❓ Ms. Mettam questions the Minister for Energy about delays in Western Power connections. The Minister reiterates previous answers, citing increased applications and ongoing recruitment efforts, while also criticising the previous government's training policies.
AnsweredQoN 314Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
STATE BUDGET 2023–24 — WESTERN POWER
CONNECTIONS
314. Ms L. METTAM to the Minister for Energy:
I have a supplementary question.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Order, please, members!
It is an entitlement of a member to ask a supplementary question. I would like it heard in silence.
Ms L. METTAM : What is the minister
doing to address the significant backlog of work and blowouts associated with
these Western Power connection delays?
CONNECTIONS
314. Ms L. METTAM to the Minister for Energy:
I have a supplementary question.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Order, please, members!
It is an entitlement of a member to ask a supplementary question. I would like it heard in silence.
Ms L. METTAM : What is the minister
doing to address the significant backlog of work and blowouts associated with
these Western Power connection delays?
AnswerView source ↗
If the member goes back and reads
the answer I gave when she asked me the identical question, she will see
exactly what has been laid out. I do not understand. The member has asked the
same question two weeks in a row and expected a different answer, so I will
explain to the member exactly what I said last week. The reason that there are more delays than we would like is that the
number of applications has gone from an average of 3 000 a year to 7 000
a year. That is the cause of the problem. We are trying to staff up. As I explained
to the member last week, we are hiring a range of additional staffing resources.
Western Power has been to the United Kingdom to recruit additional workers. It
was able to recruit a number of technical staff, but it was not able to recruit
additional engineers. It continues to seek additional engineers because that is
the key occupation that is required to resolve this issue. It continues to
recruit externally to whatever it can to find additional engineers to execute
the projects that are in front of it.
At
the same time, as I explained to the member last week, it has reallocated internal
resourcing to make sure projects are dealt with as quickly as possible
given that the number of applications have more than doubled. In addition to
that, I also reminded the member that unlike the former government that stopped
training at Western Power, we have not only been training apprentices, which
the former government stopped, we have also been providing opportunities for graduate programs, for engineers
and others, so that we also build up the local talent. They are the answers that I gave last week. It is not a surprise
that the answer I gave today is the same as the one I gave last week . I apologise
if the member does not understand the answers that I give but that is not my
fault, because everybody else in this chamber understands what I am saying.
the answer I gave when she asked me the identical question, she will see
exactly what has been laid out. I do not understand. The member has asked the
same question two weeks in a row and expected a different answer, so I will
explain to the member exactly what I said last week. The reason that there are more delays than we would like is that the
number of applications has gone from an average of 3 000 a year to 7 000
a year. That is the cause of the problem. We are trying to staff up. As I explained
to the member last week, we are hiring a range of additional staffing resources.
Western Power has been to the United Kingdom to recruit additional workers. It
was able to recruit a number of technical staff, but it was not able to recruit
additional engineers. It continues to seek additional engineers because that is
the key occupation that is required to resolve this issue. It continues to
recruit externally to whatever it can to find additional engineers to execute
the projects that are in front of it.
At
the same time, as I explained to the member last week, it has reallocated internal
resourcing to make sure projects are dealt with as quickly as possible
given that the number of applications have more than doubled. In addition to
that, I also reminded the member that unlike the former government that stopped
training at Western Power, we have not only been training apprentices, which
the former government stopped, we have also been providing opportunities for graduate programs, for engineers
and others, so that we also build up the local talent. They are the answers that I gave last week. It is not a surprise
that the answer I gave today is the same as the one I gave last week . I apologise
if the member does not understand the answers that I give but that is not my
fault, because everybody else in this chamber understands what I am saying.
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