❓ Mr. Nalder questions the Treasurer about rising unemployment, attributing it to government policies. The Treasurer refutes the claims, highlighting job creation and economic growth under the current government, while criticizing the previous government's economic performance.
AnsweredQoN 91Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
STATE ECONOMY —
UNEMPLOYMENT
91. Mr D.C. NALDER to the Treasurer:
I refer to the alarming unemployment
data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics today that shows more Western
Australians are out of work than at any point in the state's history.
Does the Treasurer now accept that the highest unemployment on record is due to
his massive increase in fees and charges that has reduced household
discretionary spending, that his foreign investor surcharge has hurt the retail
sector, and that his cut to the first home owner boost has put a wrecking ball
through the housing and construction sector?
UNEMPLOYMENT
91. Mr D.C. NALDER to the Treasurer:
I refer to the alarming unemployment
data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics today that shows more Western
Australians are out of work than at any point in the state's history.
Does the Treasurer now accept that the highest unemployment on record is due to
his massive increase in fees and charges that has reduced household
discretionary spending, that his foreign investor surcharge has hurt the retail
sector, and that his cut to the first home owner boost has put a wrecking ball
through the housing and construction sector?
AnswerView source ↗
Funnily enough, I do not accept the
allegations levelled at me by the member for Bateman. I find it curious the
argument being run by the opposition that job creation in itself is a bad
thing. I want to remind everybody in this house —
Mr A. Krsticevic interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Carine, I call you to order for the second time.
Mr B.S. WYATT : Yesterday, the
shadow Treasurer made some reference to what is in the budget and assumptions around employment growth. What I found interesting,
of course, is that in 2015–16 and 2016–17 combined—the now
Leader of the Opposition's budgets, I remind everybody—they
assumed over those two years in their budget that they would create 26 000 jobs
for Western Australia. What was the reality of that outcome? They lost 17 000
jobs out of the WA economy. When I became Treasurer, the member for Bateman and
his little buddy sitting on his left —
Mr D.C. Nalder interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Bateman!
Mr B.S. WYATT : They left me
with an economy in recession and 17 000 jobs a year being lost. It took them
nearly a decade to cause that sort of catastrophe, and they worked hard to
cause that. Funnily enough, after two years, things are going along not too
badly.
Mr P.A. Katsambanis interjected.
Mr B.S. WYATT : Rather than having an economy that was
contracting, member for Hillarys, under the previous government's
leadership —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members! There
is one person on their feet and you talk through the Chair.
Mr B.S. WYATT : — we
have an economy that is growing. There was a time when the Liberals liked a growing
economy. Now I think they find a growing economy embarrassing because it
highlights that the one economic recession —
Mr P.A. Katsambanis interjected.
Mr B.S. WYATT : The member
cannot because he probably cannot get a job outside this place.
I want to make this point: when an
economy is growing, jobs are created. That is why we have created —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mr B.S. WYATT : When the
economy is growing, jobs are created.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members, please!
I want to hear this answer. You have asked the question; listen to the answer.
Mr B.S. WYATT : That is why we
have created 33 000 jobs. We have set a target for 150 000 jobs.
Mr D.C. Nalder : You need to
update that number.
Mr
B.S. WYATT : Members opposite
complained about that. I do not know why they complain about a government setting a target for job creation.
Mr D.C. Nalder : We didn't.
Mr S.K. L'Estrange :
Where is it?
Mr B.S. WYATT : We talked
about it yesterday, member for Churchlands.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Bateman! I have warned you three times.
Mr B.S. WYATT : Our target is
150 000 jobs. That is the intent of the government. We have created 33 000
jobs. That is not a bad outcome thus far. I want to see it better. The Premier
wants it better. Everybody on this side of the house wants to see it better,
but the first thing we had to do was to return the economy to growth. That is
happening and that in itself is a very important thing because, ultimately, it
is the private sector that will create most of the jobs that I am hoping to see
created and taken up by Western Australians.
What was interesting was when the
Premier said there had been an increase in the participation rate, the Leader
of the Opposition said, ''No, there hasn't been''—well,
there actually has. Since the December–January figure that the shadow
Treasurer asked me about, the participation rate has increased from 98.1 per cent
to 98.4 per cent. It does not sound like a lot but that has had quite a dramatic
impact on the unemployment rate.
Mr D.C. Nalder : It was 68 per
cent.
Mr B.S. WYATT : No, it was
98.4 per cent. When it jumps up that high, it has an impact on the unemployment
rate, which is why we saw the unemployment rate increase. I want to highlight
again something that I quoted yesterday. Listen, members! This is somebody
members should listen to. Alan Duncan from the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre
said on ABC radio earlier this month that the unemployment figures in Western Australia
are a positive sign; unemployment is rising —
Several members interjected.
Mr
B.S. WYATT : I will start again.
Alan Duncan from the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre said on ABC radio on 1 February this year —
Mr D.C. Nalder : When?
The SPEAKER : Member for
Bateman, I call you to order for the first time.
Mr B.S. WYATT : On 1 February
this year he said that the unemployment figures are a positive sign; unemployment
is rising more because people are looking for work rather than there being a decline
in the number of jobs available. The alternative to that is what was happening
under the Liberal Party when people were fleeing the labour market because they
could not find a job. Jobs were being destroyed under the former Liberal
government. Jobs are now being created. Western Australians are coming back
into the job market and they are finding jobs.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Carine, I call you to order
for the third time.
Mr B.S. WYATT : How do I know
they are finding jobs? It is because the average time it takes for a Western Australian
to find a job has been in decline for the last 18 months. That is the time it
takes for someone to say, ''You know what? I'm now going to go
find a job.'' Under the Liberal Party, it took a hell of a long time.
That is now declining under the Labor Party. Similarly, underemployment rates
are declining. What that means is that Western Australians who want to increase
their hours, for example, are finding the hours to do so. We are also seeing
all the other indicators that highlight the fact that we expect job creation to
continue. It will not be as strong as in 2017–18. The budget
highlighted that 2018–19 would have weaker job growth than 2017–18;
if members read the budget, they will see all that. We also now have job
vacancies growing at the highest rate in 12 years. Members should think about
what happened in those 12 years. This is the highest rate in 12 years. Business
investment, rather than declining, which is what drove the Nahan Liberal
government into recession, is now increasing again, which is why confidence
data is getting better. There will always be more work to do in this space. The
monthly figures will jump around, as they always will—there is nothing
unusual about that—but the important underlying fact is this: the
former government lost power on the back of losing 17 000 jobs a year because
of the recession it had driven Western Australia into. Our economy is now
growing again and creating, as it now stands, about 18 000 jobs a year. That is
not a bad outcome for Western Australians. We want to do better and we are
committed to doing so.
allegations levelled at me by the member for Bateman. I find it curious the
argument being run by the opposition that job creation in itself is a bad
thing. I want to remind everybody in this house —
Mr A. Krsticevic interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Carine, I call you to order for the second time.
Mr B.S. WYATT : Yesterday, the
shadow Treasurer made some reference to what is in the budget and assumptions around employment growth. What I found interesting,
of course, is that in 2015–16 and 2016–17 combined—the now
Leader of the Opposition's budgets, I remind everybody—they
assumed over those two years in their budget that they would create 26 000 jobs
for Western Australia. What was the reality of that outcome? They lost 17 000
jobs out of the WA economy. When I became Treasurer, the member for Bateman and
his little buddy sitting on his left —
Mr D.C. Nalder interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Bateman!
Mr B.S. WYATT : They left me
with an economy in recession and 17 000 jobs a year being lost. It took them
nearly a decade to cause that sort of catastrophe, and they worked hard to
cause that. Funnily enough, after two years, things are going along not too
badly.
Mr P.A. Katsambanis interjected.
Mr B.S. WYATT : Rather than having an economy that was
contracting, member for Hillarys, under the previous government's
leadership —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members! There
is one person on their feet and you talk through the Chair.
Mr B.S. WYATT : — we
have an economy that is growing. There was a time when the Liberals liked a growing
economy. Now I think they find a growing economy embarrassing because it
highlights that the one economic recession —
Mr P.A. Katsambanis interjected.
Mr B.S. WYATT : The member
cannot because he probably cannot get a job outside this place.
I want to make this point: when an
economy is growing, jobs are created. That is why we have created —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mr B.S. WYATT : When the
economy is growing, jobs are created.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members, please!
I want to hear this answer. You have asked the question; listen to the answer.
Mr B.S. WYATT : That is why we
have created 33 000 jobs. We have set a target for 150 000 jobs.
Mr D.C. Nalder : You need to
update that number.
Mr
B.S. WYATT : Members opposite
complained about that. I do not know why they complain about a government setting a target for job creation.
Mr D.C. Nalder : We didn't.
Mr S.K. L'Estrange :
Where is it?
Mr B.S. WYATT : We talked
about it yesterday, member for Churchlands.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Bateman! I have warned you three times.
Mr B.S. WYATT : Our target is
150 000 jobs. That is the intent of the government. We have created 33 000
jobs. That is not a bad outcome thus far. I want to see it better. The Premier
wants it better. Everybody on this side of the house wants to see it better,
but the first thing we had to do was to return the economy to growth. That is
happening and that in itself is a very important thing because, ultimately, it
is the private sector that will create most of the jobs that I am hoping to see
created and taken up by Western Australians.
What was interesting was when the
Premier said there had been an increase in the participation rate, the Leader
of the Opposition said, ''No, there hasn't been''—well,
there actually has. Since the December–January figure that the shadow
Treasurer asked me about, the participation rate has increased from 98.1 per cent
to 98.4 per cent. It does not sound like a lot but that has had quite a dramatic
impact on the unemployment rate.
Mr D.C. Nalder : It was 68 per
cent.
Mr B.S. WYATT : No, it was
98.4 per cent. When it jumps up that high, it has an impact on the unemployment
rate, which is why we saw the unemployment rate increase. I want to highlight
again something that I quoted yesterday. Listen, members! This is somebody
members should listen to. Alan Duncan from the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre
said on ABC radio earlier this month that the unemployment figures in Western Australia
are a positive sign; unemployment is rising —
Several members interjected.
Mr
B.S. WYATT : I will start again.
Alan Duncan from the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre said on ABC radio on 1 February this year —
Mr D.C. Nalder : When?
The SPEAKER : Member for
Bateman, I call you to order for the first time.
Mr B.S. WYATT : On 1 February
this year he said that the unemployment figures are a positive sign; unemployment
is rising more because people are looking for work rather than there being a decline
in the number of jobs available. The alternative to that is what was happening
under the Liberal Party when people were fleeing the labour market because they
could not find a job. Jobs were being destroyed under the former Liberal
government. Jobs are now being created. Western Australians are coming back
into the job market and they are finding jobs.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Carine, I call you to order
for the third time.
Mr B.S. WYATT : How do I know
they are finding jobs? It is because the average time it takes for a Western Australian
to find a job has been in decline for the last 18 months. That is the time it
takes for someone to say, ''You know what? I'm now going to go
find a job.'' Under the Liberal Party, it took a hell of a long time.
That is now declining under the Labor Party. Similarly, underemployment rates
are declining. What that means is that Western Australians who want to increase
their hours, for example, are finding the hours to do so. We are also seeing
all the other indicators that highlight the fact that we expect job creation to
continue. It will not be as strong as in 2017–18. The budget
highlighted that 2018–19 would have weaker job growth than 2017–18;
if members read the budget, they will see all that. We also now have job
vacancies growing at the highest rate in 12 years. Members should think about
what happened in those 12 years. This is the highest rate in 12 years. Business
investment, rather than declining, which is what drove the Nahan Liberal
government into recession, is now increasing again, which is why confidence
data is getting better. There will always be more work to do in this space. The
monthly figures will jump around, as they always will—there is nothing
unusual about that—but the important underlying fact is this: the
former government lost power on the back of losing 17 000 jobs a year because
of the recession it had driven Western Australia into. Our economy is now
growing again and creating, as it now stands, about 18 000 jobs a year. That is
not a bad outcome for Western Australians. We want to do better and we are
committed to doing so.
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.