❓ Opposition questions the Premier's claim of never lying, citing the 'fully funded and costed' promise for the Metro Area Express light rail project as a campaign slogan. The Premier defends his record, stating the Liberal Party delivered 42 of 58 election commitments.
AnsweredQoN 189Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
LIBERAL
PARTY ELECTION COMMITMENTS — COSTINGS
189. Mr M. McGOWAN to the Premier:
I refer to the Premier's
comments on radio this morning when he said —
I've never lied to the public
in 25 years of politics.
Given that every promise the Premier
made during the 2013 state election campaign was sold as ''fully funded
and fully costed''—the campaign included a Liberal television
advertisement that had the voiceover of the Premier promoting the promised
Metro Area Express light rail project—how can the Premier seriously argue
that ''fully funded and fully costed'' was just a campaign
slogan?
PARTY ELECTION COMMITMENTS — COSTINGS
189. Mr M. McGOWAN to the Premier:
I refer to the Premier's
comments on radio this morning when he said —
I've never lied to the public
in 25 years of politics.
Given that every promise the Premier
made during the 2013 state election campaign was sold as ''fully funded
and fully costed''—the campaign included a Liberal television
advertisement that had the voiceover of the Premier promoting the promised
Metro Area Express light rail project—how can the Premier seriously argue
that ''fully funded and fully costed'' was just a campaign
slogan?
AnswerView source ↗
It clearly was a campaign slogan. It
is used in advertising frequently. Campaigning is about media coverage.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Order, members!
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : Do members opposite want an answer or not? It was a campaign
slogan.
Mr
D.J. Kelly : It was a lie!
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : I am fine with that, Mr Speaker. The Liberal Party made 58
commitments during the election campaign. About a year ago, I reported publicly
that at the time we had delivered 42 of those commitments. We will update the
electorate —
Mr
D.J. Kelly interjected.
Withdrawal of Remark
The
SPEAKER : I ask the member to withdraw that comment.
Mr
D.J. KELLY : I withdraw.
The SPEAKER : I do
not want members to be liberal when using the term ''lied''. Let
us try to keep this on track.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
The Liberal Party made 58 substantial commitments during the last election
campaign and more than a year ago I announced that we had delivered 42 of those
commitments. We will continue to deliver those.
Mrs M.H. Roberts :
You included Midland hospital and university in that.
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
Yes, and that is a very important commitment. I remind members that we are at
the halfway point of a four-year term. We are well in front. We have delivered
42 of the 58 commitments. We have another two years to go and we will continue
to deliver on those commitments. If we do not get 58 out of 58, I am
accountable for that, but that will be for the electorate to judge. One could
have a semantic argument about this, but when a person says something that is
blatantly false and they know that it is false, that is a lie. I have never
done that in my public life.
is used in advertising frequently. Campaigning is about media coverage.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Order, members!
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : Do members opposite want an answer or not? It was a campaign
slogan.
Mr
D.J. Kelly : It was a lie!
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : I am fine with that, Mr Speaker. The Liberal Party made 58
commitments during the election campaign. About a year ago, I reported publicly
that at the time we had delivered 42 of those commitments. We will update the
electorate —
Mr
D.J. Kelly interjected.
Withdrawal of Remark
The
SPEAKER : I ask the member to withdraw that comment.
Mr
D.J. KELLY : I withdraw.
The SPEAKER : I do
not want members to be liberal when using the term ''lied''. Let
us try to keep this on track.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
The Liberal Party made 58 substantial commitments during the last election
campaign and more than a year ago I announced that we had delivered 42 of those
commitments. We will continue to deliver those.
Mrs M.H. Roberts :
You included Midland hospital and university in that.
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
Yes, and that is a very important commitment. I remind members that we are at
the halfway point of a four-year term. We are well in front. We have delivered
42 of the 58 commitments. We have another two years to go and we will continue
to deliver on those commitments. If we do not get 58 out of 58, I am
accountable for that, but that will be for the electorate to judge. One could
have a semantic argument about this, but when a person says something that is
blatantly false and they know that it is false, that is a lie. I have never
done that in my public life.
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.