❓ Opposition Leader questions the Premier about WA's rising unemployment rate and requests the use of GST revenue to stimulate the economy. The Premier defends the government's economic performance, citing job creation and improved credit rating.
AnsweredQoN 434Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
STATE ECONOMY — EMPLOYMENT —
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS
434. Mrs L.M. HARVEY to the Premier:
Mr Speaker, with your indulgence, I advise the house that
earlier today I was elected unopposed as the Leader of the Parliamentary
Liberal Party and, therefore, as Leader of the Opposition. The member for Nedlands
has been elected as the Deputy Leader of the Parliamentary Liberal Party.
Mr W.J. Johnston interjected.
The SPEAKER : Minister for Mines and Petroleum, I call
you to order for the first time.
Mrs L.M. HARVEY : The member for Churchlands remains
manager of opposition business.
Before I ask my question, I also take this opportunity, on
behalf of the Parliamentary Liberal Party, to thank the member for Riverton,
who unfortunately is not able to be with us for question time. I would like to
thank him for his outstanding long-term and selfless service to the Liberal
Party, and to the opposition in particular since March 2017.
Opposition members: Hear, hear!
Mrs L.M. HARVEY : My question is to the Premier. I refer
the Premier to the Australian Bureau of Statistics data released today, which
highlights that Western Australia's unemployment rate has deteriorated
to a very concerning 6.3 per cent seasonally adjusted. When will the Premier
accept that his management of the economy is hurting Western Australian jobs,
and will he now use some of the billions of dollars of GST revenue received
from the Morrison government to stimulate the economy and improve the lives of
all Western Australians?
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS
434. Mrs L.M. HARVEY to the Premier:
Mr Speaker, with your indulgence, I advise the house that
earlier today I was elected unopposed as the Leader of the Parliamentary
Liberal Party and, therefore, as Leader of the Opposition. The member for Nedlands
has been elected as the Deputy Leader of the Parliamentary Liberal Party.
Mr W.J. Johnston interjected.
The SPEAKER : Minister for Mines and Petroleum, I call
you to order for the first time.
Mrs L.M. HARVEY : The member for Churchlands remains
manager of opposition business.
Before I ask my question, I also take this opportunity, on
behalf of the Parliamentary Liberal Party, to thank the member for Riverton,
who unfortunately is not able to be with us for question time. I would like to
thank him for his outstanding long-term and selfless service to the Liberal
Party, and to the opposition in particular since March 2017.
Opposition members: Hear, hear!
Mrs L.M. HARVEY : My question is to the Premier. I refer
the Premier to the Australian Bureau of Statistics data released today, which
highlights that Western Australia's unemployment rate has deteriorated
to a very concerning 6.3 per cent seasonally adjusted. When will the Premier
accept that his management of the economy is hurting Western Australian jobs,
and will he now use some of the billions of dollars of GST revenue received
from the Morrison government to stimulate the economy and improve the lives of
all Western Australians?
AnswerView source ↗
Firstly, I acknowledge the member for Riverton, who is not
here at the moment. I acknowledge him for his time as Leader of the Opposition
and thank him for his contribution to the Parliament and parliamentary
democracy in Western Australia. I congratulate the member for Scarborough on
becoming Leader of the Opposition, and the member for Nedlands on becoming
Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Well done!
Obviously, the government has been working as hard as it can
to create jobs and stimulate economic activity in Western Australia over the two years it has been in office. We
understand that many people across our state are looking for employment
and would like the opportunity of a job or improved employment prospects in Western
Australia. Since we have been in office, 40 000 new jobs have been created in Western
Australia—40 000 additional jobs have been created in Western Australia
since this government has been in office.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mr M. McGOWAN : That is greater than the population of
Kalgoorlie. That number of jobs has been created in our state. We can compare
that with the last term of the Liberal–National government, when 29 000
jobs were lost. So, 29 000 jobs were lost during the last term of the Liberal–National
government; 40 000 jobs have been created over the first two years of this
government.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members, you asked a question; listen to
the answer.
Mr M. McGOWAN : This government has had to deal with a very
difficult situation. Firstly, the Liberals and Nationals left the economy in
recession. Secondly, they left us with over $40 billion of Liberal-National
debt. Both those things have not been easy to deal with, but people across the
state know that this government has its priorities right. Last week, Moody's
lifted our credit rating.
Several members interjected.
Mr M. McGOWAN : When the Liberals and Nationals were in
office, they lost the credit rating. This government has had the credit rating
reinstated.
Mr A. Krsticevic interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Carine, I call you to order
for the first time.
Mr M. McGOWAN : Moody's explained why. It is
because under this Labor government, there is a strong fiscal resolve to get
this state back on track. That is exactly what Moody's had to say.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Darling Range, I call you to order for the first time. I can see you and hear
you now; you used to hide in the corner.
Mr M. McGOWAN : We have the
balancing act of ensuring that we get the finances back under control and
create jobs, and make sure we keep cost-of-living pressures down for families.
The budget that came down the other week showed that our government is getting
the state back to surplus and debt heading down. On top of that, it delivered
the lowest increase in fees and charges in 13 years.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Darling Range!
Mr M. McGOWAN : That is what
good economic management and good financial management can achieve for the
people of Western Australia. Under this government, a whole range of
initiatives have been taken, whether in tourism, defence, liquefied natural
gas, mining approvals, aquaculture, planning reform, strata reform, liquor
reform, or jobs and skills centres at our TAFE colleges. The list goes on.
Mr A. Krsticevic interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Carine, I call you to order for the second time.
Mr M. McGOWAN : What people
have also seen under this government is a strong focus on keeping relations
strong with our traditional trading partners, China and Japan.
Mr D.C. Nalder interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Bateman!
Mr M. McGOWAN : If members
opposite go and ask the business community what they want to see this
government do, it is exactly that.
Several members interjected.
Mr M. McGOWAN : I want to
contrast that with what happened under the previous government. As we know, 29 000
jobs were lost on the watch of the previous government, over the course of its
last term.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mr M. McGOWAN : The now Leader
of the Opposition put up TAFE fees by 500 per cent.
Government members: Shame!
Mr M. McGOWAN : If anyone
wanted to do a course to get into the labour market, this person put up the
fees by 500 per cent.
Several members interjected.
Mr M. McGOWAN : For those
young Western Australians who wanted to get the skills and qualifications to
get into the workforce —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members, it is
just a wall of noise. I am sure you all want to hear what the Premier is
saying.
Mr M. McGOWAN : For those
young Western Australians who wanted to get the skills to get into the
workforce, they had the now Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Liberal
Party putting up their fees by 500 per cent. If anything was anti-jobs, it was
that.
here at the moment. I acknowledge him for his time as Leader of the Opposition
and thank him for his contribution to the Parliament and parliamentary
democracy in Western Australia. I congratulate the member for Scarborough on
becoming Leader of the Opposition, and the member for Nedlands on becoming
Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Well done!
Obviously, the government has been working as hard as it can
to create jobs and stimulate economic activity in Western Australia over the two years it has been in office. We
understand that many people across our state are looking for employment
and would like the opportunity of a job or improved employment prospects in Western
Australia. Since we have been in office, 40 000 new jobs have been created in Western
Australia—40 000 additional jobs have been created in Western Australia
since this government has been in office.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mr M. McGOWAN : That is greater than the population of
Kalgoorlie. That number of jobs has been created in our state. We can compare
that with the last term of the Liberal–National government, when 29 000
jobs were lost. So, 29 000 jobs were lost during the last term of the Liberal–National
government; 40 000 jobs have been created over the first two years of this
government.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members, you asked a question; listen to
the answer.
Mr M. McGOWAN : This government has had to deal with a very
difficult situation. Firstly, the Liberals and Nationals left the economy in
recession. Secondly, they left us with over $40 billion of Liberal-National
debt. Both those things have not been easy to deal with, but people across the
state know that this government has its priorities right. Last week, Moody's
lifted our credit rating.
Several members interjected.
Mr M. McGOWAN : When the Liberals and Nationals were in
office, they lost the credit rating. This government has had the credit rating
reinstated.
Mr A. Krsticevic interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Carine, I call you to order
for the first time.
Mr M. McGOWAN : Moody's explained why. It is
because under this Labor government, there is a strong fiscal resolve to get
this state back on track. That is exactly what Moody's had to say.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Darling Range, I call you to order for the first time. I can see you and hear
you now; you used to hide in the corner.
Mr M. McGOWAN : We have the
balancing act of ensuring that we get the finances back under control and
create jobs, and make sure we keep cost-of-living pressures down for families.
The budget that came down the other week showed that our government is getting
the state back to surplus and debt heading down. On top of that, it delivered
the lowest increase in fees and charges in 13 years.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Darling Range!
Mr M. McGOWAN : That is what
good economic management and good financial management can achieve for the
people of Western Australia. Under this government, a whole range of
initiatives have been taken, whether in tourism, defence, liquefied natural
gas, mining approvals, aquaculture, planning reform, strata reform, liquor
reform, or jobs and skills centres at our TAFE colleges. The list goes on.
Mr A. Krsticevic interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Carine, I call you to order for the second time.
Mr M. McGOWAN : What people
have also seen under this government is a strong focus on keeping relations
strong with our traditional trading partners, China and Japan.
Mr D.C. Nalder interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Bateman!
Mr M. McGOWAN : If members
opposite go and ask the business community what they want to see this
government do, it is exactly that.
Several members interjected.
Mr M. McGOWAN : I want to
contrast that with what happened under the previous government. As we know, 29 000
jobs were lost on the watch of the previous government, over the course of its
last term.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mr M. McGOWAN : The now Leader
of the Opposition put up TAFE fees by 500 per cent.
Government members: Shame!
Mr M. McGOWAN : If anyone
wanted to do a course to get into the labour market, this person put up the
fees by 500 per cent.
Several members interjected.
Mr M. McGOWAN : For those
young Western Australians who wanted to get the skills and qualifications to
get into the workforce —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members, it is
just a wall of noise. I am sure you all want to hear what the Premier is
saying.
Mr M. McGOWAN : For those
young Western Australians who wanted to get the skills to get into the
workforce, they had the now Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Liberal
Party putting up their fees by 500 per cent. If anything was anti-jobs, it was
that.
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.