❓ Mr. Love questions the Premier's response time to the nickel industry crisis and potential job losses. The Premier defends the government's proactive approach, contrasting it with a previous administration's laissez-faire attitude.
AnsweredQoN 53Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
NICKEL INDUSTRY
53. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question.
This pressure on the industry has been growing over many months. Why did the
Premier take so long to make representations to the Prime Minister to provide
support to the industry at a time when we are now seriously facing 10 000 job
losses?
53. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question.
This pressure on the industry has been growing over many months. Why did the
Premier take so long to make representations to the Prime Minister to provide
support to the industry at a time when we are now seriously facing 10 000 job
losses?
AnswerView source ↗
That
is just untrue. It was not over many months; this has been a sharp disruption
to the global economy. The member will
recall it was just in January that First Quantum Minerals Ltd was the first
miner to announce that it will continue to operate but will no longer continue to extract minerals; that is, it
will utilise its stockpiles for continued processing . I think that was
probably in about January this year, so we have moved swiftly to seize the
situation. I reflect that back in 2009 the then Acting Premier of Western Australia,
Hon Dr Kim Hames, in reference to the closure of the BHP nickel operation
simply waved his hand and said that, ultimately, market forces drive the mining
industry. That was in relation to the loss of more than 1 800 jobs. Compare
that with our approach, which is to be proactive, to get involved, and to work
with industry on actual solutions rather than simply lamenting the closures
after the event. We are continuing to work with companies like FQM and others
to ensure that they can continue to be great contributors to the state's
economy and be great employers for Western Australian jobs.
is just untrue. It was not over many months; this has been a sharp disruption
to the global economy. The member will
recall it was just in January that First Quantum Minerals Ltd was the first
miner to announce that it will continue to operate but will no longer continue to extract minerals; that is, it
will utilise its stockpiles for continued processing . I think that was
probably in about January this year, so we have moved swiftly to seize the
situation. I reflect that back in 2009 the then Acting Premier of Western Australia,
Hon Dr Kim Hames, in reference to the closure of the BHP nickel operation
simply waved his hand and said that, ultimately, market forces drive the mining
industry. That was in relation to the loss of more than 1 800 jobs. Compare
that with our approach, which is to be proactive, to get involved, and to work
with industry on actual solutions rather than simply lamenting the closures
after the event. We are continuing to work with companies like FQM and others
to ensure that they can continue to be great contributors to the state's
economy and be great employers for Western Australian jobs.
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