❓ Minister Kobelke refutes claims of increased industrial disputes under the Labor government, accusing the member for Kingsley of misleading the public and sabotaging economic development with false assertions.
AnsweredQoN 1202Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I draw the minister’s attention to the claim by the member for Kingsley on radio yesterday that there are more industrial disputes under a Labor Government. What do the official figures on industrial disputation reveal? Mr J.C. KOBELKE
AnswerView source ↗
I was interested to hear the member for Kingsley’s comments on radio yesterday and, following that, to read her press release and her prediction that there was a trend to higher levels of industrial disputation in Western Australia at the present time. I went back and double checked, because I thought I knew the figures fairly well. The member has sought to mislead the public with the use of those statistics. She sought to create an impression that there is now more industrial disputation in Western Australia - she is even suggesting that it will get worse. Mrs C.L. Edwardes: You will have to apologise. Mr J.C. KOBELKE: That might be an interpretation of spin, particularly when one knows the statistics. I will refer to the statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on industrial disputation, series 6321.0. I could refer to the month-by-month figures or the figures used for 12 months, rolling on each month. The figures for each month for the previous 12 months, for the whole eight years of the Liberal Government and the two-and-a-half years of the Gallop Labor Government, show that, annually under the Liberals, 77 days were lost per thousand employees. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Members! Mr J.C. KOBELKE: For two-and-a-half years of the Gallop Labor Government 37 days were lost - less than half than the period under the Liberals. However, some members seek to abuse statistics by looking at one-off figures. Perhaps that is the road down which the member went. Taking the worst month under this Government, which was the last reported month - July 2003 - a very bad month in terms of industrial disputation, 15.9 days were lost per thousand employees. What was the worst month under the previous Liberal Government? In October 1995, 47.6 days were lost - three times greater than the worst month under Labor. That is the basis for the member for Kingsley saying that industrial disputation was worse under Labor than under Liberal. There is no basis for that statement. Mrs C.L. Edwardes: What about 1990? Mr J.C. KOBELKE: The member wants to go back not only to the last century but also decades to try to find a better figure. Unfortunately, the member for Kingsley was not simply trying to put political spin on figures to mislead; she was trying to do something even worse. In her media release, the member stated - “The big-money investors are not going to come to our State if the industrial relations climate is unsure - it is just too risky for them,” she said. The member puts out these false assertions knowing it will be detrimental to the economic development of this State. In her own statement she is trying to sabotage economic development in this State. That is what we are getting from this Liberal Opposition. Those opposite do not like the fact that the Gallop Labor Government is getting developments on the ground. This State has moved from negative economic growth to four or five per cent annual economic growth; there is higher productivity than there was under the Liberals; and WA has the lowest rate of unemployment it has had for 14 years. Members of the Liberal Opposition do not like that - they do not like seeing Western Australia doing well under a Labor Government. They are about sabotage! They put out a very false picture knowing, as the member said, that it might stop some economic development in this State. That is an absolute shame. I hope other Liberals will go into their party room and say to the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition, “We might hate the Gallop Labor Government, but we will not sell out Western Australia for short-term political gain”, because that is what the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition are doing. Any decent Liberal would be absolutely ashamed of that sort of behaviour.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE replied: I was interested to hear the member for Kingsley’s comments on radio yesterday and, following that, to read her press release and her prediction that there was a trend to higher levels of industrial disputation in Western Australia at the present time. I went back and double checked, because I thought I knew the figures fairly well. The member has sought to mislead the public with the use of those statistics. She sought to create an impression that there is now more industrial disputation in Western Australia - she is even suggesting that it will get worse. Mrs C.L. Edwardes: You will have to apologise. Mr J.C. KOBELKE: That might be an interpretation of spin, particularly when one knows the statistics. I will refer to the statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on industrial disputation, series 6321.0. I could refer to the month-by-month figures or the figures used for 12 months, rolling on each month. The figures for each month for the previous 12 months, for the whole eight years of the Liberal Government and the two-and-a-half years of the Gallop Labor Government, show that, annually under the Liberals, 77 days were lost per thousand employees. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Members! Mr J.C. KOBELKE: For two-and-a-half years of the Gallop Labor Government 37 days were lost - less than half than the period under the Liberals. However, some members seek to abuse statistics by looking at one-off figures. Perhaps that is the road down which the member went. Taking the worst month under this Government, which was the last reported month - July 2003 - a very bad month in terms of industrial disputation, 15.9 days were lost per thousand employees. What was the worst month under the previous Liberal Government? In October 1995, 47.6 days were lost - three times greater than the worst month under Labor. That is the basis for the member for Kingsley saying that industrial disputation was worse under Labor than under Liberal. There is no basis for that statement. Mrs C.L. Edwardes: What about 1990? Mr J.C. KOBELKE: The member wants to go back not only to the last century but also decades to try to find a better figure. Unfortunately, the member for Kingsley was not simply trying to put political spin on figures to mislead; she was trying to do something even worse. In her media release, the member stated - “The big-money investors are not going to come to our State if the industrial relations climate is unsure - it is just too risky for them,” she said. The member puts out these false assertions knowing it will be detrimental to the economic development of this State. In her own statement she is trying to sabotage economic development in this State. That is what we are getting from this Liberal Opposition. Those opposite do not like the fact that the Gallop Labor Government is getting developments on the ground. This State has moved from negative economic growth to four or five per cent annual economic growth; there is higher productivity than there was under the Liberals; and WA has the lowest rate of unemployment it has had for 14 years. Members of the Liberal Opposition do not like that - they do not like seeing Western Australia doing well under a Labor Government. They are about sabotage! They put out a very false picture knowing, as the member said, that it might stop some economic development in this State. That is an absolute shame. I hope other Liberals will go into their party room and say to the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition, “We might hate the Gallop Labor Government, but we will not sell out Western Australia for short-term political gain”, because that is what the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition are doing. Any decent Liberal would be absolutely ashamed of that sort of behaviour.
I was interested to hear the member for Kingsley’s comments on radio yesterday and, following that, to read her press release and her prediction that there was a trend to higher levels of industrial disputation in Western Australia at the present time. I went back and double checked, because I thought I knew the figures fairly well. The member has sought to mislead the public with the use of those statistics. She sought to create an impression that there is now more industrial disputation in Western Australia - she is even suggesting that it will get worse. Mrs C.L. Edwardes: You will have to apologise. Mr J.C. KOBELKE: That might be an interpretation of spin, particularly when one knows the statistics. I will refer to the statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on industrial disputation, series 6321.0. I could refer to the month-by-month figures or the figures used for 12 months, rolling on each month. The figures for each month for the previous 12 months, for the whole eight years of the Liberal Government and the two-and-a-half years of the Gallop Labor Government, show that, annually under the Liberals, 77 days were lost per thousand employees. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Members! Mr J.C. KOBELKE: For two-and-a-half years of the Gallop Labor Government 37 days were lost - less than half than the period under the Liberals. However, some members seek to abuse statistics by looking at one-off figures. Perhaps that is the road down which the member went. Taking the worst month under this Government, which was the last reported month - July 2003 - a very bad month in terms of industrial disputation, 15.9 days were lost per thousand employees. What was the worst month under the previous Liberal Government? In October 1995, 47.6 days were lost - three times greater than the worst month under Labor. That is the basis for the member for Kingsley saying that industrial disputation was worse under Labor than under Liberal. There is no basis for that statement. Mrs C.L. Edwardes: What about 1990? Mr J.C. KOBELKE: The member wants to go back not only to the last century but also decades to try to find a better figure. Unfortunately, the member for Kingsley was not simply trying to put political spin on figures to mislead; she was trying to do something even worse. In her media release, the member stated - “The big-money investors are not going to come to our State if the industrial relations climate is unsure - it is just too risky for them,” she said. The member puts out these false assertions knowing it will be detrimental to the economic development of this State. In her own statement she is trying to sabotage economic development in this State. That is what we are getting from this Liberal Opposition. Those opposite do not like the fact that the Gallop Labor Government is getting developments on the ground. This State has moved from negative economic growth to four or five per cent annual economic growth; there is higher productivity than there was under the Liberals; and WA has the lowest rate of unemployment it has had for 14 years. Members of the Liberal Opposition do not like that - they do not like seeing Western Australia doing well under a Labor Government. They are about sabotage! They put out a very false picture knowing, as the member said, that it might stop some economic development in this State. That is an absolute shame. I hope other Liberals will go into their party room and say to the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition, “We might hate the Gallop Labor Government, but we will not sell out Western Australia for short-term political gain”, because that is what the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition are doing. Any decent Liberal would be absolutely ashamed of that sort of behaviour.
Mrs C.L. Edwardes: You will have to apologise. Mr J.C. KOBELKE: That might be an interpretation of spin, particularly when one knows the statistics. I will refer to the statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on industrial disputation, series 6321.0. I could refer to the month-by-month figures or the figures used for 12 months, rolling on each month. The figures for each month for the previous 12 months, for the whole eight years of the Liberal Government and the two-and-a-half years of the Gallop Labor Government, show that, annually under the Liberals, 77 days were lost per thousand employees. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Members! Mr J.C. KOBELKE: For two-and-a-half years of the Gallop Labor Government 37 days were lost - less than half than the period under the Liberals. However, some members seek to abuse statistics by looking at one-off figures. Perhaps that is the road down which the member went. Taking the worst month under this Government, which was the last reported month - July 2003 - a very bad month in terms of industrial disputation, 15.9 days were lost per thousand employees. What was the worst month under the previous Liberal Government? In October 1995, 47.6 days were lost - three times greater than the worst month under Labor. That is the basis for the member for Kingsley saying that industrial disputation was worse under Labor than under Liberal. There is no basis for that statement. Mrs C.L. Edwardes: What about 1990? Mr J.C. KOBELKE: The member wants to go back not only to the last century but also decades to try to find a better figure. Unfortunately, the member for Kingsley was not simply trying to put political spin on figures to mislead; she was trying to do something even worse. In her media release, the member stated - “The big-money investors are not going to come to our State if the industrial relations climate is unsure - it is just too risky for them,” she said. The member puts out these false assertions knowing it will be detrimental to the economic development of this State. In her own statement she is trying to sabotage economic development in this State. That is what we are getting from this Liberal Opposition. Those opposite do not like the fact that the Gallop Labor Government is getting developments on the ground. This State has moved from negative economic growth to four or five per cent annual economic growth; there is higher productivity than there was under the Liberals; and WA has the lowest rate of unemployment it has had for 14 years. Members of the Liberal Opposition do not like that - they do not like seeing Western Australia doing well under a Labor Government. They are about sabotage! They put out a very false picture knowing, as the member said, that it might stop some economic development in this State. That is an absolute shame. I hope other Liberals will go into their party room and say to the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition, “We might hate the Gallop Labor Government, but we will not sell out Western Australia for short-term political gain”, because that is what the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition are doing. Any decent Liberal would be absolutely ashamed of that sort of behaviour.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE: That might be an interpretation of spin, particularly when one knows the statistics. I will refer to the statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on industrial disputation, series 6321.0. I could refer to the month-by-month figures or the figures used for 12 months, rolling on each month. The figures for each month for the previous 12 months, for the whole eight years of the Liberal Government and the two-and-a-half years of the Gallop Labor Government, show that, annually under the Liberals, 77 days were lost per thousand employees. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Members! Mr J.C. KOBELKE: For two-and-a-half years of the Gallop Labor Government 37 days were lost - less than half than the period under the Liberals. However, some members seek to abuse statistics by looking at one-off figures. Perhaps that is the road down which the member went. Taking the worst month under this Government, which was the last reported month - July 2003 - a very bad month in terms of industrial disputation, 15.9 days were lost per thousand employees. What was the worst month under the previous Liberal Government? In October 1995, 47.6 days were lost - three times greater than the worst month under Labor. That is the basis for the member for Kingsley saying that industrial disputation was worse under Labor than under Liberal. There is no basis for that statement. Mrs C.L. Edwardes: What about 1990? Mr J.C. KOBELKE: The member wants to go back not only to the last century but also decades to try to find a better figure. Unfortunately, the member for Kingsley was not simply trying to put political spin on figures to mislead; she was trying to do something even worse. In her media release, the member stated - “The big-money investors are not going to come to our State if the industrial relations climate is unsure - it is just too risky for them,” she said. The member puts out these false assertions knowing it will be detrimental to the economic development of this State. In her own statement she is trying to sabotage economic development in this State. That is what we are getting from this Liberal Opposition. Those opposite do not like the fact that the Gallop Labor Government is getting developments on the ground. This State has moved from negative economic growth to four or five per cent annual economic growth; there is higher productivity than there was under the Liberals; and WA has the lowest rate of unemployment it has had for 14 years. Members of the Liberal Opposition do not like that - they do not like seeing Western Australia doing well under a Labor Government. They are about sabotage! They put out a very false picture knowing, as the member said, that it might stop some economic development in this State. That is an absolute shame. I hope other Liberals will go into their party room and say to the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition, “We might hate the Gallop Labor Government, but we will not sell out Western Australia for short-term political gain”, because that is what the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition are doing. Any decent Liberal would be absolutely ashamed of that sort of behaviour.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Members! Mr J.C. KOBELKE: For two-and-a-half years of the Gallop Labor Government 37 days were lost - less than half than the period under the Liberals. However, some members seek to abuse statistics by looking at one-off figures. Perhaps that is the road down which the member went. Taking the worst month under this Government, which was the last reported month - July 2003 - a very bad month in terms of industrial disputation, 15.9 days were lost per thousand employees. What was the worst month under the previous Liberal Government? In October 1995, 47.6 days were lost - three times greater than the worst month under Labor. That is the basis for the member for Kingsley saying that industrial disputation was worse under Labor than under Liberal. There is no basis for that statement. Mrs C.L. Edwardes: What about 1990? Mr J.C. KOBELKE: The member wants to go back not only to the last century but also decades to try to find a better figure. Unfortunately, the member for Kingsley was not simply trying to put political spin on figures to mislead; she was trying to do something even worse. In her media release, the member stated - “The big-money investors are not going to come to our State if the industrial relations climate is unsure - it is just too risky for them,” she said. The member puts out these false assertions knowing it will be detrimental to the economic development of this State. In her own statement she is trying to sabotage economic development in this State. That is what we are getting from this Liberal Opposition. Those opposite do not like the fact that the Gallop Labor Government is getting developments on the ground. This State has moved from negative economic growth to four or five per cent annual economic growth; there is higher productivity than there was under the Liberals; and WA has the lowest rate of unemployment it has had for 14 years. Members of the Liberal Opposition do not like that - they do not like seeing Western Australia doing well under a Labor Government. They are about sabotage! They put out a very false picture knowing, as the member said, that it might stop some economic development in this State. That is an absolute shame. I hope other Liberals will go into their party room and say to the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition, “We might hate the Gallop Labor Government, but we will not sell out Western Australia for short-term political gain”, because that is what the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition are doing. Any decent Liberal would be absolutely ashamed of that sort of behaviour.
The SPEAKER: Members! Mr J.C. KOBELKE: For two-and-a-half years of the Gallop Labor Government 37 days were lost - less than half than the period under the Liberals. However, some members seek to abuse statistics by looking at one-off figures. Perhaps that is the road down which the member went. Taking the worst month under this Government, which was the last reported month - July 2003 - a very bad month in terms of industrial disputation, 15.9 days were lost per thousand employees. What was the worst month under the previous Liberal Government? In October 1995, 47.6 days were lost - three times greater than the worst month under Labor. That is the basis for the member for Kingsley saying that industrial disputation was worse under Labor than under Liberal. There is no basis for that statement. Mrs C.L. Edwardes: What about 1990? Mr J.C. KOBELKE: The member wants to go back not only to the last century but also decades to try to find a better figure. Unfortunately, the member for Kingsley was not simply trying to put political spin on figures to mislead; she was trying to do something even worse. In her media release, the member stated - “The big-money investors are not going to come to our State if the industrial relations climate is unsure - it is just too risky for them,” she said. The member puts out these false assertions knowing it will be detrimental to the economic development of this State. In her own statement she is trying to sabotage economic development in this State. That is what we are getting from this Liberal Opposition. Those opposite do not like the fact that the Gallop Labor Government is getting developments on the ground. This State has moved from negative economic growth to four or five per cent annual economic growth; there is higher productivity than there was under the Liberals; and WA has the lowest rate of unemployment it has had for 14 years. Members of the Liberal Opposition do not like that - they do not like seeing Western Australia doing well under a Labor Government. They are about sabotage! They put out a very false picture knowing, as the member said, that it might stop some economic development in this State. That is an absolute shame. I hope other Liberals will go into their party room and say to the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition, “We might hate the Gallop Labor Government, but we will not sell out Western Australia for short-term political gain”, because that is what the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition are doing. Any decent Liberal would be absolutely ashamed of that sort of behaviour.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE: For two-and-a-half years of the Gallop Labor Government 37 days were lost - less than half than the period under the Liberals. However, some members seek to abuse statistics by looking at one-off figures. Perhaps that is the road down which the member went. Taking the worst month under this Government, which was the last reported month - July 2003 - a very bad month in terms of industrial disputation, 15.9 days were lost per thousand employees. What was the worst month under the previous Liberal Government? In October 1995, 47.6 days were lost - three times greater than the worst month under Labor. That is the basis for the member for Kingsley saying that industrial disputation was worse under Labor than under Liberal. There is no basis for that statement. Mrs C.L. Edwardes: What about 1990? Mr J.C. KOBELKE: The member wants to go back not only to the last century but also decades to try to find a better figure. Unfortunately, the member for Kingsley was not simply trying to put political spin on figures to mislead; she was trying to do something even worse. In her media release, the member stated - “The big-money investors are not going to come to our State if the industrial relations climate is unsure - it is just too risky for them,” she said. The member puts out these false assertions knowing it will be detrimental to the economic development of this State. In her own statement she is trying to sabotage economic development in this State. That is what we are getting from this Liberal Opposition. Those opposite do not like the fact that the Gallop Labor Government is getting developments on the ground. This State has moved from negative economic growth to four or five per cent annual economic growth; there is higher productivity than there was under the Liberals; and WA has the lowest rate of unemployment it has had for 14 years. Members of the Liberal Opposition do not like that - they do not like seeing Western Australia doing well under a Labor Government. They are about sabotage! They put out a very false picture knowing, as the member said, that it might stop some economic development in this State. That is an absolute shame. I hope other Liberals will go into their party room and say to the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition, “We might hate the Gallop Labor Government, but we will not sell out Western Australia for short-term political gain”, because that is what the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition are doing. Any decent Liberal would be absolutely ashamed of that sort of behaviour.
Mrs C.L. Edwardes: What about 1990? Mr J.C. KOBELKE: The member wants to go back not only to the last century but also decades to try to find a better figure. Unfortunately, the member for Kingsley was not simply trying to put political spin on figures to mislead; she was trying to do something even worse. In her media release, the member stated - “The big-money investors are not going to come to our State if the industrial relations climate is unsure - it is just too risky for them,” she said. The member puts out these false assertions knowing it will be detrimental to the economic development of this State. In her own statement she is trying to sabotage economic development in this State. That is what we are getting from this Liberal Opposition. Those opposite do not like the fact that the Gallop Labor Government is getting developments on the ground. This State has moved from negative economic growth to four or five per cent annual economic growth; there is higher productivity than there was under the Liberals; and WA has the lowest rate of unemployment it has had for 14 years. Members of the Liberal Opposition do not like that - they do not like seeing Western Australia doing well under a Labor Government. They are about sabotage! They put out a very false picture knowing, as the member said, that it might stop some economic development in this State. That is an absolute shame. I hope other Liberals will go into their party room and say to the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition, “We might hate the Gallop Labor Government, but we will not sell out Western Australia for short-term political gain”, because that is what the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition are doing. Any decent Liberal would be absolutely ashamed of that sort of behaviour.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE: The member wants to go back not only to the last century but also decades to try to find a better figure. Unfortunately, the member for Kingsley was not simply trying to put political spin on figures to mislead; she was trying to do something even worse. In her media release, the member stated - “The big-money investors are not going to come to our State if the industrial relations climate is unsure - it is just too risky for them,” she said. The member puts out these false assertions knowing it will be detrimental to the economic development of this State. In her own statement she is trying to sabotage economic development in this State. That is what we are getting from this Liberal Opposition. Those opposite do not like the fact that the Gallop Labor Government is getting developments on the ground. This State has moved from negative economic growth to four or five per cent annual economic growth; there is higher productivity than there was under the Liberals; and WA has the lowest rate of unemployment it has had for 14 years. Members of the Liberal Opposition do not like that - they do not like seeing Western Australia doing well under a Labor Government. They are about sabotage! They put out a very false picture knowing, as the member said, that it might stop some economic development in this State. That is an absolute shame. I hope other Liberals will go into their party room and say to the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition, “We might hate the Gallop Labor Government, but we will not sell out Western Australia for short-term political gain”, because that is what the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition are doing. Any decent Liberal would be absolutely ashamed of that sort of behaviour.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE replied: I was interested to hear the member for Kingsley’s comments on radio yesterday and, following that, to read her press release and her prediction that there was a trend to higher levels of industrial disputation in Western Australia at the present time. I went back and double checked, because I thought I knew the figures fairly well. The member has sought to mislead the public with the use of those statistics. She sought to create an impression that there is now more industrial disputation in Western Australia - she is even suggesting that it will get worse. Mrs C.L. Edwardes: You will have to apologise. Mr J.C. KOBELKE: That might be an interpretation of spin, particularly when one knows the statistics. I will refer to the statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on industrial disputation, series 6321.0. I could refer to the month-by-month figures or the figures used for 12 months, rolling on each month. The figures for each month for the previous 12 months, for the whole eight years of the Liberal Government and the two-and-a-half years of the Gallop Labor Government, show that, annually under the Liberals, 77 days were lost per thousand employees. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Members! Mr J.C. KOBELKE: For two-and-a-half years of the Gallop Labor Government 37 days were lost - less than half than the period under the Liberals. However, some members seek to abuse statistics by looking at one-off figures. Perhaps that is the road down which the member went. Taking the worst month under this Government, which was the last reported month - July 2003 - a very bad month in terms of industrial disputation, 15.9 days were lost per thousand employees. What was the worst month under the previous Liberal Government? In October 1995, 47.6 days were lost - three times greater than the worst month under Labor. That is the basis for the member for Kingsley saying that industrial disputation was worse under Labor than under Liberal. There is no basis for that statement. Mrs C.L. Edwardes: What about 1990? Mr J.C. KOBELKE: The member wants to go back not only to the last century but also decades to try to find a better figure. Unfortunately, the member for Kingsley was not simply trying to put political spin on figures to mislead; she was trying to do something even worse. In her media release, the member stated - “The big-money investors are not going to come to our State if the industrial relations climate is unsure - it is just too risky for them,” she said. The member puts out these false assertions knowing it will be detrimental to the economic development of this State. In her own statement she is trying to sabotage economic development in this State. That is what we are getting from this Liberal Opposition. Those opposite do not like the fact that the Gallop Labor Government is getting developments on the ground. This State has moved from negative economic growth to four or five per cent annual economic growth; there is higher productivity than there was under the Liberals; and WA has the lowest rate of unemployment it has had for 14 years. Members of the Liberal Opposition do not like that - they do not like seeing Western Australia doing well under a Labor Government. They are about sabotage! They put out a very false picture knowing, as the member said, that it might stop some economic development in this State. That is an absolute shame. I hope other Liberals will go into their party room and say to the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition, “We might hate the Gallop Labor Government, but we will not sell out Western Australia for short-term political gain”, because that is what the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition are doing. Any decent Liberal would be absolutely ashamed of that sort of behaviour.
I was interested to hear the member for Kingsley’s comments on radio yesterday and, following that, to read her press release and her prediction that there was a trend to higher levels of industrial disputation in Western Australia at the present time. I went back and double checked, because I thought I knew the figures fairly well. The member has sought to mislead the public with the use of those statistics. She sought to create an impression that there is now more industrial disputation in Western Australia - she is even suggesting that it will get worse. Mrs C.L. Edwardes: You will have to apologise. Mr J.C. KOBELKE: That might be an interpretation of spin, particularly when one knows the statistics. I will refer to the statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on industrial disputation, series 6321.0. I could refer to the month-by-month figures or the figures used for 12 months, rolling on each month. The figures for each month for the previous 12 months, for the whole eight years of the Liberal Government and the two-and-a-half years of the Gallop Labor Government, show that, annually under the Liberals, 77 days were lost per thousand employees. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Members! Mr J.C. KOBELKE: For two-and-a-half years of the Gallop Labor Government 37 days were lost - less than half than the period under the Liberals. However, some members seek to abuse statistics by looking at one-off figures. Perhaps that is the road down which the member went. Taking the worst month under this Government, which was the last reported month - July 2003 - a very bad month in terms of industrial disputation, 15.9 days were lost per thousand employees. What was the worst month under the previous Liberal Government? In October 1995, 47.6 days were lost - three times greater than the worst month under Labor. That is the basis for the member for Kingsley saying that industrial disputation was worse under Labor than under Liberal. There is no basis for that statement. Mrs C.L. Edwardes: What about 1990? Mr J.C. KOBELKE: The member wants to go back not only to the last century but also decades to try to find a better figure. Unfortunately, the member for Kingsley was not simply trying to put political spin on figures to mislead; she was trying to do something even worse. In her media release, the member stated - “The big-money investors are not going to come to our State if the industrial relations climate is unsure - it is just too risky for them,” she said. The member puts out these false assertions knowing it will be detrimental to the economic development of this State. In her own statement she is trying to sabotage economic development in this State. That is what we are getting from this Liberal Opposition. Those opposite do not like the fact that the Gallop Labor Government is getting developments on the ground. This State has moved from negative economic growth to four or five per cent annual economic growth; there is higher productivity than there was under the Liberals; and WA has the lowest rate of unemployment it has had for 14 years. Members of the Liberal Opposition do not like that - they do not like seeing Western Australia doing well under a Labor Government. They are about sabotage! They put out a very false picture knowing, as the member said, that it might stop some economic development in this State. That is an absolute shame. I hope other Liberals will go into their party room and say to the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition, “We might hate the Gallop Labor Government, but we will not sell out Western Australia for short-term political gain”, because that is what the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition are doing. Any decent Liberal would be absolutely ashamed of that sort of behaviour.
Mrs C.L. Edwardes: You will have to apologise. Mr J.C. KOBELKE: That might be an interpretation of spin, particularly when one knows the statistics. I will refer to the statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on industrial disputation, series 6321.0. I could refer to the month-by-month figures or the figures used for 12 months, rolling on each month. The figures for each month for the previous 12 months, for the whole eight years of the Liberal Government and the two-and-a-half years of the Gallop Labor Government, show that, annually under the Liberals, 77 days were lost per thousand employees. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Members! Mr J.C. KOBELKE: For two-and-a-half years of the Gallop Labor Government 37 days were lost - less than half than the period under the Liberals. However, some members seek to abuse statistics by looking at one-off figures. Perhaps that is the road down which the member went. Taking the worst month under this Government, which was the last reported month - July 2003 - a very bad month in terms of industrial disputation, 15.9 days were lost per thousand employees. What was the worst month under the previous Liberal Government? In October 1995, 47.6 days were lost - three times greater than the worst month under Labor. That is the basis for the member for Kingsley saying that industrial disputation was worse under Labor than under Liberal. There is no basis for that statement. Mrs C.L. Edwardes: What about 1990? Mr J.C. KOBELKE: The member wants to go back not only to the last century but also decades to try to find a better figure. Unfortunately, the member for Kingsley was not simply trying to put political spin on figures to mislead; she was trying to do something even worse. In her media release, the member stated - “The big-money investors are not going to come to our State if the industrial relations climate is unsure - it is just too risky for them,” she said. The member puts out these false assertions knowing it will be detrimental to the economic development of this State. In her own statement she is trying to sabotage economic development in this State. That is what we are getting from this Liberal Opposition. Those opposite do not like the fact that the Gallop Labor Government is getting developments on the ground. This State has moved from negative economic growth to four or five per cent annual economic growth; there is higher productivity than there was under the Liberals; and WA has the lowest rate of unemployment it has had for 14 years. Members of the Liberal Opposition do not like that - they do not like seeing Western Australia doing well under a Labor Government. They are about sabotage! They put out a very false picture knowing, as the member said, that it might stop some economic development in this State. That is an absolute shame. I hope other Liberals will go into their party room and say to the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition, “We might hate the Gallop Labor Government, but we will not sell out Western Australia for short-term political gain”, because that is what the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition are doing. Any decent Liberal would be absolutely ashamed of that sort of behaviour.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE: That might be an interpretation of spin, particularly when one knows the statistics. I will refer to the statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on industrial disputation, series 6321.0. I could refer to the month-by-month figures or the figures used for 12 months, rolling on each month. The figures for each month for the previous 12 months, for the whole eight years of the Liberal Government and the two-and-a-half years of the Gallop Labor Government, show that, annually under the Liberals, 77 days were lost per thousand employees. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Members! Mr J.C. KOBELKE: For two-and-a-half years of the Gallop Labor Government 37 days were lost - less than half than the period under the Liberals. However, some members seek to abuse statistics by looking at one-off figures. Perhaps that is the road down which the member went. Taking the worst month under this Government, which was the last reported month - July 2003 - a very bad month in terms of industrial disputation, 15.9 days were lost per thousand employees. What was the worst month under the previous Liberal Government? In October 1995, 47.6 days were lost - three times greater than the worst month under Labor. That is the basis for the member for Kingsley saying that industrial disputation was worse under Labor than under Liberal. There is no basis for that statement. Mrs C.L. Edwardes: What about 1990? Mr J.C. KOBELKE: The member wants to go back not only to the last century but also decades to try to find a better figure. Unfortunately, the member for Kingsley was not simply trying to put political spin on figures to mislead; she was trying to do something even worse. In her media release, the member stated - “The big-money investors are not going to come to our State if the industrial relations climate is unsure - it is just too risky for them,” she said. The member puts out these false assertions knowing it will be detrimental to the economic development of this State. In her own statement she is trying to sabotage economic development in this State. That is what we are getting from this Liberal Opposition. Those opposite do not like the fact that the Gallop Labor Government is getting developments on the ground. This State has moved from negative economic growth to four or five per cent annual economic growth; there is higher productivity than there was under the Liberals; and WA has the lowest rate of unemployment it has had for 14 years. Members of the Liberal Opposition do not like that - they do not like seeing Western Australia doing well under a Labor Government. They are about sabotage! They put out a very false picture knowing, as the member said, that it might stop some economic development in this State. That is an absolute shame. I hope other Liberals will go into their party room and say to the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition, “We might hate the Gallop Labor Government, but we will not sell out Western Australia for short-term political gain”, because that is what the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition are doing. Any decent Liberal would be absolutely ashamed of that sort of behaviour.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Members! Mr J.C. KOBELKE: For two-and-a-half years of the Gallop Labor Government 37 days were lost - less than half than the period under the Liberals. However, some members seek to abuse statistics by looking at one-off figures. Perhaps that is the road down which the member went. Taking the worst month under this Government, which was the last reported month - July 2003 - a very bad month in terms of industrial disputation, 15.9 days were lost per thousand employees. What was the worst month under the previous Liberal Government? In October 1995, 47.6 days were lost - three times greater than the worst month under Labor. That is the basis for the member for Kingsley saying that industrial disputation was worse under Labor than under Liberal. There is no basis for that statement. Mrs C.L. Edwardes: What about 1990? Mr J.C. KOBELKE: The member wants to go back not only to the last century but also decades to try to find a better figure. Unfortunately, the member for Kingsley was not simply trying to put political spin on figures to mislead; she was trying to do something even worse. In her media release, the member stated - “The big-money investors are not going to come to our State if the industrial relations climate is unsure - it is just too risky for them,” she said. The member puts out these false assertions knowing it will be detrimental to the economic development of this State. In her own statement she is trying to sabotage economic development in this State. That is what we are getting from this Liberal Opposition. Those opposite do not like the fact that the Gallop Labor Government is getting developments on the ground. This State has moved from negative economic growth to four or five per cent annual economic growth; there is higher productivity than there was under the Liberals; and WA has the lowest rate of unemployment it has had for 14 years. Members of the Liberal Opposition do not like that - they do not like seeing Western Australia doing well under a Labor Government. They are about sabotage! They put out a very false picture knowing, as the member said, that it might stop some economic development in this State. That is an absolute shame. I hope other Liberals will go into their party room and say to the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition, “We might hate the Gallop Labor Government, but we will not sell out Western Australia for short-term political gain”, because that is what the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition are doing. Any decent Liberal would be absolutely ashamed of that sort of behaviour.
The SPEAKER: Members! Mr J.C. KOBELKE: For two-and-a-half years of the Gallop Labor Government 37 days were lost - less than half than the period under the Liberals. However, some members seek to abuse statistics by looking at one-off figures. Perhaps that is the road down which the member went. Taking the worst month under this Government, which was the last reported month - July 2003 - a very bad month in terms of industrial disputation, 15.9 days were lost per thousand employees. What was the worst month under the previous Liberal Government? In October 1995, 47.6 days were lost - three times greater than the worst month under Labor. That is the basis for the member for Kingsley saying that industrial disputation was worse under Labor than under Liberal. There is no basis for that statement. Mrs C.L. Edwardes: What about 1990? Mr J.C. KOBELKE: The member wants to go back not only to the last century but also decades to try to find a better figure. Unfortunately, the member for Kingsley was not simply trying to put political spin on figures to mislead; she was trying to do something even worse. In her media release, the member stated - “The big-money investors are not going to come to our State if the industrial relations climate is unsure - it is just too risky for them,” she said. The member puts out these false assertions knowing it will be detrimental to the economic development of this State. In her own statement she is trying to sabotage economic development in this State. That is what we are getting from this Liberal Opposition. Those opposite do not like the fact that the Gallop Labor Government is getting developments on the ground. This State has moved from negative economic growth to four or five per cent annual economic growth; there is higher productivity than there was under the Liberals; and WA has the lowest rate of unemployment it has had for 14 years. Members of the Liberal Opposition do not like that - they do not like seeing Western Australia doing well under a Labor Government. They are about sabotage! They put out a very false picture knowing, as the member said, that it might stop some economic development in this State. That is an absolute shame. I hope other Liberals will go into their party room and say to the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition, “We might hate the Gallop Labor Government, but we will not sell out Western Australia for short-term political gain”, because that is what the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition are doing. Any decent Liberal would be absolutely ashamed of that sort of behaviour.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE: For two-and-a-half years of the Gallop Labor Government 37 days were lost - less than half than the period under the Liberals. However, some members seek to abuse statistics by looking at one-off figures. Perhaps that is the road down which the member went. Taking the worst month under this Government, which was the last reported month - July 2003 - a very bad month in terms of industrial disputation, 15.9 days were lost per thousand employees. What was the worst month under the previous Liberal Government? In October 1995, 47.6 days were lost - three times greater than the worst month under Labor. That is the basis for the member for Kingsley saying that industrial disputation was worse under Labor than under Liberal. There is no basis for that statement. Mrs C.L. Edwardes: What about 1990? Mr J.C. KOBELKE: The member wants to go back not only to the last century but also decades to try to find a better figure. Unfortunately, the member for Kingsley was not simply trying to put political spin on figures to mislead; she was trying to do something even worse. In her media release, the member stated - “The big-money investors are not going to come to our State if the industrial relations climate is unsure - it is just too risky for them,” she said. The member puts out these false assertions knowing it will be detrimental to the economic development of this State. In her own statement she is trying to sabotage economic development in this State. That is what we are getting from this Liberal Opposition. Those opposite do not like the fact that the Gallop Labor Government is getting developments on the ground. This State has moved from negative economic growth to four or five per cent annual economic growth; there is higher productivity than there was under the Liberals; and WA has the lowest rate of unemployment it has had for 14 years. Members of the Liberal Opposition do not like that - they do not like seeing Western Australia doing well under a Labor Government. They are about sabotage! They put out a very false picture knowing, as the member said, that it might stop some economic development in this State. That is an absolute shame. I hope other Liberals will go into their party room and say to the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition, “We might hate the Gallop Labor Government, but we will not sell out Western Australia for short-term political gain”, because that is what the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition are doing. Any decent Liberal would be absolutely ashamed of that sort of behaviour.
Mrs C.L. Edwardes: What about 1990? Mr J.C. KOBELKE: The member wants to go back not only to the last century but also decades to try to find a better figure. Unfortunately, the member for Kingsley was not simply trying to put political spin on figures to mislead; she was trying to do something even worse. In her media release, the member stated - “The big-money investors are not going to come to our State if the industrial relations climate is unsure - it is just too risky for them,” she said. The member puts out these false assertions knowing it will be detrimental to the economic development of this State. In her own statement she is trying to sabotage economic development in this State. That is what we are getting from this Liberal Opposition. Those opposite do not like the fact that the Gallop Labor Government is getting developments on the ground. This State has moved from negative economic growth to four or five per cent annual economic growth; there is higher productivity than there was under the Liberals; and WA has the lowest rate of unemployment it has had for 14 years. Members of the Liberal Opposition do not like that - they do not like seeing Western Australia doing well under a Labor Government. They are about sabotage! They put out a very false picture knowing, as the member said, that it might stop some economic development in this State. That is an absolute shame. I hope other Liberals will go into their party room and say to the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition, “We might hate the Gallop Labor Government, but we will not sell out Western Australia for short-term political gain”, because that is what the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition are doing. Any decent Liberal would be absolutely ashamed of that sort of behaviour.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE: The member wants to go back not only to the last century but also decades to try to find a better figure. Unfortunately, the member for Kingsley was not simply trying to put political spin on figures to mislead; she was trying to do something even worse. In her media release, the member stated - “The big-money investors are not going to come to our State if the industrial relations climate is unsure - it is just too risky for them,” she said. The member puts out these false assertions knowing it will be detrimental to the economic development of this State. In her own statement she is trying to sabotage economic development in this State. That is what we are getting from this Liberal Opposition. Those opposite do not like the fact that the Gallop Labor Government is getting developments on the ground. This State has moved from negative economic growth to four or five per cent annual economic growth; there is higher productivity than there was under the Liberals; and WA has the lowest rate of unemployment it has had for 14 years. Members of the Liberal Opposition do not like that - they do not like seeing Western Australia doing well under a Labor Government. They are about sabotage! They put out a very false picture knowing, as the member said, that it might stop some economic development in this State. That is an absolute shame. I hope other Liberals will go into their party room and say to the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition, “We might hate the Gallop Labor Government, but we will not sell out Western Australia for short-term political gain”, because that is what the member for Kingsley and the Leader of the Opposition are doing. Any decent Liberal would be absolutely ashamed of that sort of behaviour.
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