on top of our advertising
campaign and linking up employers and people going to do this work.
Mr D.T. Redman interjected.
Mr M. McGOWAN : The member can
ask me a question, if he likes.
The other point is that over the
period of COVID we have made it very plain to the major companies that we want
to see interstate fly in, fly out workers relocate to Western Australia, and
many have. I am advised that thousands have relocated to Western Australia out
of Brisbane or Melbourne or Sydney. They are living here and many have brought
their families with them. Basically, they have done their quarantine and are
now working and living in Western Australia, and their incomes are staying in
our state. The days of 7 000 FIFO workers out of the east, flying in and out,
in a COVID environment, are over. It is over. I have been very clear with the
major mining and oil and gas companies that those days are over and we need to
move to a new arrangement whereby their workforce is based here. I was very pleased
to note that BHP has done a great thing in implementing a new policy that means
that it will explicitly preference Western Australian job applicants for the
positions it offers in Western Australia. If
they do not, interstate candidates will be required to permanently relocate to Western
Australia whilst they work for the company. I am very pleased that BHP
has done that. I want to publicly acknowledge particularly Edgar Basto and Mike
Henry from BHP for listening to the calls from the Western Australian
government and the Western Australian community. It is terrific for our state
that this company has done that. I note Rio Tinto is doing something similar. I
would like to congratulate it. But I want all the mining companies and all the
oil and gas companies to do exactly the same.
It is terrific because if we get
those people with large incomes and their families here buying houses, building
houses and keeping their incomes in Western Australia, it is great for our
state. I note that today the housing industry, in particular Cath Hart from the
Housing Industry Association, tweeted —
Great to see @bhp & other miners
acknowledge the significant shift by @MarkMcGowanMP earlier this year to
reconnect #WAjobs to WA residents by reforming interstate #FIFO. This massive
shift helps WA's domestic economy and will sustain the state's
longer-term recovery �
I thank Cath Hart for her kind
words. This has been a joint effort of government, and I am sure Western Australia
will be the beneficiary.
the question. The government has put a lot of effort into providing local
employment over its time in office, including the Western Australian Jobs Act,
the Western Australian Industry Participation Strategy and the Buy Local 2020
policy. Prior to the advent of COVID, 72 000 jobs had been created in Western Australia on this government's
watch. Obviously, COVID has caused some issues, which we are currently dealing with, but I think we are getting our state's economy back on
track.
There have also been some issues
with getting a workforce out to regional Western Australia, so we have now launched the Work and Wander Out Yonder campaign
to get Western Australians out there and linked with regional employers,
particularly in agriculture. We are seeing some very, very good and pleasing
results in terms of people interested in employment linking up with employers
through some of the sites like Seek and Studium. The results, even in the short time that this program has been
released, have been very, very pleasing. As I outlined the other day , I have
raised with the Prime Minister the idea—I think they should implement
it immediately—that if a person is prepared
to go and work in seasonal agriculture, they should be able to receive that
income on top of their JobSeeker payments for at least this year,
because the situation requires those sorts of extraordinary measures. People
would not go and work and lose JobSeeker so they are not in any way better off.
Otherwise, we will not secure people to go and do that sort of work. On top of
that, the Minister for Agriculture and Food today announced the primary industry workers regional travel and accommodation
support scheme, funded by the state government. That provides support of up to $3 360 to people from the state
government if they go and do 12 weeks of work, and up to $500 in travel
allowance for people from the city to go to the regions. This will provide
support for Western Australians to go out there, on top of our advertising
campaign and linking up employers and people going to do this work.
Mr D.T. Redman interjected.
Mr M. McGOWAN : The member can
ask me a question, if he likes.
The other point is that over the
period of COVID we have made it very plain to the major companies that we want
to see interstate fly in, fly out workers relocate to Western Australia, and
many have. I am advised that thousands have relocated to Western Australia out
of Brisbane or Melbourne or Sydney. They are living here and many have brought
their families with them. Basically, they have done their quarantine and are
now working and living in Western Australia, and their incomes are staying in
our state. The days of 7 000 FIFO workers out of the east, flying in and out,
in a COVID environment, are over. It is over. I have been very clear with the
major mining and oil and gas companies that those days are over and we need to
move to a new arrangement whereby their workforce is based here. I was very pleased
to note that BHP has done a great thing in implementing a new policy that means
that it will explicitly preference Western Australian job applicants for the
positions it offers in Western Australia. If
they do not, interstate candidates will be required to permanently relocate to Western
Australia whilst they work for the company. I am very pleased that BHP
has done that. I want to publicly acknowledge particularly Edgar Basto and Mike
Henry from BHP for listening to the calls from the Western Australian
government and the Western Australian community. It is terrific for our state
that this company has done that. I note Rio Tinto is doing something similar. I
would like to congratulate it. But I want all the mining companies and all the
oil and gas companies to do exactly the same.
It is terrific because if we get
those people with large incomes and their families here buying houses, building
houses and keeping their incomes in Western Australia, it is great for our
state. I note that today the housing industry, in particular Cath Hart from the
Housing Industry Association, tweeted —
Great to see @bhp & other miners
acknowledge the significant shift by @MarkMcGowanMP earlier this year to
reconnect #WAjobs to WA residents by reforming interstate #FIFO. This massive
shift helps WA's domestic economy and will sustain the state's
longer-term recovery �
I thank Cath Hart for her kind
words. This has been a joint effort of government, and I am sure Western Australia
will be the beneficiary.
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