❓ Mr L'Estrange questions the Premier about re-evaluating Perth's regional migration status due to falling housing values and declining international student numbers. The Premier defends the government's support for Study Perth and accuses the Liberal Party of deliberately driving down housing values through land tax increases.
AnsweredQoN 727Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
REGIONAL MIGRATION STATUS
727. Mr S.K. L'ESTRANGE to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question.
Bringing it back on track, with housing values falling, leading to negative
equity, and with international student numbers plummeting, when will the
Premier contemplate a change back to Perth's regional migration status?
727. Mr S.K. L'ESTRANGE to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question.
Bringing it back on track, with housing values falling, leading to negative
equity, and with international student numbers plummeting, when will the
Premier contemplate a change back to Perth's regional migration status?
AnswerView source ↗
Just a couple of points. In the
budget we handed down recently, we provided more funding than ever before for Study Perth, to promote Western Australia around
the world. We responded to a request from Mr Rod Jones, ex-head of
Navitas, who is now chair of Study Perth, for additional marketing money, and
we are working with universities to market the state for students around the
world. One thing we will not do, however, is sell out Western Australian jobs.
If the member wants to sell out Western Australian jobs, that is not us; that
is the Liberal Party. The member might know that, since we have been in office,
52 000 additional jobs have been created in Western Australia. Since the member referred to negative equity, I have
here the Hansard of 28 August 2019, when the issue of land tax increases was being discussed in this chamber—three
land tax increases by the last government. Hon Bill Marmion , the member
for Nedlands, had this to say, and I quote —
That's what made housing
affordable.
Quote–unquote—exhibit
A— Hansard ; Exhibit B is Real Estate Business, a respected real
estate publication. It had this to say —
Western Australia Liberal deputy
leader Bill Marmion has declared that three consecutive increases in land tax
that led to housing price decreases were deliberate.
In other words, I think members
opposite ought to stop complaining about something that they created. They
created it deliberately, by their land tax increases—three in a row. I still
have people coming up to me on the street—Liberal Party members from
the electorate of the member for South Perth, no less—complaining about
land tax increases that the Liberal Party put in place when it was in office.
They are wildly angry about what that government did to them. We have not increased
land taxes. Despite the previous government leaving us with $40 billion worth
of debt, and massive deficits, we got the budget back to surplus. Western Australia
is the only state in Australia that has debt heading downwards, and we have not
put up land tax on small business.
Dr M.D. Nahan interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Riverton, I call you to order
for the first time.
Mr M. McGOWAN : We have not
put up land tax on small business, unlike members opposite. We have not
deliberately driven down people's equity in their homes, unlike the
Liberal Party's policy when in office. Members opposite need to accept
responsibility for what they did.
Dr M.D. Nahan interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Riverton, I call you to order for the second time.
Mr M. McGOWAN : One of the
things the previous government did was to drive down people's value in
their homes deliberately.
budget we handed down recently, we provided more funding than ever before for Study Perth, to promote Western Australia around
the world. We responded to a request from Mr Rod Jones, ex-head of
Navitas, who is now chair of Study Perth, for additional marketing money, and
we are working with universities to market the state for students around the
world. One thing we will not do, however, is sell out Western Australian jobs.
If the member wants to sell out Western Australian jobs, that is not us; that
is the Liberal Party. The member might know that, since we have been in office,
52 000 additional jobs have been created in Western Australia. Since the member referred to negative equity, I have
here the Hansard of 28 August 2019, when the issue of land tax increases was being discussed in this chamber—three
land tax increases by the last government. Hon Bill Marmion , the member
for Nedlands, had this to say, and I quote —
That's what made housing
affordable.
Quote–unquote—exhibit
A— Hansard ; Exhibit B is Real Estate Business, a respected real
estate publication. It had this to say —
Western Australia Liberal deputy
leader Bill Marmion has declared that three consecutive increases in land tax
that led to housing price decreases were deliberate.
In other words, I think members
opposite ought to stop complaining about something that they created. They
created it deliberately, by their land tax increases—three in a row. I still
have people coming up to me on the street—Liberal Party members from
the electorate of the member for South Perth, no less—complaining about
land tax increases that the Liberal Party put in place when it was in office.
They are wildly angry about what that government did to them. We have not increased
land taxes. Despite the previous government leaving us with $40 billion worth
of debt, and massive deficits, we got the budget back to surplus. Western Australia
is the only state in Australia that has debt heading downwards, and we have not
put up land tax on small business.
Dr M.D. Nahan interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Riverton, I call you to order
for the first time.
Mr M. McGOWAN : We have not
put up land tax on small business, unlike members opposite. We have not
deliberately driven down people's equity in their homes, unlike the
Liberal Party's policy when in office. Members opposite need to accept
responsibility for what they did.
Dr M.D. Nahan interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Riverton, I call you to order for the second time.
Mr M. McGOWAN : One of the
things the previous government did was to drive down people's value in
their homes deliberately.
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