❓ Ms. Mettam questions the Minister for Small Business about declining business confidence based on a WA Super-CCI survey. The Minister deflects blame, citing the previous government's economic performance and highlighting current government initiatives.
AnsweredQoN 316Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
WA SUPER–CCI
SURVEY OF BUSINESS CONFIDENCE
316. Ms L. METTAM to the Minister for Small Business:
I refer to the alarming WA Super–CCI
Survey of Business Confidence released today that shows a fall in business
confidence, and I quote Rick Newnham —
Small
business is struggling the most with 78 per cent expecting their workforce to
contract or remain unchanged over the last quarter. This is bad news for more
than 87 000 unemployed and the 126 000 under-employed Western Australians.
Does the minister accept that his policies have destroyed
confidence in the business sector; and, if not, will he outline to this house
why small business confidence is going backwards under his watch?
The SPEAKER : Minister. A very long question, member.
SURVEY OF BUSINESS CONFIDENCE
316. Ms L. METTAM to the Minister for Small Business:
I refer to the alarming WA Super–CCI
Survey of Business Confidence released today that shows a fall in business
confidence, and I quote Rick Newnham —
Small
business is struggling the most with 78 per cent expecting their workforce to
contract or remain unchanged over the last quarter. This is bad news for more
than 87 000 unemployed and the 126 000 under-employed Western Australians.
Does the minister accept that his policies have destroyed
confidence in the business sector; and, if not, will he outline to this house
why small business confidence is going backwards under his watch?
The SPEAKER : Minister. A very long question, member.
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for her question and for reminding me of
four consecutive years of domestic recession that were delivered by the
previous government—the government that the member was part of. That
hurt small business and it hurt confidence in the small business sector. If the
member for Vasse were to ask Rick Newnham his view of the performance of the
member for Vasse's government and its impact on small business, he
would agree that there was nothing so devastating as the massive debt that her
government bestowed upon the state and the three consecutive increases in land
tax that it imposed on small businesses, because they were always passed on and
never absorbed by the landlords.
The Treasurer informed me, correctly, that the former Liberal
government did not create one single job in its entire last term of office—not one! If the member for Vasse were to ask
Rick Newnham for a side-by-side comparison of the two governments, I think
I know where he would stand. He would stand with the rest of the Western Australian
business sector and all the business participants with whom I speak regularly.
I was at a tourism consortium only last night —
Ms L. Mettam interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Vasse, you will have a supplementary
question.
Mr P. PAPALIA : Last night about 30 tourism players
around the table congratulated the government on all its investment in tourism
and the initiatives that it has undertaken to boost tourism and all the small
businesses that work in the tourism sector. The member might want to ask
Bradley Woods what he and the hospitality sector think about the former
government and what their side-by-side comparison were they to do such a comparison.
four consecutive years of domestic recession that were delivered by the
previous government—the government that the member was part of. That
hurt small business and it hurt confidence in the small business sector. If the
member for Vasse were to ask Rick Newnham his view of the performance of the
member for Vasse's government and its impact on small business, he
would agree that there was nothing so devastating as the massive debt that her
government bestowed upon the state and the three consecutive increases in land
tax that it imposed on small businesses, because they were always passed on and
never absorbed by the landlords.
The Treasurer informed me, correctly, that the former Liberal
government did not create one single job in its entire last term of office—not one! If the member for Vasse were to ask
Rick Newnham for a side-by-side comparison of the two governments, I think
I know where he would stand. He would stand with the rest of the Western Australian
business sector and all the business participants with whom I speak regularly.
I was at a tourism consortium only last night —
Ms L. Mettam interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Vasse, you will have a supplementary
question.
Mr P. PAPALIA : Last night about 30 tourism players
around the table congratulated the government on all its investment in tourism
and the initiatives that it has undertaken to boost tourism and all the small
businesses that work in the tourism sector. The member might want to ask
Bradley Woods what he and the hospitality sector think about the former
government and what their side-by-side comparison were they to do such a comparison.
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