❓ Shadow Treasurer Wyatt questions Treasurer Nahan about past comments on capital works projects, including the Mandurah train line and desalination plant. Nahan deflects, questioning Wyatt's capabilities and referencing past debates.
AnsweredQoN 147Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CAPITAL WORKS PROGRAM — TREASURER'S
COMMENTS
147. Mr B.S. WYATT to the
Treasurer:
I refer to the Treasurer's opinion piece in The West Australian of 27 May 2005, in
which he wrote, discussing the state's —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Members! Member for Wanneroo, I call you to order for the first time.
Mr P.B. Watson interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Albany, I call you to order for the second time.
Mr B.S. WYATT : I
am sorry the member for Wanneroo did not get promoted.
I refer to the Treasurer's opinion piece in The West Australian of 27 May 2005, in
which he wrote, with respect to the state's capital works program —
The train to Mandurah and the
renewable-energy powered desalination plant—two of the biggest capital
items—will be monuments to waste.
(1) Does the Treasurer stand by this statement?
(2) Does the
Treasurer support the airport rail line being funded by taxpayers, and the
former Treasurer's plan to build it underground?
(3) Does the Treasurer favour the position of selling the
state's desalination plant?
COMMENTS
147. Mr B.S. WYATT to the
Treasurer:
I refer to the Treasurer's opinion piece in The West Australian of 27 May 2005, in
which he wrote, discussing the state's —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Members! Member for Wanneroo, I call you to order for the first time.
Mr P.B. Watson interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Albany, I call you to order for the second time.
Mr B.S. WYATT : I
am sorry the member for Wanneroo did not get promoted.
I refer to the Treasurer's opinion piece in The West Australian of 27 May 2005, in
which he wrote, with respect to the state's capital works program —
The train to Mandurah and the
renewable-energy powered desalination plant—two of the biggest capital
items—will be monuments to waste.
(1) Does the Treasurer stand by this statement?
(2) Does the
Treasurer support the airport rail line being funded by taxpayers, and the
former Treasurer's plan to build it underground?
(3) Does the Treasurer favour the position of selling the
state's desalination plant?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(3)
I thank the member for the question. I have a little history lesson. I am very
glad the shadow Treasurer is now actually learning something from trolling
through the thousand-plus op-ed pieces that I have written, and I look forward
to getting re-runs over the next year or so. I have done over a hundred hours
of television and radio; I suggest that the member go through those, too. I
have aged—25 years ago I was a good looking young man! I have said a
lot of things, as has the member for Victoria Park. The member for Victoria
Park's good friend Christian Porter told me that the member for
Victoria Park said a lot of things when he was in the debating team.
A little bit of history: the title of
the article from 2005 is ''Ripper puts bet on China boom''. It
was pretty accurate; this article was in 2005 before the China boom really took
off. I was commenting on the Labor budget that had been released. As usual, I
wrote articles on it, and said —
What can be said is that the spending
on schools, hospitals, electricity, some transport and some water projects
appear to be both reasonable and well argued.
That is pretty good, but the member
for Victoria Park came out with ''Mike Nahan hates government''.
Wait a minute; I said that a lot of the spending was good. The member for
Victoria Park has trouble reading, and I am worried about that. I am worried
that when he trolls through the thousand articles, he will not have his glasses
on and he will look through them selectively; but it is not what we can see.
Several members interjected.
Dr
M.D. NAHAN : Doing well.
When the member for Victoria Park
read the article about the desalination plant, he forgot a little word. Again,
words fall off. He referred to the renewable energy power desalination plant.
He left that word out because the Labor government found out that it was not
funded or energised by renewable energy—the renewable energy the Labor
government sold was bought already and the government had to apologise to the
state for double dipping on it. The member for Victoria Park left that aside.
He did not read the article; he is blind to it. The real question is not so
much what I wrote 10 or 20 years ago—what I stand for is obvious—it
is whether the member for Victoria Park has the backbone to stand up to those
on his side calling for unlimited spending, or, as Peter Walsh once described
his prime minister, does he have a ''jelly back''? Is the shadow
Treasurer up to the task that he has put himself up for? He talks the talk; he
goes around the Centre for Independent Studies, he goes around everywhere —
Mr
B.S. Wyatt : Are you stalking me?
Dr
M.D. NAHAN : No, I see the shadow Treasurer's pictures everywhere.
Is the shadow Treasurer of the standard?
Mr
B.S. Wyatt interjected.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Members! Member for Victoria Park. Through the Chair, please,
Treasurer.
Dr
M.D. NAHAN : Yes, I have written about a lot of things and I have taken
strong positions. Most of them have been right, some have been wrong—that
is what debating is all about. Unfortunately, the member for Victoria Park has
not stood up for much in the past.
I thank the member for the question. I have a little history lesson. I am very
glad the shadow Treasurer is now actually learning something from trolling
through the thousand-plus op-ed pieces that I have written, and I look forward
to getting re-runs over the next year or so. I have done over a hundred hours
of television and radio; I suggest that the member go through those, too. I
have aged—25 years ago I was a good looking young man! I have said a
lot of things, as has the member for Victoria Park. The member for Victoria
Park's good friend Christian Porter told me that the member for
Victoria Park said a lot of things when he was in the debating team.
A little bit of history: the title of
the article from 2005 is ''Ripper puts bet on China boom''. It
was pretty accurate; this article was in 2005 before the China boom really took
off. I was commenting on the Labor budget that had been released. As usual, I
wrote articles on it, and said —
What can be said is that the spending
on schools, hospitals, electricity, some transport and some water projects
appear to be both reasonable and well argued.
That is pretty good, but the member
for Victoria Park came out with ''Mike Nahan hates government''.
Wait a minute; I said that a lot of the spending was good. The member for
Victoria Park has trouble reading, and I am worried about that. I am worried
that when he trolls through the thousand articles, he will not have his glasses
on and he will look through them selectively; but it is not what we can see.
Several members interjected.
Dr
M.D. NAHAN : Doing well.
When the member for Victoria Park
read the article about the desalination plant, he forgot a little word. Again,
words fall off. He referred to the renewable energy power desalination plant.
He left that word out because the Labor government found out that it was not
funded or energised by renewable energy—the renewable energy the Labor
government sold was bought already and the government had to apologise to the
state for double dipping on it. The member for Victoria Park left that aside.
He did not read the article; he is blind to it. The real question is not so
much what I wrote 10 or 20 years ago—what I stand for is obvious—it
is whether the member for Victoria Park has the backbone to stand up to those
on his side calling for unlimited spending, or, as Peter Walsh once described
his prime minister, does he have a ''jelly back''? Is the shadow
Treasurer up to the task that he has put himself up for? He talks the talk; he
goes around the Centre for Independent Studies, he goes around everywhere —
Mr
B.S. Wyatt : Are you stalking me?
Dr
M.D. NAHAN : No, I see the shadow Treasurer's pictures everywhere.
Is the shadow Treasurer of the standard?
Mr
B.S. Wyatt interjected.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Members! Member for Victoria Park. Through the Chair, please,
Treasurer.
Dr
M.D. NAHAN : Yes, I have written about a lot of things and I have taken
strong positions. Most of them have been right, some have been wrong—that
is what debating is all about. Unfortunately, the member for Victoria Park has
not stood up for much in the past.
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