❓ The Treasurer responds to a question about the government's job creation plan by highlighting job growth since March 2017, comparing it unfavourably to the previous government's record, and acknowledging ongoing challenges while reaffirming commitment to a job creation target.
AnsweredQoN 561Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
PLAN FOR JOBS
561. Mr R.R. WHITBY to the Treasurer:
Can the Treasurer advise the house
what the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics labour force figures
demonstrate about the McGowan Labor government's success in implementing
its Plan for Jobs and providing business with the confidence it needs to invest
and grow our economy?
561. Mr R.R. WHITBY to the Treasurer:
Can the Treasurer advise the house
what the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics labour force figures
demonstrate about the McGowan Labor government's success in implementing
its Plan for Jobs and providing business with the confidence it needs to invest
and grow our economy?
AnswerView source ↗
I was listening to the Minister for
Communities earlier today, and she made the point, quite correctly, that the
reasons for homelessness are complex and that all sorts of factors impact on
the capacity of a person to have a home and hold that home. One of those
factors is, of course, how easy it is for a person to get a job and how easy it
is for a person to increase their hours of employment. One of the reasons we
saw surging homelessness during the term of the previous government is that, of
course, jobs were being shed out of the economy at record rates. We saw in the second term of the former Liberal–National
government not one job created. Indeed, in the last two years of that
government, we saw a net loss of 26 000 jobs, yet, at the time, I do not recall
the Liberal and National Parties in government mention homelessness once.
One of the reasons we on this side
of the house have been so determined to come out of the Liberal–National
recession of 2016–17 is so that we can return to an environment of job
creation, and that is exactly what is being done. As opposed to a term of
shedding jobs out of the Western Australian economy, we are now creating jobs
in Western Australia. We have seen the June figures. An extraordinary 13 800
jobs were created in June, bringing to 55 000 the total jobs created since
March 2017. Now 55 000 Western Australians are in work. Compare that with the
rate during the term of the previous Liberal–National government, when
people could not find a job. That also means
that despite the increase in participation, our unemployment rate has come down
to 5.8 per cent. That is still too
high; we still have work to do. But our Plan for Jobs is committed to reducing
that. That puts Western Australia's unemployment rate at the
third best, if you like, in the nation, behind New South Wales and Victoria.
However, as I point out time and again,
the monthly figures are volatile. We are seeing international headwinds; there
is no doubt about that. We are seeing escalating trade disputes that will have
impact on global growth, and that will have an impact on Western Australia.
That is why we as a government have set a specific target for job creation of
150 000 jobs by 2023–24. We do that because it means that people can
move into housing and can retain their housing, can invest, and can do the
sorts of things that we want to see Western Australians do. That is why we are
a government determined to create jobs. To this day, I am always stunned that,
on a regular basis, the government is critiqued by the Liberal and National
Parties for actually setting a target around job creation. We set targets, and
we challenge ourselves to meet them. That is why we get economic growth. That
is why we get job creation. That is why we increase the standard of living for Western
Australians.
Communities earlier today, and she made the point, quite correctly, that the
reasons for homelessness are complex and that all sorts of factors impact on
the capacity of a person to have a home and hold that home. One of those
factors is, of course, how easy it is for a person to get a job and how easy it
is for a person to increase their hours of employment. One of the reasons we
saw surging homelessness during the term of the previous government is that, of
course, jobs were being shed out of the economy at record rates. We saw in the second term of the former Liberal–National
government not one job created. Indeed, in the last two years of that
government, we saw a net loss of 26 000 jobs, yet, at the time, I do not recall
the Liberal and National Parties in government mention homelessness once.
One of the reasons we on this side
of the house have been so determined to come out of the Liberal–National
recession of 2016–17 is so that we can return to an environment of job
creation, and that is exactly what is being done. As opposed to a term of
shedding jobs out of the Western Australian economy, we are now creating jobs
in Western Australia. We have seen the June figures. An extraordinary 13 800
jobs were created in June, bringing to 55 000 the total jobs created since
March 2017. Now 55 000 Western Australians are in work. Compare that with the
rate during the term of the previous Liberal–National government, when
people could not find a job. That also means
that despite the increase in participation, our unemployment rate has come down
to 5.8 per cent. That is still too
high; we still have work to do. But our Plan for Jobs is committed to reducing
that. That puts Western Australia's unemployment rate at the
third best, if you like, in the nation, behind New South Wales and Victoria.
However, as I point out time and again,
the monthly figures are volatile. We are seeing international headwinds; there
is no doubt about that. We are seeing escalating trade disputes that will have
impact on global growth, and that will have an impact on Western Australia.
That is why we as a government have set a specific target for job creation of
150 000 jobs by 2023–24. We do that because it means that people can
move into housing and can retain their housing, can invest, and can do the
sorts of things that we want to see Western Australians do. That is why we are
a government determined to create jobs. To this day, I am always stunned that,
on a regular basis, the government is critiqued by the Liberal and National
Parties for actually setting a target around job creation. We set targets, and
we challenge ourselves to meet them. That is why we get economic growth. That
is why we get job creation. That is why we increase the standard of living for Western
Australians.
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