❓ Mrs. Harvey questions the Premier about the economic recovery plan following job losses due to COVID-19. The Premier outlines the government's approach, including easing restrictions, stimulus measures, and planning reforms to boost private sector development.
AnsweredQoN 319Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CORONAVIRUS —
ECONOMIC RECOVERY
319. Mrs L.M. HARVEY to the Premier:
I
refer to the very concerning Australian Bureau of Statistics data released last
week that 62 000 Western Australians lost their job in April. Given that
a further 67 000 are on JobKeeper payments, and without it, up to 129 000 Western
Australians could be out of work, when will the Premier release his economic
recovery plan to address the jobs crisis?
ECONOMIC RECOVERY
319. Mrs L.M. HARVEY to the Premier:
I
refer to the very concerning Australian Bureau of Statistics data released last
week that 62 000 Western Australians lost their job in April. Given that
a further 67 000 are on JobKeeper payments, and without it, up to 129 000 Western
Australians could be out of work, when will the Premier release his economic
recovery plan to address the jobs crisis?
AnswerView source ↗
As we have said the whole way
along, the economic situation confronting the state is very dire and very
serious. This has developed over the course of the last 10 weeks, as it has in
every economy around the world. Clearly, we have had to confront the COVID
issue and how to manage it, both in a health sense and an economic sense, over
the course of the last 10 weeks. I think the outcomes, and certainly the health
outcomes, have been nothing short of outstanding in Western Australia. But it
comes with economic outcomes. The government has put in place a whole suite of
measures to support economic activity across the state, whether it is tax cuts;
stimulus spending; waiving of rental and
licence fees; freezing fees and charges on households; tourism grants, and all
sorts of measures across the state—whatever it may be. As we
come out of this, the government will announce many economic measures to support economic activity in the
state. There are basically three things the state can do. Firstly, we will progressively loosen up the restrictions put in place over the last few months.
We will progressively loosen those restrictions
at a speedier rate than the eastern states have. The reason we can do that is
our hard border with the east , which allows us to progressively loosen
the economic restrictions quicker than the eastern states can. If members look
at New South Wales, they will see that its restrictions are far more draconian
than those in Western Australia. If we look at Victoria, its restrictions are
far more draconian than those in Western Australia, and for Queensland and
Tasmania the restrictions are far more draconian than those in Western Australia.
As time goes by we will loosen our restrictions at a quicker rate than will
four other states—five, including South Australia. Secondly, we will announce further stimulatory measures as time
goes by. That has been coordinated by the recovery coordinator , Ms
Sharyn O'Neill, in conjunction with various apparatus of state, in
particular Treasury and Mr Michael Barnes. We will announce further measures
along those lines. The third component is reform, making sure we can unleash
further private sector activity in Western Australia. We have to embrace reform
sometimes, and the planning reforms we announced today are the major plank of
reform in Western Australia that will unleash investment and activity out of
the COVID crisis. They have been talked about for decades. We are basically
allowing for more development and allowing households and small businesses to
get on and do what they do more easily without red tape. We are allowing
developers to develop, for goodness sake, and making it easier for the them to
get through the planning processes. That is what this is about. On an average
basis, the development industry in our state economy is about $25 billion a year.
It could be significantly more than that. Private sector development in Western
Australia is about 80 per cent of all development and government is about 20 per
cent, yet there seems to be a focus by some people that it should be all
government. I do not know what has happened to the Liberal Party. It seems to
think it should all be government —
Mr D.C. Nalder : Who said that?
Mr M. McGOWAN : Listen to yourselves!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mr M. McGOWAN : Twenty per cent is government, and we
are doing more and will bring forward more, but private sector development is
80 per cent, so if we can increase private sector development, which is what we
are trying to do, we can create more jobs.
Mr D.C. Nalder : No.
Mr M. McGOWAN : Mr Speaker, honestly. That is what we
are dealing with.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : The member for Perth is back, and I call him to
order for the first time. Members, I know everyone is getting back to
work and the excitement is coming on, but the Premier —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members! The Premier is on his feet; I want
to hear his answer.
Mr M. McGOWAN : There are three components, as I said:
relaxation of the measures we have put in place, more speedily than the eastern
states; stimulatory measures, of which the government will bring forward more;
and reform. A planning reform initiative is the major component of that. It is
actually a great day for Western Australia that we have managed to come up with
a set of reforms that will cut red tape and allow businesses, households and
small businesses to get on and do what they do best.
along, the economic situation confronting the state is very dire and very
serious. This has developed over the course of the last 10 weeks, as it has in
every economy around the world. Clearly, we have had to confront the COVID
issue and how to manage it, both in a health sense and an economic sense, over
the course of the last 10 weeks. I think the outcomes, and certainly the health
outcomes, have been nothing short of outstanding in Western Australia. But it
comes with economic outcomes. The government has put in place a whole suite of
measures to support economic activity across the state, whether it is tax cuts;
stimulus spending; waiving of rental and
licence fees; freezing fees and charges on households; tourism grants, and all
sorts of measures across the state—whatever it may be. As we
come out of this, the government will announce many economic measures to support economic activity in the
state. There are basically three things the state can do. Firstly, we will progressively loosen up the restrictions put in place over the last few months.
We will progressively loosen those restrictions
at a speedier rate than the eastern states have. The reason we can do that is
our hard border with the east , which allows us to progressively loosen
the economic restrictions quicker than the eastern states can. If members look
at New South Wales, they will see that its restrictions are far more draconian
than those in Western Australia. If we look at Victoria, its restrictions are
far more draconian than those in Western Australia, and for Queensland and
Tasmania the restrictions are far more draconian than those in Western Australia.
As time goes by we will loosen our restrictions at a quicker rate than will
four other states—five, including South Australia. Secondly, we will announce further stimulatory measures as time
goes by. That has been coordinated by the recovery coordinator , Ms
Sharyn O'Neill, in conjunction with various apparatus of state, in
particular Treasury and Mr Michael Barnes. We will announce further measures
along those lines. The third component is reform, making sure we can unleash
further private sector activity in Western Australia. We have to embrace reform
sometimes, and the planning reforms we announced today are the major plank of
reform in Western Australia that will unleash investment and activity out of
the COVID crisis. They have been talked about for decades. We are basically
allowing for more development and allowing households and small businesses to
get on and do what they do more easily without red tape. We are allowing
developers to develop, for goodness sake, and making it easier for the them to
get through the planning processes. That is what this is about. On an average
basis, the development industry in our state economy is about $25 billion a year.
It could be significantly more than that. Private sector development in Western
Australia is about 80 per cent of all development and government is about 20 per
cent, yet there seems to be a focus by some people that it should be all
government. I do not know what has happened to the Liberal Party. It seems to
think it should all be government —
Mr D.C. Nalder : Who said that?
Mr M. McGOWAN : Listen to yourselves!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mr M. McGOWAN : Twenty per cent is government, and we
are doing more and will bring forward more, but private sector development is
80 per cent, so if we can increase private sector development, which is what we
are trying to do, we can create more jobs.
Mr D.C. Nalder : No.
Mr M. McGOWAN : Mr Speaker, honestly. That is what we
are dealing with.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : The member for Perth is back, and I call him to
order for the first time. Members, I know everyone is getting back to
work and the excitement is coming on, but the Premier —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members! The Premier is on his feet; I want
to hear his answer.
Mr M. McGOWAN : There are three components, as I said:
relaxation of the measures we have put in place, more speedily than the eastern
states; stimulatory measures, of which the government will bring forward more;
and reform. A planning reform initiative is the major component of that. It is
actually a great day for Western Australia that we have managed to come up with
a set of reforms that will cut red tape and allow businesses, households and
small businesses to get on and do what they do best.
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.