❓ Opposition Leader accuses the Premier of economic mismanagement leading to high unemployment. The Premier defends the government's economic performance, citing resilience despite falling iron ore prices and historical economic growth.
AnsweredQoN 944Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
UNEMPLOYMENT — FIGURES
944. Mr M. McGOWAN to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question. Is not an additional 64 000 Western
Australians out of work on the PremierXXX ###XXXs
watch, the highest number of unemployed in the last 23 years, a sign of his
failure to plan economically and of his chaotic financial management?
944. Mr M. McGOWAN to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question. Is not an additional 64 000 Western
Australians out of work on the PremierXXX ###XXXs
watch, the highest number of unemployed in the last 23 years, a sign of his
failure to plan economically and of his chaotic financial management?
AnswerView source ↗
Short answer, no.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Members!
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : I am providing an answer.
I think the Western Australian
economy has actually been quite resilient; I expected a sharper spike in
unemployment, given the fall in iron ore prices, than we have had. I expected a
sharper spike than we have seen, and the economy has shown a greater degree of
resilience than most people would have anticipated. While the Leader of the Opposition
celebrates every statistic that shows a rise in unemployment, we do not. We
will continue to lead this economy, which will have doubled and probably
trebled by the end of this decade. It is one of the greatest periods of
expansion in Western Australian history, rivalled only by the 1890s and the
1960s. Why were they good decades? Because they had LiberalQQQ ### QQQNational governments!
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Members!
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : I am providing an answer.
I think the Western Australian
economy has actually been quite resilient; I expected a sharper spike in
unemployment, given the fall in iron ore prices, than we have had. I expected a
sharper spike than we have seen, and the economy has shown a greater degree of
resilience than most people would have anticipated. While the Leader of the Opposition
celebrates every statistic that shows a rise in unemployment, we do not. We
will continue to lead this economy, which will have doubled and probably
trebled by the end of this decade. It is one of the greatest periods of
expansion in Western Australian history, rivalled only by the 1890s and the
1960s. Why were they good decades? Because they had LiberalQQQ ### QQQNational governments!
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.