❓ Mr Nalder questions the Treasurer on the Premier's job creation plan, suggesting it represents a downgrade from budget forecasts. The Treasurer denies a downgrade and accuses the opposition of economic mismanagement.
AnsweredQoN 74Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
PLAN FOR JOBS
74. Mr D.C. NALDER to the Treasurer:
Can the Treasurer confirm that the
Premier's announcement of a plan to create 150 000 jobs by June 2024
represents jobs growth of just 1.6 per cent compared with his budget, which has
jobs growth increasing from 1.75 per cent to 2.25 per cent by the end of the
forward estimates; and is this a pre-emptive announcement of a budget downgrade
to jobs growth?
74. Mr D.C. NALDER to the Treasurer:
Can the Treasurer confirm that the
Premier's announcement of a plan to create 150 000 jobs by June 2024
represents jobs growth of just 1.6 per cent compared with his budget, which has
jobs growth increasing from 1.75 per cent to 2.25 per cent by the end of the
forward estimates; and is this a pre-emptive announcement of a budget downgrade
to jobs growth?
AnswerView source ↗
No, it is not a pre-emptive
announcement around any downgrade. As the Premier said, it is a very ambitious
target that the government is putting upon itself to create jobs in Western Australia.
I think that is a pretty good thing. I am not sure about the shadow Treasurer's
figures. I note that the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia
had different figures around what that would be—I think over two per cent
growth. I am interested in the reality when it comes to the creation of jobs in
Western Australia.
I want to remind people here that
there is a consistent theme in WA. When Geoff Gallop became Premier of Western Australia back in 2001, he inherited an
unemployment rate of 6.5 per cent. He drove that down to 2.9 per cent when
the former Liberal government came to power in 2008, and then of course by the
time we came back into government, it had shot back up to 6.3 per cent. Our
job, as is always the case, as the last 20-odd years has shown, is to fix the
economy in WA after a period of Liberal government, and we have to do that
again.
It is interesting that the shadow
Treasurer referred to budgets. What we have seen between the last budget and
this budget is a change in a range of different assumptions, including around
the participation rate. We are now expecting much higher participation than we
did even in the 2017–18 budget. That has an impact on the unemployment
rate. What is clear in the question that we got from the Leader of the
Opposition is that he does not have an understanding of the difference between
the unemployment rate and the number of jobs created. They are two distinct
different statistics. We are focused on ensuring that we are creating jobs in Western
Australia.
We are doing something that I am
surprised the opposition is so cranky about. Why would it be so cranky about a government
setting itself a publicly assessable target that it wants to achieve? I do not
understand that. I do not understand why the opposition is so cranky about
that. I could as Treasurer do what the former Treasurer and now Leader of the
Opposition did. I could drive the state into recession and I could lose 17 000
jobs a year, as the former Treasurer and now Leader of the Opposition left for
me, but I am not going to do that. The Premier and the government have set a target
to ensure that we create jobs for Western Australians.
Mr A. Krsticevic interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Carine, I call you to order for the first time.
Mr B.S. WYATT : All I want to
hear from the opposition is, ''Congratulations for setting yourself a target'',
because it is certainly one that I think Western Australians will appreciate.
announcement around any downgrade. As the Premier said, it is a very ambitious
target that the government is putting upon itself to create jobs in Western Australia.
I think that is a pretty good thing. I am not sure about the shadow Treasurer's
figures. I note that the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia
had different figures around what that would be—I think over two per cent
growth. I am interested in the reality when it comes to the creation of jobs in
Western Australia.
I want to remind people here that
there is a consistent theme in WA. When Geoff Gallop became Premier of Western Australia back in 2001, he inherited an
unemployment rate of 6.5 per cent. He drove that down to 2.9 per cent when
the former Liberal government came to power in 2008, and then of course by the
time we came back into government, it had shot back up to 6.3 per cent. Our
job, as is always the case, as the last 20-odd years has shown, is to fix the
economy in WA after a period of Liberal government, and we have to do that
again.
It is interesting that the shadow
Treasurer referred to budgets. What we have seen between the last budget and
this budget is a change in a range of different assumptions, including around
the participation rate. We are now expecting much higher participation than we
did even in the 2017–18 budget. That has an impact on the unemployment
rate. What is clear in the question that we got from the Leader of the
Opposition is that he does not have an understanding of the difference between
the unemployment rate and the number of jobs created. They are two distinct
different statistics. We are focused on ensuring that we are creating jobs in Western
Australia.
We are doing something that I am
surprised the opposition is so cranky about. Why would it be so cranky about a government
setting itself a publicly assessable target that it wants to achieve? I do not
understand that. I do not understand why the opposition is so cranky about
that. I could as Treasurer do what the former Treasurer and now Leader of the
Opposition did. I could drive the state into recession and I could lose 17 000
jobs a year, as the former Treasurer and now Leader of the Opposition left for
me, but I am not going to do that. The Premier and the government have set a target
to ensure that we create jobs for Western Australians.
Mr A. Krsticevic interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Carine, I call you to order for the first time.
Mr B.S. WYATT : All I want to
hear from the opposition is, ''Congratulations for setting yourself a target'',
because it is certainly one that I think Western Australians will appreciate.
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