❓ Ms. Dalton questions the Minister for Regional Development on the government's commitment to local operators and economic growth in regional WA. The Minister responds by highlighting investments, local content achievements, and criticises the Nationals' claims about regional funding.
AnsweredQoN 752Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT — INVESTMENT
752. Ms L. DALTON to the Minister for Regional Development:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's
commitment to creating jobs and supporting the diversification of regional
economies.
(1) Can the minister advise the house how this
government is maximising the use of local operators in state- led
projects across regional WA?
(2) Can the
minister further advise the house how this government's regional
investment is delivering real economic growth, economic diversification and
sustainable job growth in regional Western Australia?
752. Ms L. DALTON to the Minister for Regional Development:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's
commitment to creating jobs and supporting the diversification of regional
economies.
(1) Can the minister advise the house how this
government is maximising the use of local operators in state- led
projects across regional WA?
(2) Can the
minister further advise the house how this government's regional
investment is delivering real economic growth, economic diversification and
sustainable job growth in regional Western Australia?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I
am delighted to answer this question and I thank the member for it. Only two
weeks ago, I was in the member's
electorate of Geraldton to announce the successful recipients of round 7 of our
regional economic grants. In fact, I have been around all the regions
announcing those grants. Like all regional Labor MPs, the member for Geraldton is a strong advocate for her community. She
does not let ministers escape lightly.
It is thanks to the fantastic economic work that
has been happening throughout the Cook Labor government and the fiscal
discipline we have been exercising that we have been able have a record
investment in regional WA. Importantly, we have been able to make sure that
local suppliers and contractors benefit. We are committed to maximising local
content and our local content adviser networks have ensured that local businesses are connected to government
supply, with some great outcomes. Along with the Department of Jobs,
Tourism, Science and Innovation, our regional development commissions lead the
local-content approach that has been in place since 2018. In 2022–23,
21 per cent by value of government procurement was locally supplied and $1.2 billion
of the $5.79 billion of government contracts awarded in the regions was locally
supplied. That was up by $174 million from the previous year. I have some great
examples. Wauters, a great southern–based company, was awarded an $18.5
million contract at the Albany TAFE campus. That is great infrastructure in the
regions. South West Fire, which is based in Collie, member for Collie, was
awarded over $11 million for the manufacture and installation of up to 50 fire
units. In Kalgoorlie, a 100 per cent Aboriginal-owned business called Bilung Civil
was awarded its first contract for $1.68 million. Today, I was out there with
the Minister for Transport to announce the completion date for the Bunbury
Outer Ring Road, the Wilman Wadandi highway, which is a $1.64 billion spend in
regional WA. Of that, $545 million has gone to local content over the life of
the project. That is all thanks to the fiscal discipline and economic
management of the Cook Labor government.
With that sort of
record, I was pretty shocked about something that I will come to in a second; I
will keep members waiting. Some of those outcomes have led to fantastic
improvements in the unemployment rate. In January 2020, Mandurah, member for
Mandurah, was sitting at 7.8 per cent and is down to 4.6 per cent. Unemployment in Bunbury was 6.1 per cent in January
2020 and is down to 2.9 per cent. For the rest of WA, the unemployment rate in January 2020 was 6.3 per cent and is
down to 4.2 per cent. The wheatbelt , member for Central Wheatbelt, was
4.3 per cent and is down to 2.7 per cent. That is a fantastic outcome. Our
spend over the forward estimates is now a record $12.8 billion. That is thanks
to the economic management of the Cook Labor government.
I am wont to pursue the Nationals WA's
Facebook posts. I subject myself to them on a regular basis—I do
not know why—and there it was, a post from the Leader of the Nationals.
I know the National Party finds it difficult to lie straight in bed at night,
but this was particularly belligerent. The Leader of the Nationals'
post states —
� under Labor,
royalty regions funding has been cut and siphoned off to pay for their Perth
election promises, like Metronet.
We know that the
Nationals like Metronet now. The Leader of the Nationals posted an election
promise to bring back royalties for regions
to its full to former glory. Of course, the Nationals ran up $40-odd billion
in state debt and starved most of the other portfolios of money by siphoning it
into royalties for regions. I did a little
bit of homework and compared the last four years of our term and the previous
Liberal–National government's term. Do members know
what? On average, the former government spent $930 million on royalties for regions, or just slightly over. What
did we spend? On average, we spent the cap, which is $1 billion a year.
There have been no cuts to royalties for regions. It was spent in accordance
with the act.
Several members
interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Order!
Mr D.T.
PUNCH : The Leader of the Opposition does not like it because he used it for
petunias and flowerbeds and left a lot of local governments having to manage
the fallout of that, whereas we are out there with record projects in roads and
infrastructure, and record expenditure to make our ports in the regions fit for purpose for the future. We are
building a future for regional WA. It is a future in which people can
build a career and build on it and run a business and build on it. That is what
our regional economic development grants are
doing. We are getting out there and supporting local businesses to expand to
produce something locally that cannot be produced anywhere else.
I was equally shocked when my colleagues drew my
attention to a fairly thin document called Building a better future .
I was disappointed that I could not find anything about disability, seniors or
fisheries in it, but I found a reference to regional development. It
says —
The WA
Liberals will refocus Royalties for Regions to boost regional economies by
supporting local businesses and creating opportunities for growth.
I have been out
there over the past few months with our local members doing exactly that. The
opposition definitely looks to our policy initiatives. Historically, the former
shadow Treasurer and former Treasurers have
been very quick to say that royalties for regions should disappear. Hon Mike
Nahan said that it should be one budget across Treasury. Hon Dr Steve
Thomas was out there saying that is the case. The Nationals is saying that it
will redo the legislation to make sure that money goes to regional WA. It does
not need to do that because it is already going to regional WA. The Nationals
members are specialising in misinformation.
One side of the alliance wants to get in there and wreck Treasury, wreck our
fiscal p osition and go out there and spend and try to legislate to make
sure that we go into more debt. The other half of the alliance is wishy-washy
on royalties for regions now. It had some very definitive positions a while back, but I am struggling to know what they mean
now.
I am very keen
to hear the detail of what legislative changes the Nationals members are
proposing. There has been record expenditure on, and record commitment to,
regional WA—$12.8 billion is well above royalties for regions. We do
not just sit on royalties for regions; we build a future for the regions right across every one of our portfolios and by each of
our ministerial colleagues. That is what we are doing for regional WA. We are the only party people can
trust with royalties for regions and the future of our regions . All
there is on the other side is debates and arguments and the Nationals
potentially walking out of an alliance cabinet in the distant future, because
that is what they do when they do not like it.
The SPEAKER : The member for North West Central with
the last question.
am delighted to answer this question and I thank the member for it. Only two
weeks ago, I was in the member's
electorate of Geraldton to announce the successful recipients of round 7 of our
regional economic grants. In fact, I have been around all the regions
announcing those grants. Like all regional Labor MPs, the member for Geraldton is a strong advocate for her community. She
does not let ministers escape lightly.
It is thanks to the fantastic economic work that
has been happening throughout the Cook Labor government and the fiscal
discipline we have been exercising that we have been able have a record
investment in regional WA. Importantly, we have been able to make sure that
local suppliers and contractors benefit. We are committed to maximising local
content and our local content adviser networks have ensured that local businesses are connected to government
supply, with some great outcomes. Along with the Department of Jobs,
Tourism, Science and Innovation, our regional development commissions lead the
local-content approach that has been in place since 2018. In 2022–23,
21 per cent by value of government procurement was locally supplied and $1.2 billion
of the $5.79 billion of government contracts awarded in the regions was locally
supplied. That was up by $174 million from the previous year. I have some great
examples. Wauters, a great southern–based company, was awarded an $18.5
million contract at the Albany TAFE campus. That is great infrastructure in the
regions. South West Fire, which is based in Collie, member for Collie, was
awarded over $11 million for the manufacture and installation of up to 50 fire
units. In Kalgoorlie, a 100 per cent Aboriginal-owned business called Bilung Civil
was awarded its first contract for $1.68 million. Today, I was out there with
the Minister for Transport to announce the completion date for the Bunbury
Outer Ring Road, the Wilman Wadandi highway, which is a $1.64 billion spend in
regional WA. Of that, $545 million has gone to local content over the life of
the project. That is all thanks to the fiscal discipline and economic
management of the Cook Labor government.
With that sort of
record, I was pretty shocked about something that I will come to in a second; I
will keep members waiting. Some of those outcomes have led to fantastic
improvements in the unemployment rate. In January 2020, Mandurah, member for
Mandurah, was sitting at 7.8 per cent and is down to 4.6 per cent. Unemployment in Bunbury was 6.1 per cent in January
2020 and is down to 2.9 per cent. For the rest of WA, the unemployment rate in January 2020 was 6.3 per cent and is
down to 4.2 per cent. The wheatbelt , member for Central Wheatbelt, was
4.3 per cent and is down to 2.7 per cent. That is a fantastic outcome. Our
spend over the forward estimates is now a record $12.8 billion. That is thanks
to the economic management of the Cook Labor government.
I am wont to pursue the Nationals WA's
Facebook posts. I subject myself to them on a regular basis—I do
not know why—and there it was, a post from the Leader of the Nationals.
I know the National Party finds it difficult to lie straight in bed at night,
but this was particularly belligerent. The Leader of the Nationals'
post states —
� under Labor,
royalty regions funding has been cut and siphoned off to pay for their Perth
election promises, like Metronet.
We know that the
Nationals like Metronet now. The Leader of the Nationals posted an election
promise to bring back royalties for regions
to its full to former glory. Of course, the Nationals ran up $40-odd billion
in state debt and starved most of the other portfolios of money by siphoning it
into royalties for regions. I did a little
bit of homework and compared the last four years of our term and the previous
Liberal–National government's term. Do members know
what? On average, the former government spent $930 million on royalties for regions, or just slightly over. What
did we spend? On average, we spent the cap, which is $1 billion a year.
There have been no cuts to royalties for regions. It was spent in accordance
with the act.
Several members
interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Order!
Mr D.T.
PUNCH : The Leader of the Opposition does not like it because he used it for
petunias and flowerbeds and left a lot of local governments having to manage
the fallout of that, whereas we are out there with record projects in roads and
infrastructure, and record expenditure to make our ports in the regions fit for purpose for the future. We are
building a future for regional WA. It is a future in which people can
build a career and build on it and run a business and build on it. That is what
our regional economic development grants are
doing. We are getting out there and supporting local businesses to expand to
produce something locally that cannot be produced anywhere else.
I was equally shocked when my colleagues drew my
attention to a fairly thin document called Building a better future .
I was disappointed that I could not find anything about disability, seniors or
fisheries in it, but I found a reference to regional development. It
says —
The WA
Liberals will refocus Royalties for Regions to boost regional economies by
supporting local businesses and creating opportunities for growth.
I have been out
there over the past few months with our local members doing exactly that. The
opposition definitely looks to our policy initiatives. Historically, the former
shadow Treasurer and former Treasurers have
been very quick to say that royalties for regions should disappear. Hon Mike
Nahan said that it should be one budget across Treasury. Hon Dr Steve
Thomas was out there saying that is the case. The Nationals is saying that it
will redo the legislation to make sure that money goes to regional WA. It does
not need to do that because it is already going to regional WA. The Nationals
members are specialising in misinformation.
One side of the alliance wants to get in there and wreck Treasury, wreck our
fiscal p osition and go out there and spend and try to legislate to make
sure that we go into more debt. The other half of the alliance is wishy-washy
on royalties for regions now. It had some very definitive positions a while back, but I am struggling to know what they mean
now.
I am very keen
to hear the detail of what legislative changes the Nationals members are
proposing. There has been record expenditure on, and record commitment to,
regional WA—$12.8 billion is well above royalties for regions. We do
not just sit on royalties for regions; we build a future for the regions right across every one of our portfolios and by each of
our ministerial colleagues. That is what we are doing for regional WA. We are the only party people can
trust with royalties for regions and the future of our regions . All
there is on the other side is debates and arguments and the Nationals
potentially walking out of an alliance cabinet in the distant future, because
that is what they do when they do not like it.
The SPEAKER : The member for North West Central with
the last question.
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