❓ Mr. Bowler questions the Premier on whether a proposed $118 annual increase to district allowances for public sector employees will address staff attraction and retention issues in his electorate. The Premier defends the increase, citing a formula established by the WA Industrial Relations Commission and noting that some zones within the electorate will receive higher increases.
AnsweredQoN 306Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYEES — DISTRICT ALLOWANCE INCREASES
The Premier would be aware of the problem of attracting and retaining staff in almost every area of government. That is a particular problem in not only the goldfields but other parts of my electorate. With that in mind, does the Premier think that the increase of $118 a year—which equates to about 30c a day—that has been offered to public sector employees will help overcome that problem in my electorate? Mr A.J. CARPENTER
The Premier would be aware of the problem of attracting and retaining staff in almost every area of government. That is a particular problem in not only the goldfields but other parts of my electorate. With that in mind, does the Premier think that the increase of $118 a year—which equates to about 30c a day—that has been offered to public sector employees will help overcome that problem in my electorate? Mr A.J. CARPENTER
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question. I also thank the member for providing some notice of the question to give me time to obtain some information on this matter. I am advised by the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection that the formula for calculation of district allowances established by the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission supports the offer of a minimum increase of $118 a year—on the current rate of $2 351 a year—made by the government to public sector unions. It is fair. It should be noted that because of the size of the Murchison-Eyre electorate, a number of district allowance zones apply within that electorate. The government’s offer of an increase in allowances for those other zones ranges from the $118 a year that the member has mentioned, to $1 575 a year. This is just for district allowances.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the member for the question. I also thank the member for providing some notice of the question to give me time to obtain some information on this matter. I am advised by the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection that the formula for calculation of district allowances established by the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission supports the offer of a minimum increase of $118 a year—on the current rate of $2 351 a year—made by the government to public sector unions. It is fair. It should be noted that because of the size of the Murchison-Eyre electorate, a number of district allowance zones apply within that electorate. The government’s offer of an increase in allowances for those other zones ranges from the $118 a year that the member has mentioned, to $1 575 a year. This is just for district allowances.
I thank the member for the question. I also thank the member for providing some notice of the question to give me time to obtain some information on this matter. I am advised by the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection that the formula for calculation of district allowances established by the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission supports the offer of a minimum increase of $118 a year—on the current rate of $2 351 a year—made by the government to public sector unions. It is fair. It should be noted that because of the size of the Murchison-Eyre electorate, a number of district allowance zones apply within that electorate. The government’s offer of an increase in allowances for those other zones ranges from the $118 a year that the member has mentioned, to $1 575 a year. This is just for district allowances.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the member for the question. I also thank the member for providing some notice of the question to give me time to obtain some information on this matter. I am advised by the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection that the formula for calculation of district allowances established by the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission supports the offer of a minimum increase of $118 a year—on the current rate of $2 351 a year—made by the government to public sector unions. It is fair. It should be noted that because of the size of the Murchison-Eyre electorate, a number of district allowance zones apply within that electorate. The government’s offer of an increase in allowances for those other zones ranges from the $118 a year that the member has mentioned, to $1 575 a year. This is just for district allowances.
I thank the member for the question. I also thank the member for providing some notice of the question to give me time to obtain some information on this matter. I am advised by the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection that the formula for calculation of district allowances established by the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission supports the offer of a minimum increase of $118 a year—on the current rate of $2 351 a year—made by the government to public sector unions. It is fair. It should be noted that because of the size of the Murchison-Eyre electorate, a number of district allowance zones apply within that electorate. The government’s offer of an increase in allowances for those other zones ranges from the $118 a year that the member has mentioned, to $1 575 a year. This is just for district allowances.
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.