❓ The Premier addresses WA's economic recovery, highlighting job growth and low unemployment figures, while also addressing the arrival of Afghan evacuees and the government's support.
AnsweredQoN 448Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
STATE ECONOMY — JOBS
448. Ms J.J. SHAW to the Premier:
Before
I begin, on behalf of the member for Southern River, I welcome the students
from Excelsior Primary School.
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's commitment to driving the state's economic
recovery and creating more jobs for Western Australians.
Can the Premier update the house on today's Australian Bureau of
Statistics job figures and outline what they show about this government's
unprecedented investment in creating jobs, supporting business and driving
economic growth?
448. Ms J.J. SHAW to the Premier:
Before
I begin, on behalf of the member for Southern River, I welcome the students
from Excelsior Primary School.
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's commitment to driving the state's economic
recovery and creating more jobs for Western Australians.
Can the Premier update the house on today's Australian Bureau of
Statistics job figures and outline what they show about this government's
unprecedented investment in creating jobs, supporting business and driving
economic growth?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question.
Just before I answer that, I would like to provide an update to the house on
the evolving situation in Afghanistan. First of all, I think I would speak on
behalf of all of us when I say how tragic and
sad it is what has occurred in recent days in Afghanistan and the human tragedy
that is unfolding before our eyes.
We knew on the weekend that there
would need to be some evacuation of people out of Afghanistan. We were in
contact with the commonwealth government, and the health minister and I advised
our bureaucrats that we were very keen to do what Western Australia could do to
assist Australians and visa holders coming out of Afghanistan if that was
required. The commonwealth has taken up that opportunity. As of the first
flight, which is due to arrive within the next 24 hours, up to 100 evacuees
will go into hotel quarantine in Perth. These evacuees are a mix of Australians
and visa holders—obviously, mainly the interpreters and the like who
assisted our defence forces in Afghanistan. We have been working on this
arrangement since Saturday. The flight will arrive either tonight or tomorrow
morning with these people on board.
Police,
Health and the Department of the Premier and Cabinet have been working around
the clock to make sure that this can
be put in place. We have made space available in the Hyatt Regency hotel; some
floors have been cleared in order to
put these evacuees in that hotel. We will ensure, and I have received every
guarantee, that every COVID-1 9 safety protocol will be adhered to from
the airport to quarantine, and beyond. We will do everything we can to ensure
that every precaution is put in place to protect those people coming in, and,
indeed, to protect the broader Western Australian community and the staff
involved from any COVID-19 infections or any other illnesses as part of this. It is obviously a very serious matter. We
just want to do our bit as Australians to assist those people impacted
and assist the commonwealth government in its time of need.
On to the question from the member, we have been focused on
two things over our time in office, in particular the last 18 months. That is
the health and safety of Western Australians, and also creating jobs for Western
Australians. The two are not mutually exclusive. Today's ABS job
figures highlight that fact. The unemployment rate has fallen to 4.6 per cent.
That is the lowest unemployment rate in eight years. By contrast, when we
arrived in office, the unemployment rate in Western
Australia was 6.5 per cent. Under this government, we have seen a massive drop
in unemployment. The youth
unemployment rate is now the lowest it has been since 2014 and also the lowest
of all the states. When it comes to creating jobs, we have a record
number of Western Australians in work. There are now 1.41 million Western Australians
in work. In terms of the monthly figures, in July we saw 6 500 jobs created in Western Australia. The encouraging thing is that
these were full-time jobs. By contrast, there were 2 200 jobs created across
the rest of the country. So if it was not for Western Australia, the nation
would have gone backwards. Under this government, 106 800 Western Australians
are in work above the number who were in work when we came to office. That is
106 800 jobs created under this government, in the midst of a worldwide
pandemic and recession.
We will continue to invest and create opportunities to drive
our jobs growth, whether it is from investment in training and TAFE; cutting red tape; investing in infrastructure such as
Metronet; the Perth City Deal, an initiative by Edith Cowan University; or the
WACA redevelopment project, on which I turned the first sod this morning. That
goes to show that if we have a government that has the right priorities and is
prepared to take action when required, particularly in relation to COVID, we
can create good health outcomes and good job outcomes at the same time.
Just before I answer that, I would like to provide an update to the house on
the evolving situation in Afghanistan. First of all, I think I would speak on
behalf of all of us when I say how tragic and
sad it is what has occurred in recent days in Afghanistan and the human tragedy
that is unfolding before our eyes.
We knew on the weekend that there
would need to be some evacuation of people out of Afghanistan. We were in
contact with the commonwealth government, and the health minister and I advised
our bureaucrats that we were very keen to do what Western Australia could do to
assist Australians and visa holders coming out of Afghanistan if that was
required. The commonwealth has taken up that opportunity. As of the first
flight, which is due to arrive within the next 24 hours, up to 100 evacuees
will go into hotel quarantine in Perth. These evacuees are a mix of Australians
and visa holders—obviously, mainly the interpreters and the like who
assisted our defence forces in Afghanistan. We have been working on this
arrangement since Saturday. The flight will arrive either tonight or tomorrow
morning with these people on board.
Police,
Health and the Department of the Premier and Cabinet have been working around
the clock to make sure that this can
be put in place. We have made space available in the Hyatt Regency hotel; some
floors have been cleared in order to
put these evacuees in that hotel. We will ensure, and I have received every
guarantee, that every COVID-1 9 safety protocol will be adhered to from
the airport to quarantine, and beyond. We will do everything we can to ensure
that every precaution is put in place to protect those people coming in, and,
indeed, to protect the broader Western Australian community and the staff
involved from any COVID-19 infections or any other illnesses as part of this. It is obviously a very serious matter. We
just want to do our bit as Australians to assist those people impacted
and assist the commonwealth government in its time of need.
On to the question from the member, we have been focused on
two things over our time in office, in particular the last 18 months. That is
the health and safety of Western Australians, and also creating jobs for Western
Australians. The two are not mutually exclusive. Today's ABS job
figures highlight that fact. The unemployment rate has fallen to 4.6 per cent.
That is the lowest unemployment rate in eight years. By contrast, when we
arrived in office, the unemployment rate in Western
Australia was 6.5 per cent. Under this government, we have seen a massive drop
in unemployment. The youth
unemployment rate is now the lowest it has been since 2014 and also the lowest
of all the states. When it comes to creating jobs, we have a record
number of Western Australians in work. There are now 1.41 million Western Australians
in work. In terms of the monthly figures, in July we saw 6 500 jobs created in Western Australia. The encouraging thing is that
these were full-time jobs. By contrast, there were 2 200 jobs created across
the rest of the country. So if it was not for Western Australia, the nation
would have gone backwards. Under this government, 106 800 Western Australians
are in work above the number who were in work when we came to office. That is
106 800 jobs created under this government, in the midst of a worldwide
pandemic and recession.
We will continue to invest and create opportunities to drive
our jobs growth, whether it is from investment in training and TAFE; cutting red tape; investing in infrastructure such as
Metronet; the Perth City Deal, an initiative by Edith Cowan University; or the
WACA redevelopment project, on which I turned the first sod this morning. That
goes to show that if we have a government that has the right priorities and is
prepared to take action when required, particularly in relation to COVID, we
can create good health outcomes and good job outcomes at the same time.
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