❓ WA Premier defends the establishment of a 'hub' in Canberra to advocate for WA's interests, countering criticism by highlighting its importance for securing federal support and ensuring WA's voice is heard.
AnsweredQoN 496Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
WA CANBERRA STRATEGY
496. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Premier:
I
refer to the announcement today that the Premier will attempt to establish an
embassy for Western Australia in Canberra.
(1) Why would Western Australia
need such an embassy?
(2) Is this an
admission that the 14 Western Australian Labor members of the federal
government are not doing their job, or that the Premier is not up to the task
of doing his?
(3) Is the
Premier aware that in 2006 then Premier Alan Carpenter also attempted this very
thing and it failed spectacularly because, fundamentally, it is a ridiculous
idea?
(4) Will the
Premier's thought bubble be as costly as the former Premier's?
496. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Premier:
I
refer to the announcement today that the Premier will attempt to establish an
embassy for Western Australia in Canberra.
(1) Why would Western Australia
need such an embassy?
(2) Is this an
admission that the 14 Western Australian Labor members of the federal
government are not doing their job, or that the Premier is not up to the task
of doing his?
(3) Is the
Premier aware that in 2006 then Premier Alan Carpenter also attempted this very
thing and it failed spectacularly because, fundamentally, it is a ridiculous
idea?
(4) Will the
Premier's thought bubble be as costly as the former Premier's?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(4) I thank the member for the question, because it is
an important announcement that we made today—that is, to
continue to make sure that team WA has all the support it needs in Canberra to
get our message across.
I
noticed the member paraphrased Senator Michaelia Cash. I just counsel him to
stay away from the negative hype and psychobabble of Canberra. This is
about Western Australia. This is about Western Australians having a voice in
Canberra to make sure that we get our message through. Yes, the Carpenter
government undertook this program previously—in a different form, I might
add—as did the South Australian and Tasmanian governments. They knew
that they had to be able to defend their state in Canberra and make sure that
they got their message across. It does not matter that we have members of
Parliament there; they do their job and they do it very effectively. But we
need to continue to make sure that Western Australia's voice is heard there. It does not matter whether it
is the Alzheimer's Association, which praised me today in its
communications and said, ''It's great that we will now have a base
to work from'', or a local government authority, such as Mayor Albert Jacob,
whom I saw today. He said that it was a great speech and that they are really
pleased with the outcome. It does not matter whether it is an organisation such
as the Chamber of Minerals and Energy or the Chamber of Commerce and Industry
of Western Australia, they all see that it is important that we have a base and
a strategic approach to make sure that we get Western Australia uppermost in
the minds of Canberra bureaucrats and decision-makers, and eastern business
leaders. That is because some people in Canberra do not even know what the
Pilbara is, let alone where it is! Some people do not understand that Western Australia
leads the nation's economy and will lead the nation's future
economy. That is why we need to be more strategic. That is why we need to take
a proactive stance to ensure that we have the resources, strategies and
engagement we need to make sure that Western Australian voices are heard.
This is not just about us, Leader of
the Opposition; this is about members opposite, too. This is about team WA.
This is about setting our differences aside and getting what Western Australia
deserves. The Chamber of Minerals and Energy gets this. Its chief executive
stated —
''It is important for WA's
voice to be heard loud and clear and for our interests to be further
represented at a national level, and establishing a hub in the heart of our
nation's capital is a step in the right direction.''
They understand it; they get it. What
is it that members opposite do not get? There are a number of things that those
opposite do not get.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Mr R.H. COOK : I made it
clear this morning that this is not about an embassy; it is about a hub. It is
about a place in which we can collaborate
and work together and coordinate on campaigns in Western Australia's
interests. This is about standing up
for Western Australia—something on which we have been very effective.
It is something on which the former government was an abject failure. We
just need to look at the GST share and the fact that a WA Labor government got Western
Australia what it deserves.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please, members!
Mr R.H. COOK : Let us look at Optus Stadium. It is a classic
example. The former government did not achieve a single dollar out of Canberra to contribute towards the construction
of Optus Stadium. The Tasmanian government has over $200 million in
federal support for its stadium. We got more funding for our $46 million State
Football Centre than the former government got and it spent $1 billion plus on
Optus Stadium. Members opposite are abject failures at this. The contribution
that was made towards Elizabeth Quay was zero.
We just have to look at Metronet to see how effective a government
can be. Across the forward estimates, there is expenditure of $5.9 billion to
transform our public transport system. The contribution from the commonwealth
government is $2.7 billion across the forward estimates. That is effective
government, that is effective advocacy and we want to do more. We want to make
sure that we have a genuine base for Western Australian organisations to collaborate, base themselves and coordinate
their activities. We want the WA government, through the Department of
the Premier and Cabinet, to run campaigns and coordinate by having a constant
presence of senior government representatives from Western Australia in
Canberra.
Our new WA Canberra
strategy will change the mindset of people in Canberra. We will achieve greater
prominence and therefore a greater fair share for Western Australians.
For some reason, members opposite oppose that. I do not understand that. I would
have thought that what is good for Western Australia is good enough for
everyone to support, and they should be supporting this, too.
an important announcement that we made today—that is, to
continue to make sure that team WA has all the support it needs in Canberra to
get our message across.
I
noticed the member paraphrased Senator Michaelia Cash. I just counsel him to
stay away from the negative hype and psychobabble of Canberra. This is
about Western Australia. This is about Western Australians having a voice in
Canberra to make sure that we get our message through. Yes, the Carpenter
government undertook this program previously—in a different form, I might
add—as did the South Australian and Tasmanian governments. They knew
that they had to be able to defend their state in Canberra and make sure that
they got their message across. It does not matter that we have members of
Parliament there; they do their job and they do it very effectively. But we
need to continue to make sure that Western Australia's voice is heard there. It does not matter whether it
is the Alzheimer's Association, which praised me today in its
communications and said, ''It's great that we will now have a base
to work from'', or a local government authority, such as Mayor Albert Jacob,
whom I saw today. He said that it was a great speech and that they are really
pleased with the outcome. It does not matter whether it is an organisation such
as the Chamber of Minerals and Energy or the Chamber of Commerce and Industry
of Western Australia, they all see that it is important that we have a base and
a strategic approach to make sure that we get Western Australia uppermost in
the minds of Canberra bureaucrats and decision-makers, and eastern business
leaders. That is because some people in Canberra do not even know what the
Pilbara is, let alone where it is! Some people do not understand that Western Australia
leads the nation's economy and will lead the nation's future
economy. That is why we need to be more strategic. That is why we need to take
a proactive stance to ensure that we have the resources, strategies and
engagement we need to make sure that Western Australian voices are heard.
This is not just about us, Leader of
the Opposition; this is about members opposite, too. This is about team WA.
This is about setting our differences aside and getting what Western Australia
deserves. The Chamber of Minerals and Energy gets this. Its chief executive
stated —
''It is important for WA's
voice to be heard loud and clear and for our interests to be further
represented at a national level, and establishing a hub in the heart of our
nation's capital is a step in the right direction.''
They understand it; they get it. What
is it that members opposite do not get? There are a number of things that those
opposite do not get.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Mr R.H. COOK : I made it
clear this morning that this is not about an embassy; it is about a hub. It is
about a place in which we can collaborate
and work together and coordinate on campaigns in Western Australia's
interests. This is about standing up
for Western Australia—something on which we have been very effective.
It is something on which the former government was an abject failure. We
just need to look at the GST share and the fact that a WA Labor government got Western
Australia what it deserves.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please, members!
Mr R.H. COOK : Let us look at Optus Stadium. It is a classic
example. The former government did not achieve a single dollar out of Canberra to contribute towards the construction
of Optus Stadium. The Tasmanian government has over $200 million in
federal support for its stadium. We got more funding for our $46 million State
Football Centre than the former government got and it spent $1 billion plus on
Optus Stadium. Members opposite are abject failures at this. The contribution
that was made towards Elizabeth Quay was zero.
We just have to look at Metronet to see how effective a government
can be. Across the forward estimates, there is expenditure of $5.9 billion to
transform our public transport system. The contribution from the commonwealth
government is $2.7 billion across the forward estimates. That is effective
government, that is effective advocacy and we want to do more. We want to make
sure that we have a genuine base for Western Australian organisations to collaborate, base themselves and coordinate
their activities. We want the WA government, through the Department of
the Premier and Cabinet, to run campaigns and coordinate by having a constant
presence of senior government representatives from Western Australia in
Canberra.
Our new WA Canberra
strategy will change the mindset of people in Canberra. We will achieve greater
prominence and therefore a greater fair share for Western Australians.
For some reason, members opposite oppose that. I do not understand that. I would
have thought that what is good for Western Australia is good enough for
everyone to support, and they should be supporting this, too.
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.