❓ Dr. Honey questions the Premier about actions taken regarding concerns from the resources sector about Commonwealth industrial relations reforms. The Premier responds, downplaying the potential impact on WA, stating only BHP will be affected and no companies have requested his intervention.
AnsweredQoN 733Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
RESOURCES SECTOR — COMMONWEALTH INDUSTRIAL
RELATIONS REFORMS
733. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Premier:
I
refer the Premier to media reports that he will stand up for WA's
resources sector, and note the widespread concerns of that sector with
the commonwealth government's proposed industrial relation changes that
are also alarming the general business sector.
(1) Has the
Premier written to the Prime Minister to outline the concerns about the
negative impacts of the proposed federal
industrial relations changes on mining in WA; and, if so, will he release the
correspondence?
(2) Did the
Premier acknowledge the ramifications for other sectors, especially small
business, the self-employed and casual workers?
RELATIONS REFORMS
733. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Premier:
I
refer the Premier to media reports that he will stand up for WA's
resources sector, and note the widespread concerns of that sector with
the commonwealth government's proposed industrial relation changes that
are also alarming the general business sector.
(1) Has the
Premier written to the Prime Minister to outline the concerns about the
negative impacts of the proposed federal
industrial relations changes on mining in WA; and, if so, will he release the
correspondence?
(2) Did the
Premier acknowledge the ramifications for other sectors, especially small
business, the self-employed and casual workers?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I
thank the member for his acknowledgement that we stand up for the resources
sector. We work with all our industry partners to make sure we get the best for
Western Australia. That is a path that we are committed to and one of which we
are very proud. I am informed by the Minister for Industrial Relations that the
only company in Western Australia that will be impacted by those laws is, in
fact, BHP, because it works through enterprise bargaining arrangements. From
that perspective, I assume those changes will not impact WA as severely as
other parts of Australia.
I also make the observation that,
although general conversations have been brought to me about anxieties in the
industrial relations area, no company has actually asked me to make
representations to the federal government on this matter. That is because they
believe they already have good access to the federal Labor government in relation to dialogue, but I am sure that if they
need me to add my voice to their concerns about threats to productivity
in the sector, we will have an opportunity to do so. As the Minister for
Industrial Relations informs me, they will not impact Western Australia as they
will, perhaps, other parts of Australia. From that perspective, the changes do
not represent a significant threat.
thank the member for his acknowledgement that we stand up for the resources
sector. We work with all our industry partners to make sure we get the best for
Western Australia. That is a path that we are committed to and one of which we
are very proud. I am informed by the Minister for Industrial Relations that the
only company in Western Australia that will be impacted by those laws is, in
fact, BHP, because it works through enterprise bargaining arrangements. From
that perspective, I assume those changes will not impact WA as severely as
other parts of Australia.
I also make the observation that,
although general conversations have been brought to me about anxieties in the
industrial relations area, no company has actually asked me to make
representations to the federal government on this matter. That is because they
believe they already have good access to the federal Labor government in relation to dialogue, but I am sure that if they
need me to add my voice to their concerns about threats to productivity
in the sector, we will have an opportunity to do so. As the Minister for
Industrial Relations informs me, they will not impact Western Australia as they
will, perhaps, other parts of Australia. From that perspective, the changes do
not represent a significant threat.
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.