❓ Opposition Leader McGowan questions Premier Barnett about rising state debt, referencing broken election promises. Premier Barnett deflects, highlighting asset sales as a solution.
AnsweredQoN 328Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ELECTION
PROMISES — STATE DEBT
328. Mr M. McGOWAN to the
Premier:
I have a supplementary question. The Premier set an objective
for net debt of $20 billion; it is now $22 billion and climbing to $24.9 billion
this financial year and then $29 billion to $30 billion in the forward
estimates. What is the Premier's objective for net debt?
PROMISES — STATE DEBT
328. Mr M. McGOWAN to the
Premier:
I have a supplementary question. The Premier set an objective
for net debt of $20 billion; it is now $22 billion and climbing to $24.9 billion
this financial year and then $29 billion to $30 billion in the forward
estimates. What is the Premier's objective for net debt?
AnswerView source ↗
As I said, it is $22 billion, not $24 billion, as the Leader
of the Opposition originally said.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Members!
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
The opposition cannot even get that right. As outlined in the Treasurer's
address last week, we will be heading down the path of some asset sales.
Mr M. McGowan : I
have asked you the question.
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
The Leader of the Opposition can ask as many times as he wishes, and I will
answer in my way.
Several members interjected.
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
Lied, did I? Yes, okay.
We are heading down the path of an
organised, progressive process of asset sales. Those asset sales will run into
billions of dollars, not hundreds of millions, and that will be used to control
the absolute level of debt.
of the Opposition originally said.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Members!
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
The opposition cannot even get that right. As outlined in the Treasurer's
address last week, we will be heading down the path of some asset sales.
Mr M. McGowan : I
have asked you the question.
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
The Leader of the Opposition can ask as many times as he wishes, and I will
answer in my way.
Several members interjected.
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
Lied, did I? Yes, okay.
We are heading down the path of an
organised, progressive process of asset sales. Those asset sales will run into
billions of dollars, not hundreds of millions, and that will be used to control
the absolute level of debt.
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.