❓ Shadow Treasurer Wyatt questions Treasurer Buswell about abandoning a key component of his fiscal action plan (FA) related to solar feed-in tariffs. Buswell defends the overall FA plan and shifts focus to public sector reform.
AnsweredQoN 421Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
SOLAR FEED-IN TARIFF SCHEME
421. Mr B.S. WYATT to the
Treasurer:
I refer to the Treasurer's proposal, endorsed by the
Economic and Expenditure Reform Committee and cabinet and contained in his
budget, to reduce the solar feed-in tariff as a key component of his fiscal
action plan.
(1) Will he release another FA plan now that he has abandoned
the key component of his current FA plan?
(2) Will he fly to Sydney again to meet with the ratings
agencies to discuss his new FA plan?
(3) Can he
guarantee that the other components of his FA plan will be met, or will they,
too, be undermined by the ''dynamic decision-making process'' of
government?
421. Mr B.S. WYATT to the
Treasurer:
I refer to the Treasurer's proposal, endorsed by the
Economic and Expenditure Reform Committee and cabinet and contained in his
budget, to reduce the solar feed-in tariff as a key component of his fiscal
action plan.
(1) Will he release another FA plan now that he has abandoned
the key component of his current FA plan?
(2) Will he fly to Sydney again to meet with the ratings
agencies to discuss his new FA plan?
(3) Can he
guarantee that the other components of his FA plan will be met, or will they,
too, be undermined by the ''dynamic decision-making process'' of
government?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(3)
It was very dynamic. It caught me on the hop a bit, it was that dynamic.
However, I am also flexible and dynamic, and respond and move on. The member is
right; I do not think we need to go back and canvass the component of the
fiscal action plan that sits in and around the feed-in tariff. The member for
Victoria Park made the observation that this was a significant component.
Mr B.S. Wyatt : It
is from your budget speech, yes.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Victoria Park!
Mr T.R. BUSWELL : I
am just interested to understand what the member says ''significant''
means. The fiscal action plan will save the state $6.831 billion in net debt
terms over the next four years. I want to explain what that means. That means
that if we had not done it —
Mr
B.S. Wyatt : If you meet it. You have already abandoned part of it.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Victoria Park, I call you to order for the first time.
Mr
T.R. BUSWELL : If we had not made the changes in the fiscal action plan, the
state would be $34 billion in debt in four years as opposed to an expected debt
of $28 billion.
Mr
B.S. Wyatt : Much better!
Mr
T.R. BUSWELL : That is a significant impact, member for Victoria Park; $77 million
on $6.8 billion is relatively insignificant, but it is important. Every dollar
is important, and I will talk about that in a moment. In the totality of the
fiscal action plan, this is not a large sum of money. We will work on capturing
additional savings to offset that between now and the midyear review. I again
stress that $6.8 billion is a lot of money, but the important point about the
$6.8 billion and the important reason to meet with the ratings agency in Sydney
is that the single biggest driver of the savings embedded in the fiscal action
plan is fundamental reform of the public service and the way that we employ
staff in the public service in Western Australia.
Mr B.S. Wyatt :
What have you been doing for the last five years? You've done nothing
on that.
Mr T.R. BUSWELL :
Workforce reform is the single biggest driver of the savings in the fiscal
action plan. At the end of the day, the question that the member for Victoria
Park will have to answer is whether he will support the driver of that reform—that
is, the changes to the Public Sector Management Act that will allow involuntary
redundancy. Will the member for Victoria Park support that? I heard the Leader
of the Opposition bump on about all these things that we were not spending
money on. He bumped on about all the reasons that he lost the election without
being prepared to hold up a mirror —
Mr B.S. Wyatt : The
only reason you have to do that is that your wages policy failed.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Victoria Park, I call you to order for the second time.
Point of Order
Mr M. McGOWAN :
When the minister directly asks the member questions and implores him to
respond, why is the member called to order when he responds to the minister's
request?
The SPEAKER :
Leader of the Opposition, I am sick and tired of people trying to drown out the
debate.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Ms M.M. Quirk interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Girrawheen, I call you to order for the first time.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Victoria Park, I call you to order for the third time.
Mr P.B. Watson : It
wasn't him, Mr Speaker.
The SPEAKER : Who
was it? Who said that it was a shambles? Did you say that it was a shambles?
Mrs M.H. Roberts :
No; it was someone behind him.
The SPEAKER : Just
be warned that if I call somebody three times, they will leave the chamber.
Point of Order
Mr B.S. WYATT : Mr
Speaker, can I get clarity on how many calls I am on?
The SPEAKER : Two.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr T.R. BUSWELL : I
will be quiet!
That is simply the point I make. The Leader of the Opposition
talked about a lot of things in his speech today. He tried to reinvent history
to explain his loss at the election, but the one area that he did not touch on
was perhaps the most significant follow-up announcement made on budget day—that
is, this commitment to reform. I did not hear him; he was stunningly silent on
whether the Labor Party would support this fundamental reform of the way we
employ staff in the Western Australian public sector. I have a bit of news for
members. If they do not support that, they will be blocking nearly $3 billion
of savings. The reason I went to Sydney —
Mr
M. McGowan : So 200 public servants is $3 billion worth of savings.
Mr
T.R. BUSWELL : I did not say 200 public servants. I think the Leader of the
Opposition needs to turn his ears on.
Mr
M. McGowan interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition!
Mr
T.R. BUSWELL : The reforms entailed in the budget go well beyond voluntary
redundancy and well beyond involuntary redundancy; they refer to managing wage
expenses and the way that we will approach the wages policy in future wage
negotiations. It is a very well-rounded reform process.
I will conclude. That is why I went to Sydney—to
explain that to the ratings agency. If I have to go again, I will.
It was very dynamic. It caught me on the hop a bit, it was that dynamic.
However, I am also flexible and dynamic, and respond and move on. The member is
right; I do not think we need to go back and canvass the component of the
fiscal action plan that sits in and around the feed-in tariff. The member for
Victoria Park made the observation that this was a significant component.
Mr B.S. Wyatt : It
is from your budget speech, yes.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Victoria Park!
Mr T.R. BUSWELL : I
am just interested to understand what the member says ''significant''
means. The fiscal action plan will save the state $6.831 billion in net debt
terms over the next four years. I want to explain what that means. That means
that if we had not done it —
Mr
B.S. Wyatt : If you meet it. You have already abandoned part of it.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Victoria Park, I call you to order for the first time.
Mr
T.R. BUSWELL : If we had not made the changes in the fiscal action plan, the
state would be $34 billion in debt in four years as opposed to an expected debt
of $28 billion.
Mr
B.S. Wyatt : Much better!
Mr
T.R. BUSWELL : That is a significant impact, member for Victoria Park; $77 million
on $6.8 billion is relatively insignificant, but it is important. Every dollar
is important, and I will talk about that in a moment. In the totality of the
fiscal action plan, this is not a large sum of money. We will work on capturing
additional savings to offset that between now and the midyear review. I again
stress that $6.8 billion is a lot of money, but the important point about the
$6.8 billion and the important reason to meet with the ratings agency in Sydney
is that the single biggest driver of the savings embedded in the fiscal action
plan is fundamental reform of the public service and the way that we employ
staff in the public service in Western Australia.
Mr B.S. Wyatt :
What have you been doing for the last five years? You've done nothing
on that.
Mr T.R. BUSWELL :
Workforce reform is the single biggest driver of the savings in the fiscal
action plan. At the end of the day, the question that the member for Victoria
Park will have to answer is whether he will support the driver of that reform—that
is, the changes to the Public Sector Management Act that will allow involuntary
redundancy. Will the member for Victoria Park support that? I heard the Leader
of the Opposition bump on about all these things that we were not spending
money on. He bumped on about all the reasons that he lost the election without
being prepared to hold up a mirror —
Mr B.S. Wyatt : The
only reason you have to do that is that your wages policy failed.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Victoria Park, I call you to order for the second time.
Point of Order
Mr M. McGOWAN :
When the minister directly asks the member questions and implores him to
respond, why is the member called to order when he responds to the minister's
request?
The SPEAKER :
Leader of the Opposition, I am sick and tired of people trying to drown out the
debate.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Ms M.M. Quirk interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Girrawheen, I call you to order for the first time.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Victoria Park, I call you to order for the third time.
Mr P.B. Watson : It
wasn't him, Mr Speaker.
The SPEAKER : Who
was it? Who said that it was a shambles? Did you say that it was a shambles?
Mrs M.H. Roberts :
No; it was someone behind him.
The SPEAKER : Just
be warned that if I call somebody three times, they will leave the chamber.
Point of Order
Mr B.S. WYATT : Mr
Speaker, can I get clarity on how many calls I am on?
The SPEAKER : Two.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr T.R. BUSWELL : I
will be quiet!
That is simply the point I make. The Leader of the Opposition
talked about a lot of things in his speech today. He tried to reinvent history
to explain his loss at the election, but the one area that he did not touch on
was perhaps the most significant follow-up announcement made on budget day—that
is, this commitment to reform. I did not hear him; he was stunningly silent on
whether the Labor Party would support this fundamental reform of the way we
employ staff in the Western Australian public sector. I have a bit of news for
members. If they do not support that, they will be blocking nearly $3 billion
of savings. The reason I went to Sydney —
Mr
M. McGowan : So 200 public servants is $3 billion worth of savings.
Mr
T.R. BUSWELL : I did not say 200 public servants. I think the Leader of the
Opposition needs to turn his ears on.
Mr
M. McGowan interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition!
Mr
T.R. BUSWELL : The reforms entailed in the budget go well beyond voluntary
redundancy and well beyond involuntary redundancy; they refer to managing wage
expenses and the way that we will approach the wages policy in future wage
negotiations. It is a very well-rounded reform process.
I will conclude. That is why I went to Sydney—to
explain that to the ratings agency. If I have to go again, I will.
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