❓ Premier Mark McGowan responds to concerns about Clive Palmer's actions potentially jeopardising jobs at the Sino Iron project, criticising Palmer's behaviour and the Liberal Party's preference deal with him. He defends the Sino Iron project and its benefits to WA.
AnsweredQoN 369Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
SINO IRON — CLIVE
PALMER
369. MR S.J. PRICE to the Premier:
I
refer to the 3 000 workers who are currently employed on the Sino Iron project
in the Pilbara and the repeated claims made by Clive Palmer in relation to this
project. Can the Premier advised the house how these workers'
livelihoods are being put at risk by Clive Palmer and why the claims by
Clive Palmer are both misleading and dangerous?
PALMER
369. MR S.J. PRICE to the Premier:
I
refer to the 3 000 workers who are currently employed on the Sino Iron project
in the Pilbara and the repeated claims made by Clive Palmer in relation to this
project. Can the Premier advised the house how these workers'
livelihoods are being put at risk by Clive Palmer and why the claims by
Clive Palmer are both misleading and dangerous?
AnswerView source ↗
It is no understatement to say that
Mr Clive Palmer is running one of the most disgraceful and deceitful campaigns
in Australian political history. He should be rightly condemned by every
Australian. He is spending tens of millions of dollars, made off the backs of
workers he has not paid, in deceiving the public of this country. Mr Palmer's
campaign is a barrage of lies. Although he attacks Chinese investment, he does
not point out that the Chinese investor Citic paid Clive Palmer $415 million to
acquire the mining rights to the project on which it built its iron ore mine.
Clive Palmer brought Citic to Western Australia and took $415 million from it,
and now he vilifies it. Clive Palmer makes more than $200 million a year in
royalties from the Chinese company Citic. Although he takes the cash, he does
not provide any jobs for Western Australians. He does not employ any workers,
and he does not support any families. It is Citic—Sino Iron—that
has invested $15 billion in Western Australia. It has built the infrastructure,
employs more than 3 000 Western Australian workers and contributes to the Western
Australian economy. All Mr Palmer does is take the money and spend it on
shameless, misleading advertisements. He is currently threatening the
livelihoods of those workers by blocking Citic Pacific—Sino Iron—from
expanding its operations and playing down its waste.
One of the most bizarre claims that
Mr Palmer is running is that an airstrip in Karratha poses a national security
risk. That airstrip is part of the mining project deal that he negotiated. It
supports the fly in, fly out workforce that operates on that project and helps
to deliver him the hundreds of millions of dollars a year in royalties that he
takes from Western Australia. His other claim is even more absurd—that
a Chinese-owned company bought Merredin airport from the Labor government. The
truth is that in the mid-1990s, China Southern Airlines purchased the Merredin
airport freehold from the Shire of Merredin. The state government, at the time,
was the Court Liberal government, but the deal was made between the company and
the Shire of Merredin. China Southern operated a flying school at the airport
until 2016. It is still a public airport and is regularly used by the Royal
Flying Doctor Service to save lives in the wheatbelt and, therefore, provides
an ongoing benefit to the community. He is now attacking a piece of
infrastructure that was sold by a local council to a Chinese firm to create
jobs and now supports the Royal Flying Doctor Service to save lives in the
wheatbelt.
The government is considering its
options in protecting more than 3 000 Western Australia jobs on the Sino Iron
project. It would be devastating if those jobs were lost to our state. I thank
and acknowledge the supportive and positive comments already made by the state
Leader of the Opposition. However, I am disappointed that the Liberal Party nationally has done a preference
deal with Mr Palmer. The federal Attorney-General, Christian P orter, told me personally that he supports state
legislation to deal with this issue and protect jobs, but then the Liberal
Party did a deal with Mr Palmer to get his preferences. This is a shameless
anti–WA jobs deal.
Mrs A.K. Hayden interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Darling
Range, you are on three calls. Do you understand what that means? One more ,
and you are on your bike.
Mr M. McGOWAN : This is a shameless
anti–WA jobs deal, done by the Liberal Party with Mr Palmer, that will
hurt our country. My advice to all Western Australians is to not reward the
Liberal Party with their votes, and do not vote for Mr Palmer.
Mr Clive Palmer is running one of the most disgraceful and deceitful campaigns
in Australian political history. He should be rightly condemned by every
Australian. He is spending tens of millions of dollars, made off the backs of
workers he has not paid, in deceiving the public of this country. Mr Palmer's
campaign is a barrage of lies. Although he attacks Chinese investment, he does
not point out that the Chinese investor Citic paid Clive Palmer $415 million to
acquire the mining rights to the project on which it built its iron ore mine.
Clive Palmer brought Citic to Western Australia and took $415 million from it,
and now he vilifies it. Clive Palmer makes more than $200 million a year in
royalties from the Chinese company Citic. Although he takes the cash, he does
not provide any jobs for Western Australians. He does not employ any workers,
and he does not support any families. It is Citic—Sino Iron—that
has invested $15 billion in Western Australia. It has built the infrastructure,
employs more than 3 000 Western Australian workers and contributes to the Western
Australian economy. All Mr Palmer does is take the money and spend it on
shameless, misleading advertisements. He is currently threatening the
livelihoods of those workers by blocking Citic Pacific—Sino Iron—from
expanding its operations and playing down its waste.
One of the most bizarre claims that
Mr Palmer is running is that an airstrip in Karratha poses a national security
risk. That airstrip is part of the mining project deal that he negotiated. It
supports the fly in, fly out workforce that operates on that project and helps
to deliver him the hundreds of millions of dollars a year in royalties that he
takes from Western Australia. His other claim is even more absurd—that
a Chinese-owned company bought Merredin airport from the Labor government. The
truth is that in the mid-1990s, China Southern Airlines purchased the Merredin
airport freehold from the Shire of Merredin. The state government, at the time,
was the Court Liberal government, but the deal was made between the company and
the Shire of Merredin. China Southern operated a flying school at the airport
until 2016. It is still a public airport and is regularly used by the Royal
Flying Doctor Service to save lives in the wheatbelt and, therefore, provides
an ongoing benefit to the community. He is now attacking a piece of
infrastructure that was sold by a local council to a Chinese firm to create
jobs and now supports the Royal Flying Doctor Service to save lives in the
wheatbelt.
The government is considering its
options in protecting more than 3 000 Western Australia jobs on the Sino Iron
project. It would be devastating if those jobs were lost to our state. I thank
and acknowledge the supportive and positive comments already made by the state
Leader of the Opposition. However, I am disappointed that the Liberal Party nationally has done a preference
deal with Mr Palmer. The federal Attorney-General, Christian P orter, told me personally that he supports state
legislation to deal with this issue and protect jobs, but then the Liberal
Party did a deal with Mr Palmer to get his preferences. This is a shameless
anti–WA jobs deal.
Mrs A.K. Hayden interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Darling
Range, you are on three calls. Do you understand what that means? One more ,
and you are on your bike.
Mr M. McGOWAN : This is a shameless
anti–WA jobs deal, done by the Liberal Party with Mr Palmer, that will
hurt our country. My advice to all Western Australians is to not reward the
Liberal Party with their votes, and do not vote for Mr Palmer.
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