❓ Opposition Leader Ripper questions Premier Barnett about utility price increases, referencing concerns raised by federal MP Wyatt. Barnett deflects blame to the opposition and criticizes the proposed carbon tax.
AnsweredQoN 308Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
STATE BUDGET 2011–12 — UTILITY PRICES
I refer the Premier to the comments of the member for Hasluck, Ken Wyatt, and his complaint yesterday that in Western Australia electricity prices are up 51 per cent, gas prices are up 30 per cent, water prices are up 46 per cent, education costs have risen 24 per and health costs have risen 20 per cent. (1) Does the Premier, like Mr Wyatt, blame the federal government for the Premier’s savage increases in utility bills, or does the Premier accept responsibility for his own harsh decisions? (2) Has Mr Wyatt ever approached the Premier on behalf of his constituents urging him to stop his assault on utility prices, which have been plaguing the people of Hasluck? (3) What comfort can the Premier give the electors of Hasluck that any relief is in sight from his harsh approach to utility costs? Mr C.J. BARNETT
I refer the Premier to the comments of the member for Hasluck, Ken Wyatt, and his complaint yesterday that in Western Australia electricity prices are up 51 per cent, gas prices are up 30 per cent, water prices are up 46 per cent, education costs have risen 24 per and health costs have risen 20 per cent. (1) Does the Premier, like Mr Wyatt, blame the federal government for the Premier’s savage increases in utility bills, or does the Premier accept responsibility for his own harsh decisions? (2) Has Mr Wyatt ever approached the Premier on behalf of his constituents urging him to stop his assault on utility prices, which have been plaguing the people of Hasluck? (3) What comfort can the Premier give the electors of Hasluck that any relief is in sight from his harsh approach to utility costs? Mr C.J. BARNETT
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the Leader of the Opposition for the question. (1)–(3) In answer to the first question: do I blame the federal government? No, I blame you. It is as simple as that. Mr E.S. Ripper : So you don’t accept responsibility? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I accept responsibility for having made the decision. Ken Wyatt is an outstanding new member of federal Parliament. He is doing a good job representing his constituents. From my memory, he has not approached me directly about that issue, but I am sure he and other members of the federal Parliament and of this Parliament should be concerned, because if a carbon tax is introduced, what will that mean? The thing about electricity prices, and I have acknowledged before that large increases have occurred and are causing hardship, is that in Western Australia when people pay their electricity bill, at least they are paying for electricity. If they have to pay a carbon tax, what are they paying for? A belief that somehow that will save the planet. There is no nexus. At least in this state when people pay their electricity bills, they are paying for the fuel, the generation, the distribution and the power. Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Please, get up and make a speech. If the member for Midland is going to make a speech, she should make a better one than she made this morning. It was an awful speech; it was extraordinarily disappointing. It was one of the worst speeches I have heard. It was very poor. Electricity prices have increased. As I said yesterday, for 18 months the Labor Party in this place has been going on about prices going up by 22 per cent. They did not. They went up by five per cent, and they will go up by five per cent again next year. There are a lot of factors affecting people’s cost of living, which are making it difficult to make ends meet. One of the principal factors for many families is the cost of rental accommodation. That is something that the Minister for Housing is addressing. That is something for which members opposite also share some blame. The complete inability of Labor, when in government, to deal with the housing market and land supply probably added $100 000 to the mortgages of people, and is still reflected today in high rental prices. It mismanaged the land market because it had a belief that if it constrained the growth of land, it would increase residential densities and Perth would be a more concentrated city. Once again, these are failed policies. The Leader of the Opposition is bound to jump up again, so please jump up! Mr E.S. Ripper : Thank you!
(1) Does the Premier, like Mr Wyatt, blame the federal government for the Premier’s savage increases in utility bills, or does the Premier accept responsibility for his own harsh decisions? (2) Has Mr Wyatt ever approached the Premier on behalf of his constituents urging him to stop his assault on utility prices, which have been plaguing the people of Hasluck? (3) What comfort can the Premier give the electors of Hasluck that any relief is in sight from his harsh approach to utility costs? Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I thank the Leader of the Opposition for the question. (1)–(3) In answer to the first question: do I blame the federal government? No, I blame you. It is as simple as that. Mr E.S. Ripper : So you don’t accept responsibility? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I accept responsibility for having made the decision. Ken Wyatt is an outstanding new member of federal Parliament. He is doing a good job representing his constituents. From my memory, he has not approached me directly about that issue, but I am sure he and other members of the federal Parliament and of this Parliament should be concerned, because if a carbon tax is introduced, what will that mean? The thing about electricity prices, and I have acknowledged before that large increases have occurred and are causing hardship, is that in Western Australia when people pay their electricity bill, at least they are paying for electricity. If they have to pay a carbon tax, what are they paying for? A belief that somehow that will save the planet. There is no nexus. At least in this state when people pay their electricity bills, they are paying for the fuel, the generation, the distribution and the power. Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Please, get up and make a speech. If the member for Midland is going to make a speech, she should make a better one than she made this morning. It was an awful speech; it was extraordinarily disappointing. It was one of the worst speeches I have heard. It was very poor. Electricity prices have increased. As I said yesterday, for 18 months the Labor Party in this place has been going on about prices going up by 22 per cent. They did not. They went up by five per cent, and they will go up by five per cent again next year. There are a lot of factors affecting people’s cost of living, which are making it difficult to make ends meet. One of the principal factors for many families is the cost of rental accommodation. That is something that the Minister for Housing is addressing. That is something for which members opposite also share some blame. The complete inability of Labor, when in government, to deal with the housing market and land supply probably added $100 000 to the mortgages of people, and is still reflected today in high rental prices. It mismanaged the land market because it had a belief that if it constrained the growth of land, it would increase residential densities and Perth would be a more concentrated city. Once again, these are failed policies. The Leader of the Opposition is bound to jump up again, so please jump up! Mr E.S. Ripper : Thank you!
(2) Has Mr Wyatt ever approached the Premier on behalf of his constituents urging him to stop his assault on utility prices, which have been plaguing the people of Hasluck? (3) What comfort can the Premier give the electors of Hasluck that any relief is in sight from his harsh approach to utility costs? Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I thank the Leader of the Opposition for the question. (1)–(3) In answer to the first question: do I blame the federal government? No, I blame you. It is as simple as that. Mr E.S. Ripper : So you don’t accept responsibility? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I accept responsibility for having made the decision. Ken Wyatt is an outstanding new member of federal Parliament. He is doing a good job representing his constituents. From my memory, he has not approached me directly about that issue, but I am sure he and other members of the federal Parliament and of this Parliament should be concerned, because if a carbon tax is introduced, what will that mean? The thing about electricity prices, and I have acknowledged before that large increases have occurred and are causing hardship, is that in Western Australia when people pay their electricity bill, at least they are paying for electricity. If they have to pay a carbon tax, what are they paying for? A belief that somehow that will save the planet. There is no nexus. At least in this state when people pay their electricity bills, they are paying for the fuel, the generation, the distribution and the power. Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Please, get up and make a speech. If the member for Midland is going to make a speech, she should make a better one than she made this morning. It was an awful speech; it was extraordinarily disappointing. It was one of the worst speeches I have heard. It was very poor. Electricity prices have increased. As I said yesterday, for 18 months the Labor Party in this place has been going on about prices going up by 22 per cent. They did not. They went up by five per cent, and they will go up by five per cent again next year. There are a lot of factors affecting people’s cost of living, which are making it difficult to make ends meet. One of the principal factors for many families is the cost of rental accommodation. That is something that the Minister for Housing is addressing. That is something for which members opposite also share some blame. The complete inability of Labor, when in government, to deal with the housing market and land supply probably added $100 000 to the mortgages of people, and is still reflected today in high rental prices. It mismanaged the land market because it had a belief that if it constrained the growth of land, it would increase residential densities and Perth would be a more concentrated city. Once again, these are failed policies. The Leader of the Opposition is bound to jump up again, so please jump up! Mr E.S. Ripper : Thank you!
(3) What comfort can the Premier give the electors of Hasluck that any relief is in sight from his harsh approach to utility costs? Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I thank the Leader of the Opposition for the question. (1)–(3) In answer to the first question: do I blame the federal government? No, I blame you. It is as simple as that. Mr E.S. Ripper : So you don’t accept responsibility? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I accept responsibility for having made the decision. Ken Wyatt is an outstanding new member of federal Parliament. He is doing a good job representing his constituents. From my memory, he has not approached me directly about that issue, but I am sure he and other members of the federal Parliament and of this Parliament should be concerned, because if a carbon tax is introduced, what will that mean? The thing about electricity prices, and I have acknowledged before that large increases have occurred and are causing hardship, is that in Western Australia when people pay their electricity bill, at least they are paying for electricity. If they have to pay a carbon tax, what are they paying for? A belief that somehow that will save the planet. There is no nexus. At least in this state when people pay their electricity bills, they are paying for the fuel, the generation, the distribution and the power. Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Please, get up and make a speech. If the member for Midland is going to make a speech, she should make a better one than she made this morning. It was an awful speech; it was extraordinarily disappointing. It was one of the worst speeches I have heard. It was very poor. Electricity prices have increased. As I said yesterday, for 18 months the Labor Party in this place has been going on about prices going up by 22 per cent. They did not. They went up by five per cent, and they will go up by five per cent again next year. There are a lot of factors affecting people’s cost of living, which are making it difficult to make ends meet. One of the principal factors for many families is the cost of rental accommodation. That is something that the Minister for Housing is addressing. That is something for which members opposite also share some blame. The complete inability of Labor, when in government, to deal with the housing market and land supply probably added $100 000 to the mortgages of people, and is still reflected today in high rental prices. It mismanaged the land market because it had a belief that if it constrained the growth of land, it would increase residential densities and Perth would be a more concentrated city. Once again, these are failed policies. The Leader of the Opposition is bound to jump up again, so please jump up! Mr E.S. Ripper : Thank you!
Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I thank the Leader of the Opposition for the question. (1)–(3) In answer to the first question: do I blame the federal government? No, I blame you. It is as simple as that. Mr E.S. Ripper : So you don’t accept responsibility? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I accept responsibility for having made the decision. Ken Wyatt is an outstanding new member of federal Parliament. He is doing a good job representing his constituents. From my memory, he has not approached me directly about that issue, but I am sure he and other members of the federal Parliament and of this Parliament should be concerned, because if a carbon tax is introduced, what will that mean? The thing about electricity prices, and I have acknowledged before that large increases have occurred and are causing hardship, is that in Western Australia when people pay their electricity bill, at least they are paying for electricity. If they have to pay a carbon tax, what are they paying for? A belief that somehow that will save the planet. There is no nexus. At least in this state when people pay their electricity bills, they are paying for the fuel, the generation, the distribution and the power. Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Please, get up and make a speech. If the member for Midland is going to make a speech, she should make a better one than she made this morning. It was an awful speech; it was extraordinarily disappointing. It was one of the worst speeches I have heard. It was very poor. Electricity prices have increased. As I said yesterday, for 18 months the Labor Party in this place has been going on about prices going up by 22 per cent. They did not. They went up by five per cent, and they will go up by five per cent again next year. There are a lot of factors affecting people’s cost of living, which are making it difficult to make ends meet. One of the principal factors for many families is the cost of rental accommodation. That is something that the Minister for Housing is addressing. That is something for which members opposite also share some blame. The complete inability of Labor, when in government, to deal with the housing market and land supply probably added $100 000 to the mortgages of people, and is still reflected today in high rental prices. It mismanaged the land market because it had a belief that if it constrained the growth of land, it would increase residential densities and Perth would be a more concentrated city. Once again, these are failed policies. The Leader of the Opposition is bound to jump up again, so please jump up! Mr E.S. Ripper : Thank you!
I thank the Leader of the Opposition for the question. (1)–(3) In answer to the first question: do I blame the federal government? No, I blame you. It is as simple as that. Mr E.S. Ripper : So you don’t accept responsibility? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I accept responsibility for having made the decision. Ken Wyatt is an outstanding new member of federal Parliament. He is doing a good job representing his constituents. From my memory, he has not approached me directly about that issue, but I am sure he and other members of the federal Parliament and of this Parliament should be concerned, because if a carbon tax is introduced, what will that mean? The thing about electricity prices, and I have acknowledged before that large increases have occurred and are causing hardship, is that in Western Australia when people pay their electricity bill, at least they are paying for electricity. If they have to pay a carbon tax, what are they paying for? A belief that somehow that will save the planet. There is no nexus. At least in this state when people pay their electricity bills, they are paying for the fuel, the generation, the distribution and the power. Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Please, get up and make a speech. If the member for Midland is going to make a speech, she should make a better one than she made this morning. It was an awful speech; it was extraordinarily disappointing. It was one of the worst speeches I have heard. It was very poor. Electricity prices have increased. As I said yesterday, for 18 months the Labor Party in this place has been going on about prices going up by 22 per cent. They did not. They went up by five per cent, and they will go up by five per cent again next year. There are a lot of factors affecting people’s cost of living, which are making it difficult to make ends meet. One of the principal factors for many families is the cost of rental accommodation. That is something that the Minister for Housing is addressing. That is something for which members opposite also share some blame. The complete inability of Labor, when in government, to deal with the housing market and land supply probably added $100 000 to the mortgages of people, and is still reflected today in high rental prices. It mismanaged the land market because it had a belief that if it constrained the growth of land, it would increase residential densities and Perth would be a more concentrated city. Once again, these are failed policies. The Leader of the Opposition is bound to jump up again, so please jump up! Mr E.S. Ripper : Thank you!
(1)–(3) In answer to the first question: do I blame the federal government? No, I blame you. It is as simple as that. Mr E.S. Ripper : So you don’t accept responsibility? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I accept responsibility for having made the decision. Ken Wyatt is an outstanding new member of federal Parliament. He is doing a good job representing his constituents. From my memory, he has not approached me directly about that issue, but I am sure he and other members of the federal Parliament and of this Parliament should be concerned, because if a carbon tax is introduced, what will that mean? The thing about electricity prices, and I have acknowledged before that large increases have occurred and are causing hardship, is that in Western Australia when people pay their electricity bill, at least they are paying for electricity. If they have to pay a carbon tax, what are they paying for? A belief that somehow that will save the planet. There is no nexus. At least in this state when people pay their electricity bills, they are paying for the fuel, the generation, the distribution and the power. Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Please, get up and make a speech. If the member for Midland is going to make a speech, she should make a better one than she made this morning. It was an awful speech; it was extraordinarily disappointing. It was one of the worst speeches I have heard. It was very poor. Electricity prices have increased. As I said yesterday, for 18 months the Labor Party in this place has been going on about prices going up by 22 per cent. They did not. They went up by five per cent, and they will go up by five per cent again next year. There are a lot of factors affecting people’s cost of living, which are making it difficult to make ends meet. One of the principal factors for many families is the cost of rental accommodation. That is something that the Minister for Housing is addressing. That is something for which members opposite also share some blame. The complete inability of Labor, when in government, to deal with the housing market and land supply probably added $100 000 to the mortgages of people, and is still reflected today in high rental prices. It mismanaged the land market because it had a belief that if it constrained the growth of land, it would increase residential densities and Perth would be a more concentrated city. Once again, these are failed policies. The Leader of the Opposition is bound to jump up again, so please jump up! Mr E.S. Ripper : Thank you!
Mr E.S. Ripper : So you don’t accept responsibility? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I accept responsibility for having made the decision. Ken Wyatt is an outstanding new member of federal Parliament. He is doing a good job representing his constituents. From my memory, he has not approached me directly about that issue, but I am sure he and other members of the federal Parliament and of this Parliament should be concerned, because if a carbon tax is introduced, what will that mean? The thing about electricity prices, and I have acknowledged before that large increases have occurred and are causing hardship, is that in Western Australia when people pay their electricity bill, at least they are paying for electricity. If they have to pay a carbon tax, what are they paying for? A belief that somehow that will save the planet. There is no nexus. At least in this state when people pay their electricity bills, they are paying for the fuel, the generation, the distribution and the power. Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Please, get up and make a speech. If the member for Midland is going to make a speech, she should make a better one than she made this morning. It was an awful speech; it was extraordinarily disappointing. It was one of the worst speeches I have heard. It was very poor. Electricity prices have increased. As I said yesterday, for 18 months the Labor Party in this place has been going on about prices going up by 22 per cent. They did not. They went up by five per cent, and they will go up by five per cent again next year. There are a lot of factors affecting people’s cost of living, which are making it difficult to make ends meet. One of the principal factors for many families is the cost of rental accommodation. That is something that the Minister for Housing is addressing. That is something for which members opposite also share some blame. The complete inability of Labor, when in government, to deal with the housing market and land supply probably added $100 000 to the mortgages of people, and is still reflected today in high rental prices. It mismanaged the land market because it had a belief that if it constrained the growth of land, it would increase residential densities and Perth would be a more concentrated city. Once again, these are failed policies. The Leader of the Opposition is bound to jump up again, so please jump up! Mr E.S. Ripper : Thank you!
Mr C.J. BARNETT : I accept responsibility for having made the decision. Ken Wyatt is an outstanding new member of federal Parliament. He is doing a good job representing his constituents. From my memory, he has not approached me directly about that issue, but I am sure he and other members of the federal Parliament and of this Parliament should be concerned, because if a carbon tax is introduced, what will that mean? The thing about electricity prices, and I have acknowledged before that large increases have occurred and are causing hardship, is that in Western Australia when people pay their electricity bill, at least they are paying for electricity. If they have to pay a carbon tax, what are they paying for? A belief that somehow that will save the planet. There is no nexus. At least in this state when people pay their electricity bills, they are paying for the fuel, the generation, the distribution and the power. Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Please, get up and make a speech. If the member for Midland is going to make a speech, she should make a better one than she made this morning. It was an awful speech; it was extraordinarily disappointing. It was one of the worst speeches I have heard. It was very poor. Electricity prices have increased. As I said yesterday, for 18 months the Labor Party in this place has been going on about prices going up by 22 per cent. They did not. They went up by five per cent, and they will go up by five per cent again next year. There are a lot of factors affecting people’s cost of living, which are making it difficult to make ends meet. One of the principal factors for many families is the cost of rental accommodation. That is something that the Minister for Housing is addressing. That is something for which members opposite also share some blame. The complete inability of Labor, when in government, to deal with the housing market and land supply probably added $100 000 to the mortgages of people, and is still reflected today in high rental prices. It mismanaged the land market because it had a belief that if it constrained the growth of land, it would increase residential densities and Perth would be a more concentrated city. Once again, these are failed policies. The Leader of the Opposition is bound to jump up again, so please jump up! Mr E.S. Ripper : Thank you!
The thing about electricity prices, and I have acknowledged before that large increases have occurred and are causing hardship, is that in Western Australia when people pay their electricity bill, at least they are paying for electricity. If they have to pay a carbon tax, what are they paying for? A belief that somehow that will save the planet. There is no nexus. At least in this state when people pay their electricity bills, they are paying for the fuel, the generation, the distribution and the power. Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Please, get up and make a speech. If the member for Midland is going to make a speech, she should make a better one than she made this morning. It was an awful speech; it was extraordinarily disappointing. It was one of the worst speeches I have heard. It was very poor. Electricity prices have increased. As I said yesterday, for 18 months the Labor Party in this place has been going on about prices going up by 22 per cent. They did not. They went up by five per cent, and they will go up by five per cent again next year. There are a lot of factors affecting people’s cost of living, which are making it difficult to make ends meet. One of the principal factors for many families is the cost of rental accommodation. That is something that the Minister for Housing is addressing. That is something for which members opposite also share some blame. The complete inability of Labor, when in government, to deal with the housing market and land supply probably added $100 000 to the mortgages of people, and is still reflected today in high rental prices. It mismanaged the land market because it had a belief that if it constrained the growth of land, it would increase residential densities and Perth would be a more concentrated city. Once again, these are failed policies. The Leader of the Opposition is bound to jump up again, so please jump up! Mr E.S. Ripper : Thank you!
Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Please, get up and make a speech. If the member for Midland is going to make a speech, she should make a better one than she made this morning. It was an awful speech; it was extraordinarily disappointing. It was one of the worst speeches I have heard. It was very poor. Electricity prices have increased. As I said yesterday, for 18 months the Labor Party in this place has been going on about prices going up by 22 per cent. They did not. They went up by five per cent, and they will go up by five per cent again next year. There are a lot of factors affecting people’s cost of living, which are making it difficult to make ends meet. One of the principal factors for many families is the cost of rental accommodation. That is something that the Minister for Housing is addressing. That is something for which members opposite also share some blame. The complete inability of Labor, when in government, to deal with the housing market and land supply probably added $100 000 to the mortgages of people, and is still reflected today in high rental prices. It mismanaged the land market because it had a belief that if it constrained the growth of land, it would increase residential densities and Perth would be a more concentrated city. Once again, these are failed policies. The Leader of the Opposition is bound to jump up again, so please jump up! Mr E.S. Ripper : Thank you!
Mr C.J. BARNETT : Please, get up and make a speech. If the member for Midland is going to make a speech, she should make a better one than she made this morning. It was an awful speech; it was extraordinarily disappointing. It was one of the worst speeches I have heard. It was very poor. Electricity prices have increased. As I said yesterday, for 18 months the Labor Party in this place has been going on about prices going up by 22 per cent. They did not. They went up by five per cent, and they will go up by five per cent again next year. There are a lot of factors affecting people’s cost of living, which are making it difficult to make ends meet. One of the principal factors for many families is the cost of rental accommodation. That is something that the Minister for Housing is addressing. That is something for which members opposite also share some blame. The complete inability of Labor, when in government, to deal with the housing market and land supply probably added $100 000 to the mortgages of people, and is still reflected today in high rental prices. It mismanaged the land market because it had a belief that if it constrained the growth of land, it would increase residential densities and Perth would be a more concentrated city. Once again, these are failed policies. The Leader of the Opposition is bound to jump up again, so please jump up! Mr E.S. Ripper : Thank you!
Electricity prices have increased. As I said yesterday, for 18 months the Labor Party in this place has been going on about prices going up by 22 per cent. They did not. They went up by five per cent, and they will go up by five per cent again next year. There are a lot of factors affecting people’s cost of living, which are making it difficult to make ends meet. One of the principal factors for many families is the cost of rental accommodation. That is something that the Minister for Housing is addressing. That is something for which members opposite also share some blame. The complete inability of Labor, when in government, to deal with the housing market and land supply probably added $100 000 to the mortgages of people, and is still reflected today in high rental prices. It mismanaged the land market because it had a belief that if it constrained the growth of land, it would increase residential densities and Perth would be a more concentrated city. Once again, these are failed policies. The Leader of the Opposition is bound to jump up again, so please jump up! Mr E.S. Ripper : Thank you!
Mr E.S. Ripper : Thank you!
(1) Does the Premier, like Mr Wyatt, blame the federal government for the Premier’s savage increases in utility bills, or does the Premier accept responsibility for his own harsh decisions? (2) Has Mr Wyatt ever approached the Premier on behalf of his constituents urging him to stop his assault on utility prices, which have been plaguing the people of Hasluck? (3) What comfort can the Premier give the electors of Hasluck that any relief is in sight from his harsh approach to utility costs? Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I thank the Leader of the Opposition for the question. (1)–(3) In answer to the first question: do I blame the federal government? No, I blame you. It is as simple as that. Mr E.S. Ripper : So you don’t accept responsibility? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I accept responsibility for having made the decision. Ken Wyatt is an outstanding new member of federal Parliament. He is doing a good job representing his constituents. From my memory, he has not approached me directly about that issue, but I am sure he and other members of the federal Parliament and of this Parliament should be concerned, because if a carbon tax is introduced, what will that mean? The thing about electricity prices, and I have acknowledged before that large increases have occurred and are causing hardship, is that in Western Australia when people pay their electricity bill, at least they are paying for electricity. If they have to pay a carbon tax, what are they paying for? A belief that somehow that will save the planet. There is no nexus. At least in this state when people pay their electricity bills, they are paying for the fuel, the generation, the distribution and the power. Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Please, get up and make a speech. If the member for Midland is going to make a speech, she should make a better one than she made this morning. It was an awful speech; it was extraordinarily disappointing. It was one of the worst speeches I have heard. It was very poor. Electricity prices have increased. As I said yesterday, for 18 months the Labor Party in this place has been going on about prices going up by 22 per cent. They did not. They went up by five per cent, and they will go up by five per cent again next year. There are a lot of factors affecting people’s cost of living, which are making it difficult to make ends meet. One of the principal factors for many families is the cost of rental accommodation. That is something that the Minister for Housing is addressing. That is something for which members opposite also share some blame. The complete inability of Labor, when in government, to deal with the housing market and land supply probably added $100 000 to the mortgages of people, and is still reflected today in high rental prices. It mismanaged the land market because it had a belief that if it constrained the growth of land, it would increase residential densities and Perth would be a more concentrated city. Once again, these are failed policies. The Leader of the Opposition is bound to jump up again, so please jump up! Mr E.S. Ripper : Thank you!
(2) Has Mr Wyatt ever approached the Premier on behalf of his constituents urging him to stop his assault on utility prices, which have been plaguing the people of Hasluck? (3) What comfort can the Premier give the electors of Hasluck that any relief is in sight from his harsh approach to utility costs? Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I thank the Leader of the Opposition for the question. (1)–(3) In answer to the first question: do I blame the federal government? No, I blame you. It is as simple as that. Mr E.S. Ripper : So you don’t accept responsibility? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I accept responsibility for having made the decision. Ken Wyatt is an outstanding new member of federal Parliament. He is doing a good job representing his constituents. From my memory, he has not approached me directly about that issue, but I am sure he and other members of the federal Parliament and of this Parliament should be concerned, because if a carbon tax is introduced, what will that mean? The thing about electricity prices, and I have acknowledged before that large increases have occurred and are causing hardship, is that in Western Australia when people pay their electricity bill, at least they are paying for electricity. If they have to pay a carbon tax, what are they paying for? A belief that somehow that will save the planet. There is no nexus. At least in this state when people pay their electricity bills, they are paying for the fuel, the generation, the distribution and the power. Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Please, get up and make a speech. If the member for Midland is going to make a speech, she should make a better one than she made this morning. It was an awful speech; it was extraordinarily disappointing. It was one of the worst speeches I have heard. It was very poor. Electricity prices have increased. As I said yesterday, for 18 months the Labor Party in this place has been going on about prices going up by 22 per cent. They did not. They went up by five per cent, and they will go up by five per cent again next year. There are a lot of factors affecting people’s cost of living, which are making it difficult to make ends meet. One of the principal factors for many families is the cost of rental accommodation. That is something that the Minister for Housing is addressing. That is something for which members opposite also share some blame. The complete inability of Labor, when in government, to deal with the housing market and land supply probably added $100 000 to the mortgages of people, and is still reflected today in high rental prices. It mismanaged the land market because it had a belief that if it constrained the growth of land, it would increase residential densities and Perth would be a more concentrated city. Once again, these are failed policies. The Leader of the Opposition is bound to jump up again, so please jump up! Mr E.S. Ripper : Thank you!
(3) What comfort can the Premier give the electors of Hasluck that any relief is in sight from his harsh approach to utility costs? Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I thank the Leader of the Opposition for the question. (1)–(3) In answer to the first question: do I blame the federal government? No, I blame you. It is as simple as that. Mr E.S. Ripper : So you don’t accept responsibility? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I accept responsibility for having made the decision. Ken Wyatt is an outstanding new member of federal Parliament. He is doing a good job representing his constituents. From my memory, he has not approached me directly about that issue, but I am sure he and other members of the federal Parliament and of this Parliament should be concerned, because if a carbon tax is introduced, what will that mean? The thing about electricity prices, and I have acknowledged before that large increases have occurred and are causing hardship, is that in Western Australia when people pay their electricity bill, at least they are paying for electricity. If they have to pay a carbon tax, what are they paying for? A belief that somehow that will save the planet. There is no nexus. At least in this state when people pay their electricity bills, they are paying for the fuel, the generation, the distribution and the power. Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Please, get up and make a speech. If the member for Midland is going to make a speech, she should make a better one than she made this morning. It was an awful speech; it was extraordinarily disappointing. It was one of the worst speeches I have heard. It was very poor. Electricity prices have increased. As I said yesterday, for 18 months the Labor Party in this place has been going on about prices going up by 22 per cent. They did not. They went up by five per cent, and they will go up by five per cent again next year. There are a lot of factors affecting people’s cost of living, which are making it difficult to make ends meet. One of the principal factors for many families is the cost of rental accommodation. That is something that the Minister for Housing is addressing. That is something for which members opposite also share some blame. The complete inability of Labor, when in government, to deal with the housing market and land supply probably added $100 000 to the mortgages of people, and is still reflected today in high rental prices. It mismanaged the land market because it had a belief that if it constrained the growth of land, it would increase residential densities and Perth would be a more concentrated city. Once again, these are failed policies. The Leader of the Opposition is bound to jump up again, so please jump up! Mr E.S. Ripper : Thank you!
Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I thank the Leader of the Opposition for the question. (1)–(3) In answer to the first question: do I blame the federal government? No, I blame you. It is as simple as that. Mr E.S. Ripper : So you don’t accept responsibility? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I accept responsibility for having made the decision. Ken Wyatt is an outstanding new member of federal Parliament. He is doing a good job representing his constituents. From my memory, he has not approached me directly about that issue, but I am sure he and other members of the federal Parliament and of this Parliament should be concerned, because if a carbon tax is introduced, what will that mean? The thing about electricity prices, and I have acknowledged before that large increases have occurred and are causing hardship, is that in Western Australia when people pay their electricity bill, at least they are paying for electricity. If they have to pay a carbon tax, what are they paying for? A belief that somehow that will save the planet. There is no nexus. At least in this state when people pay their electricity bills, they are paying for the fuel, the generation, the distribution and the power. Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Please, get up and make a speech. If the member for Midland is going to make a speech, she should make a better one than she made this morning. It was an awful speech; it was extraordinarily disappointing. It was one of the worst speeches I have heard. It was very poor. Electricity prices have increased. As I said yesterday, for 18 months the Labor Party in this place has been going on about prices going up by 22 per cent. They did not. They went up by five per cent, and they will go up by five per cent again next year. There are a lot of factors affecting people’s cost of living, which are making it difficult to make ends meet. One of the principal factors for many families is the cost of rental accommodation. That is something that the Minister for Housing is addressing. That is something for which members opposite also share some blame. The complete inability of Labor, when in government, to deal with the housing market and land supply probably added $100 000 to the mortgages of people, and is still reflected today in high rental prices. It mismanaged the land market because it had a belief that if it constrained the growth of land, it would increase residential densities and Perth would be a more concentrated city. Once again, these are failed policies. The Leader of the Opposition is bound to jump up again, so please jump up! Mr E.S. Ripper : Thank you!
I thank the Leader of the Opposition for the question. (1)–(3) In answer to the first question: do I blame the federal government? No, I blame you. It is as simple as that. Mr E.S. Ripper : So you don’t accept responsibility? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I accept responsibility for having made the decision. Ken Wyatt is an outstanding new member of federal Parliament. He is doing a good job representing his constituents. From my memory, he has not approached me directly about that issue, but I am sure he and other members of the federal Parliament and of this Parliament should be concerned, because if a carbon tax is introduced, what will that mean? The thing about electricity prices, and I have acknowledged before that large increases have occurred and are causing hardship, is that in Western Australia when people pay their electricity bill, at least they are paying for electricity. If they have to pay a carbon tax, what are they paying for? A belief that somehow that will save the planet. There is no nexus. At least in this state when people pay their electricity bills, they are paying for the fuel, the generation, the distribution and the power. Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Please, get up and make a speech. If the member for Midland is going to make a speech, she should make a better one than she made this morning. It was an awful speech; it was extraordinarily disappointing. It was one of the worst speeches I have heard. It was very poor. Electricity prices have increased. As I said yesterday, for 18 months the Labor Party in this place has been going on about prices going up by 22 per cent. They did not. They went up by five per cent, and they will go up by five per cent again next year. There are a lot of factors affecting people’s cost of living, which are making it difficult to make ends meet. One of the principal factors for many families is the cost of rental accommodation. That is something that the Minister for Housing is addressing. That is something for which members opposite also share some blame. The complete inability of Labor, when in government, to deal with the housing market and land supply probably added $100 000 to the mortgages of people, and is still reflected today in high rental prices. It mismanaged the land market because it had a belief that if it constrained the growth of land, it would increase residential densities and Perth would be a more concentrated city. Once again, these are failed policies. The Leader of the Opposition is bound to jump up again, so please jump up! Mr E.S. Ripper : Thank you!
(1)–(3) In answer to the first question: do I blame the federal government? No, I blame you. It is as simple as that. Mr E.S. Ripper : So you don’t accept responsibility? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I accept responsibility for having made the decision. Ken Wyatt is an outstanding new member of federal Parliament. He is doing a good job representing his constituents. From my memory, he has not approached me directly about that issue, but I am sure he and other members of the federal Parliament and of this Parliament should be concerned, because if a carbon tax is introduced, what will that mean? The thing about electricity prices, and I have acknowledged before that large increases have occurred and are causing hardship, is that in Western Australia when people pay their electricity bill, at least they are paying for electricity. If they have to pay a carbon tax, what are they paying for? A belief that somehow that will save the planet. There is no nexus. At least in this state when people pay their electricity bills, they are paying for the fuel, the generation, the distribution and the power. Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Please, get up and make a speech. If the member for Midland is going to make a speech, she should make a better one than she made this morning. It was an awful speech; it was extraordinarily disappointing. It was one of the worst speeches I have heard. It was very poor. Electricity prices have increased. As I said yesterday, for 18 months the Labor Party in this place has been going on about prices going up by 22 per cent. They did not. They went up by five per cent, and they will go up by five per cent again next year. There are a lot of factors affecting people’s cost of living, which are making it difficult to make ends meet. One of the principal factors for many families is the cost of rental accommodation. That is something that the Minister for Housing is addressing. That is something for which members opposite also share some blame. The complete inability of Labor, when in government, to deal with the housing market and land supply probably added $100 000 to the mortgages of people, and is still reflected today in high rental prices. It mismanaged the land market because it had a belief that if it constrained the growth of land, it would increase residential densities and Perth would be a more concentrated city. Once again, these are failed policies. The Leader of the Opposition is bound to jump up again, so please jump up! Mr E.S. Ripper : Thank you!
Mr E.S. Ripper : So you don’t accept responsibility? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I accept responsibility for having made the decision. Ken Wyatt is an outstanding new member of federal Parliament. He is doing a good job representing his constituents. From my memory, he has not approached me directly about that issue, but I am sure he and other members of the federal Parliament and of this Parliament should be concerned, because if a carbon tax is introduced, what will that mean? The thing about electricity prices, and I have acknowledged before that large increases have occurred and are causing hardship, is that in Western Australia when people pay their electricity bill, at least they are paying for electricity. If they have to pay a carbon tax, what are they paying for? A belief that somehow that will save the planet. There is no nexus. At least in this state when people pay their electricity bills, they are paying for the fuel, the generation, the distribution and the power. Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Please, get up and make a speech. If the member for Midland is going to make a speech, she should make a better one than she made this morning. It was an awful speech; it was extraordinarily disappointing. It was one of the worst speeches I have heard. It was very poor. Electricity prices have increased. As I said yesterday, for 18 months the Labor Party in this place has been going on about prices going up by 22 per cent. They did not. They went up by five per cent, and they will go up by five per cent again next year. There are a lot of factors affecting people’s cost of living, which are making it difficult to make ends meet. One of the principal factors for many families is the cost of rental accommodation. That is something that the Minister for Housing is addressing. That is something for which members opposite also share some blame. The complete inability of Labor, when in government, to deal with the housing market and land supply probably added $100 000 to the mortgages of people, and is still reflected today in high rental prices. It mismanaged the land market because it had a belief that if it constrained the growth of land, it would increase residential densities and Perth would be a more concentrated city. Once again, these are failed policies. The Leader of the Opposition is bound to jump up again, so please jump up! Mr E.S. Ripper : Thank you!
Mr C.J. BARNETT : I accept responsibility for having made the decision. Ken Wyatt is an outstanding new member of federal Parliament. He is doing a good job representing his constituents. From my memory, he has not approached me directly about that issue, but I am sure he and other members of the federal Parliament and of this Parliament should be concerned, because if a carbon tax is introduced, what will that mean? The thing about electricity prices, and I have acknowledged before that large increases have occurred and are causing hardship, is that in Western Australia when people pay their electricity bill, at least they are paying for electricity. If they have to pay a carbon tax, what are they paying for? A belief that somehow that will save the planet. There is no nexus. At least in this state when people pay their electricity bills, they are paying for the fuel, the generation, the distribution and the power. Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Please, get up and make a speech. If the member for Midland is going to make a speech, she should make a better one than she made this morning. It was an awful speech; it was extraordinarily disappointing. It was one of the worst speeches I have heard. It was very poor. Electricity prices have increased. As I said yesterday, for 18 months the Labor Party in this place has been going on about prices going up by 22 per cent. They did not. They went up by five per cent, and they will go up by five per cent again next year. There are a lot of factors affecting people’s cost of living, which are making it difficult to make ends meet. One of the principal factors for many families is the cost of rental accommodation. That is something that the Minister for Housing is addressing. That is something for which members opposite also share some blame. The complete inability of Labor, when in government, to deal with the housing market and land supply probably added $100 000 to the mortgages of people, and is still reflected today in high rental prices. It mismanaged the land market because it had a belief that if it constrained the growth of land, it would increase residential densities and Perth would be a more concentrated city. Once again, these are failed policies. The Leader of the Opposition is bound to jump up again, so please jump up! Mr E.S. Ripper : Thank you!
The thing about electricity prices, and I have acknowledged before that large increases have occurred and are causing hardship, is that in Western Australia when people pay their electricity bill, at least they are paying for electricity. If they have to pay a carbon tax, what are they paying for? A belief that somehow that will save the planet. There is no nexus. At least in this state when people pay their electricity bills, they are paying for the fuel, the generation, the distribution and the power. Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Please, get up and make a speech. If the member for Midland is going to make a speech, she should make a better one than she made this morning. It was an awful speech; it was extraordinarily disappointing. It was one of the worst speeches I have heard. It was very poor. Electricity prices have increased. As I said yesterday, for 18 months the Labor Party in this place has been going on about prices going up by 22 per cent. They did not. They went up by five per cent, and they will go up by five per cent again next year. There are a lot of factors affecting people’s cost of living, which are making it difficult to make ends meet. One of the principal factors for many families is the cost of rental accommodation. That is something that the Minister for Housing is addressing. That is something for which members opposite also share some blame. The complete inability of Labor, when in government, to deal with the housing market and land supply probably added $100 000 to the mortgages of people, and is still reflected today in high rental prices. It mismanaged the land market because it had a belief that if it constrained the growth of land, it would increase residential densities and Perth would be a more concentrated city. Once again, these are failed policies. The Leader of the Opposition is bound to jump up again, so please jump up! Mr E.S. Ripper : Thank you!
Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Please, get up and make a speech. If the member for Midland is going to make a speech, she should make a better one than she made this morning. It was an awful speech; it was extraordinarily disappointing. It was one of the worst speeches I have heard. It was very poor. Electricity prices have increased. As I said yesterday, for 18 months the Labor Party in this place has been going on about prices going up by 22 per cent. They did not. They went up by five per cent, and they will go up by five per cent again next year. There are a lot of factors affecting people’s cost of living, which are making it difficult to make ends meet. One of the principal factors for many families is the cost of rental accommodation. That is something that the Minister for Housing is addressing. That is something for which members opposite also share some blame. The complete inability of Labor, when in government, to deal with the housing market and land supply probably added $100 000 to the mortgages of people, and is still reflected today in high rental prices. It mismanaged the land market because it had a belief that if it constrained the growth of land, it would increase residential densities and Perth would be a more concentrated city. Once again, these are failed policies. The Leader of the Opposition is bound to jump up again, so please jump up! Mr E.S. Ripper : Thank you!
Mr C.J. BARNETT : Please, get up and make a speech. If the member for Midland is going to make a speech, she should make a better one than she made this morning. It was an awful speech; it was extraordinarily disappointing. It was one of the worst speeches I have heard. It was very poor. Electricity prices have increased. As I said yesterday, for 18 months the Labor Party in this place has been going on about prices going up by 22 per cent. They did not. They went up by five per cent, and they will go up by five per cent again next year. There are a lot of factors affecting people’s cost of living, which are making it difficult to make ends meet. One of the principal factors for many families is the cost of rental accommodation. That is something that the Minister for Housing is addressing. That is something for which members opposite also share some blame. The complete inability of Labor, when in government, to deal with the housing market and land supply probably added $100 000 to the mortgages of people, and is still reflected today in high rental prices. It mismanaged the land market because it had a belief that if it constrained the growth of land, it would increase residential densities and Perth would be a more concentrated city. Once again, these are failed policies. The Leader of the Opposition is bound to jump up again, so please jump up! Mr E.S. Ripper : Thank you!
Electricity prices have increased. As I said yesterday, for 18 months the Labor Party in this place has been going on about prices going up by 22 per cent. They did not. They went up by five per cent, and they will go up by five per cent again next year. There are a lot of factors affecting people’s cost of living, which are making it difficult to make ends meet. One of the principal factors for many families is the cost of rental accommodation. That is something that the Minister for Housing is addressing. That is something for which members opposite also share some blame. The complete inability of Labor, when in government, to deal with the housing market and land supply probably added $100 000 to the mortgages of people, and is still reflected today in high rental prices. It mismanaged the land market because it had a belief that if it constrained the growth of land, it would increase residential densities and Perth would be a more concentrated city. Once again, these are failed policies. The Leader of the Opposition is bound to jump up again, so please jump up! Mr E.S. Ripper : Thank you!
Mr E.S. Ripper : Thank you!
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