❓ Mr. Love questions the Premier on the Nature Positive plan and its impact on WA industries, referencing a perceived reversal by the Prime Minister. The Premier defends his government's actions in protecting WA's economy and supporting environmental law reform that benefits industry.
AnsweredQoN 29Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Nature positive plan
29. Mr Shane Love to the Premier :
I refer to the
backflip from Prime Minister Albanese who promised, apparently at the Premier's
demand, that his government's Nature Positive plan be struck from the agenda,
yet he has now funded this very plan in Labor's eleventh-hour budget, a strike
at the heart of our industries—
Point of order
Dr Tony Buti: It is quite clearly stated at standing
order 77, footnote 42, that questions seeking information under the control of
another government are not allowed.
The Speaker: Thank you, Attorney General. I will not
be upholding that point of order. The member can finish his question.
Questions without
notice resumed
Mr Shane Love: Should I start again?
The Speaker: Just carry on.
Mr Shane Love: Okay.
As I said, the Prime
Minister promised, apparently at the Premier's demand, that the Nature Positive
plan be struck from the agenda, yet it is now being funded in Labor's eleventh-hour
budget, which is a strike at the heart of our industries and a clear sign that
the Prime Minister does not take the Premier seriously.
The Premier claimed to have fixed this dangerous policy
problem. Has he, and how will the Premier safeguard our industries against his
colleague's wrecking ball legislation?
29. Mr Shane Love to the Premier :
I refer to the
backflip from Prime Minister Albanese who promised, apparently at the Premier's
demand, that his government's Nature Positive plan be struck from the agenda,
yet he has now funded this very plan in Labor's eleventh-hour budget, a strike
at the heart of our industries—
Point of order
Dr Tony Buti: It is quite clearly stated at standing
order 77, footnote 42, that questions seeking information under the control of
another government are not allowed.
The Speaker: Thank you, Attorney General. I will not
be upholding that point of order. The member can finish his question.
Questions without
notice resumed
Mr Shane Love: Should I start again?
The Speaker: Just carry on.
Mr Shane Love: Okay.
As I said, the Prime
Minister promised, apparently at the Premier's demand, that the Nature Positive
plan be struck from the agenda, yet it is now being funded in Labor's eleventh-hour
budget, which is a strike at the heart of our industries and a clear sign that
the Prime Minister does not take the Premier seriously.
The Premier claimed to have fixed this dangerous policy
problem. Has he, and how will the Premier safeguard our industries against his
colleague's wrecking ball legislation?
AnswerView source ↗
Sorry, have you
finished? Mr Speaker, that question had so much preamble, supposition,
political overtone and criticism that I thought it might be out of order, but
it clearly was not.
My WA Labor government
stood up for Western Australia's economy. We stood up for Western Australian
industry. We stood up for Western Australian jobs. That is the fundamental
commitment that we have always made. We worked with industry and we worked with
business leaders to make sure that those elements of the Nature Positive laws that
we thought would have a poor effect on Western Australian industry were opposed,
and our opposition was forthright and it was successful. Mr Speaker, that is
the sort of leadership that Western Australians need.
Mr Lachlan Hunter interjected.
The Speaker: Member for Central Wheatbelt!
Mr Roger Cook: Mr Speaker, no-one in this country does
not want to see environmental law reform. It does not matter who I talk to,
whether it is the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia, the
Business Council of Australia or the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of
Western Australia, everyone wants environmental law reform. It was not in the
form that we wanted, but we know that the Albanese Labor government stands with
industry in terms of that ambition to see environmental law reform brought in.
We need to go back to first principles. We need to make sure that the reforms
we bring in continue to maintain Australia's reputation as one of the most
stringent environmentally regulated industries and economies in the world,
because that is going to be the key to attracting international investment. We
need to make sure that industry can invest with confidence and certainty. They
are the issues that were confronted and challenged by the Nature Positive laws
in the form in which they were proposed.
I welcome the ambition to continue to have
environmental law reform in this country. Maybe the federal government can
take a leaf out of our book. We brought in environmental law reforms last year
and part of our first tranche was to make sure that we continue to support
industry. It means that we can have concurrent approval processes and continue
to make sure that companies can move forward in a way that they can predict, they
can understand and they can work with. That is why our environmental law
reforms that we brought in last year, Mr Speaker, were so widely supported by
industry in Western Australia. We will continue to make sure that Western Australia
remains a great place to invest in, a great place to establish a company and
projects, and a great place to employ Western Australians.
The Speaker: Leader of the Opposition.
Mr Shane Love: Well, I was.
The Speaker: Leader of the Nationals WA, your original
question was quite lengthy and contained both a bit of preamble and a bit of
argument, which it is not meant to, and your supplementary question is a single
question and should be very short and sharp.
finished? Mr Speaker, that question had so much preamble, supposition,
political overtone and criticism that I thought it might be out of order, but
it clearly was not.
My WA Labor government
stood up for Western Australia's economy. We stood up for Western Australian
industry. We stood up for Western Australian jobs. That is the fundamental
commitment that we have always made. We worked with industry and we worked with
business leaders to make sure that those elements of the Nature Positive laws that
we thought would have a poor effect on Western Australian industry were opposed,
and our opposition was forthright and it was successful. Mr Speaker, that is
the sort of leadership that Western Australians need.
Mr Lachlan Hunter interjected.
The Speaker: Member for Central Wheatbelt!
Mr Roger Cook: Mr Speaker, no-one in this country does
not want to see environmental law reform. It does not matter who I talk to,
whether it is the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia, the
Business Council of Australia or the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of
Western Australia, everyone wants environmental law reform. It was not in the
form that we wanted, but we know that the Albanese Labor government stands with
industry in terms of that ambition to see environmental law reform brought in.
We need to go back to first principles. We need to make sure that the reforms
we bring in continue to maintain Australia's reputation as one of the most
stringent environmentally regulated industries and economies in the world,
because that is going to be the key to attracting international investment. We
need to make sure that industry can invest with confidence and certainty. They
are the issues that were confronted and challenged by the Nature Positive laws
in the form in which they were proposed.
I welcome the ambition to continue to have
environmental law reform in this country. Maybe the federal government can
take a leaf out of our book. We brought in environmental law reforms last year
and part of our first tranche was to make sure that we continue to support
industry. It means that we can have concurrent approval processes and continue
to make sure that companies can move forward in a way that they can predict, they
can understand and they can work with. That is why our environmental law
reforms that we brought in last year, Mr Speaker, were so widely supported by
industry in Western Australia. We will continue to make sure that Western Australia
remains a great place to invest in, a great place to establish a company and
projects, and a great place to employ Western Australians.
The Speaker: Leader of the Opposition.
Mr Shane Love: Well, I was.
The Speaker: Leader of the Nationals WA, your original
question was quite lengthy and contained both a bit of preamble and a bit of
argument, which it is not meant to, and your supplementary question is a single
question and should be very short and sharp.
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.