❓ Opposition questions the Premier's performance citing various issues. Premier defends government's record, highlighting job creation, economic strength, and support for households.
AnsweredQoN 644Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
COOK GOVERNMENT —
PERFORMANCE
644. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Premier:
I refer to WA Labor's
failure to listen to 30 000 petitioners, the government's refusal to
release Aboriginal heritage regulations in
the time frame promised, worsening family and domestic violence levels, a crime
crisis that is spiralling out of control, ongoing collapses in the
building industry, a governance crisis at the Western Australian Institute of
Sport —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Mr R.S. LOVE : — and
the Premier's inability to garner the attention and good favour of his
colleagues in Canberra . How has the Premier lost control of the state in
just 16 weeks?
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Many of you may have an opinion, including the Minister for Housing, but we
will ask the Premier to respond, please.
Ms R. Saffioti : Sixteen
weeks?
The SPEAKER : Not the Deputy
Premier; the Premier, please.
PERFORMANCE
644. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Premier:
I refer to WA Labor's
failure to listen to 30 000 petitioners, the government's refusal to
release Aboriginal heritage regulations in
the time frame promised, worsening family and domestic violence levels, a crime
crisis that is spiralling out of control, ongoing collapses in the
building industry, a governance crisis at the Western Australian Institute of
Sport —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Mr R.S. LOVE : — and
the Premier's inability to garner the attention and good favour of his
colleagues in Canberra . How has the Premier lost control of the state in
just 16 weeks?
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Many of you may have an opinion, including the Minister for Housing, but we
will ask the Premier to respond, please.
Ms R. Saffioti : Sixteen
weeks?
The SPEAKER : Not the Deputy
Premier; the Premier, please.
AnswerView source ↗
Madam Speaker, I thought that the
member was going to say, ''Are you okay?'' at the end of that!
The member's question is
absolutely ridiculous and based upon hyperbole and misrepresentations. Quite
frankly, it just sits on top of his own political rhetoric, which bears no
resemblance to reality. Take, for example, the repeal of the Aboriginal
Cultural Heritage Act. We said that we would provide the opposition with the
regulations ahead of the bill being debated.
That is what we have done. The Leader of the Opposition reinvents history
because he has some sort of anger
issue with a government that does what it says it will do. He basically
retrofits an entirely different personal narrative in order to make
himself feel better. That is the definition of irrelevance. This is the
opposition's fundamental problem.
The Nationals WA occupy the Leader of the Opposition's office. Does it
do that, or has it made an offer to the other side? I am not quite sure
whether the member wants to be the Leader of the Opposition. As part of the
Nationals' on-again, off-again relationship with the Liberal Party, it
is not exactly sure how it wants to move forward, but it keeps offering the
Liberals the Leader of the Opposition's job.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Mr R.H. COOK : The Nationals
WA wants to preserve its upper house seats, rather than do the job of being the
opposition. The Liberal Party wants to be one thing, but then Hon Nick Goiran
says, ''Hang on; you are actually going to be this.'' I point to
these issues and ask the opposition: are you okay?
Some great statistics came out
recently that speak to the strength of our economy at the moment: 14 700 more Western
Australians secured a job last month. The number of people who have found jobs
since we were elected in 2017 has now clicked over to a quarter of a million. A
quarter of a million extra jobs have been created in this economy during the
time of both my government and Premier Mark McGowan's government. The
participation rate has increased to 69.3 per cent. That is a sign that people
recognise that now is the time to get jobs. We have the lowest underemployment
rate in the country. We had more people come to Western Australia in the last
quarter than any other state. More people came to Western Australia to secure
their future because they see the jobs being generated. They see the opportunities
being created. They see the state marching forward. Because we are a Labor
government, they see a state government that is not only nurturing these jobs
but also looking after those who are doing it tough. Only a Labor government
will do that. Only a Labor government will secure jobs for locals, look after
those who are doing it tough and deal with the cost of living.
In July, a month after I was
elected to the role of Premier, the electricity household rebate went out. A
$200 credit was applied to the bill of every single household in Western Australia
because people are doing it tough. Because we have a strong economy, we can
look after them.
Just
a month later, the Minister for Sport and Recreation and I announced our new
$300 KidSport voucher program , doubling the $150 voucher program and
extending the reach of the program to include not only registration but also
essential equipment for sports. We also extended it to new Australians, such as
refugee applicants and people seeking
asylum, and kids in care. We are very proud of the record our government has
already created. We are doing what we said we would do. We continue to
keep the economy strong, we create jobs for Western Australians and we look after those who are doing it tough. That
is what the WA public expects from my government, and that is what the
WA public is getting.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members, that concludes question time.
Dr A.D. Buti interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Armadale, question time has already taken more than an hour. I did not really
need that interjection from you at the end.
member was going to say, ''Are you okay?'' at the end of that!
The member's question is
absolutely ridiculous and based upon hyperbole and misrepresentations. Quite
frankly, it just sits on top of his own political rhetoric, which bears no
resemblance to reality. Take, for example, the repeal of the Aboriginal
Cultural Heritage Act. We said that we would provide the opposition with the
regulations ahead of the bill being debated.
That is what we have done. The Leader of the Opposition reinvents history
because he has some sort of anger
issue with a government that does what it says it will do. He basically
retrofits an entirely different personal narrative in order to make
himself feel better. That is the definition of irrelevance. This is the
opposition's fundamental problem.
The Nationals WA occupy the Leader of the Opposition's office. Does it
do that, or has it made an offer to the other side? I am not quite sure
whether the member wants to be the Leader of the Opposition. As part of the
Nationals' on-again, off-again relationship with the Liberal Party, it
is not exactly sure how it wants to move forward, but it keeps offering the
Liberals the Leader of the Opposition's job.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Mr R.H. COOK : The Nationals
WA wants to preserve its upper house seats, rather than do the job of being the
opposition. The Liberal Party wants to be one thing, but then Hon Nick Goiran
says, ''Hang on; you are actually going to be this.'' I point to
these issues and ask the opposition: are you okay?
Some great statistics came out
recently that speak to the strength of our economy at the moment: 14 700 more Western
Australians secured a job last month. The number of people who have found jobs
since we were elected in 2017 has now clicked over to a quarter of a million. A
quarter of a million extra jobs have been created in this economy during the
time of both my government and Premier Mark McGowan's government. The
participation rate has increased to 69.3 per cent. That is a sign that people
recognise that now is the time to get jobs. We have the lowest underemployment
rate in the country. We had more people come to Western Australia in the last
quarter than any other state. More people came to Western Australia to secure
their future because they see the jobs being generated. They see the opportunities
being created. They see the state marching forward. Because we are a Labor
government, they see a state government that is not only nurturing these jobs
but also looking after those who are doing it tough. Only a Labor government
will do that. Only a Labor government will secure jobs for locals, look after
those who are doing it tough and deal with the cost of living.
In July, a month after I was
elected to the role of Premier, the electricity household rebate went out. A
$200 credit was applied to the bill of every single household in Western Australia
because people are doing it tough. Because we have a strong economy, we can
look after them.
Just
a month later, the Minister for Sport and Recreation and I announced our new
$300 KidSport voucher program , doubling the $150 voucher program and
extending the reach of the program to include not only registration but also
essential equipment for sports. We also extended it to new Australians, such as
refugee applicants and people seeking
asylum, and kids in care. We are very proud of the record our government has
already created. We are doing what we said we would do. We continue to
keep the economy strong, we create jobs for Western Australians and we look after those who are doing it tough. That
is what the WA public expects from my government, and that is what the
WA public is getting.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members, that concludes question time.
Dr A.D. Buti interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Armadale, question time has already taken more than an hour. I did not really
need that interjection from you at the end.
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