CORONAVIRUS —
RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL TENANCIES
923. Hon NICK GOIRAN to the minister representing the
Minister for Commerce:
I refer to the announcement by the
Minister for Commerce on 10 September 2020 that he will extend the emergency
period under the residential and commercial tenancy COVID-19 legislation for a further
six months.
(1) Is the
Minister for Commerce aware that during the parliamentary debate on the
Residential Tenancies (COVID-19 Response) Bill 2020 and the Commercial
Tenancies (COVID-19 Response) Bill 2020, the Minister for Regional Development
informed the house that the government did not intend to extend the emergency
period for the legislation beyond the current sunset date of 29 September 2020?
(2) Is the
minister aware that this stated intention was made during a period of great
uncertainty and prior to the implementation of phase 1 of the WA road map?
(3) Is the
minister aware that Western Australia is now in phase 4 of the WA road map and
is aiming to move to phase 5 on 24 October 2020?
(4) Is the
minister aware of the Premier's recent statements asserting the very
positive direction in which our economy is heading and that, unlike the rest of
the country, WA is not currently in a recession?
(5) Is the
minister aware that Western Australia has now gone more than five months
without community transmission of COVID-19?
(6) Upon what
health or economic advice is the extension of the emergency period for a further
six months based, and will the minister table that advice forthwith?
Hon ALANNAH MacTIERNAN
replied:
I thank the member for the question.
I point out that I received a copy of this answer only five minutes before question time. I have not had an opportunity to
fact-check some of the propositions put by the member in the question.
With that caveat, I will provide this answer based on information provided to
me by the Minister for Commerce.
(1)–(6) On
17 April 2020, the Minister for Commerce said during the debate on the Commercial
Tenancies (COVID-19 Response) Bill 2020 —
� we hope that we will not have to
extend that, but because, as with any pandemic, the behaviour of this virus
lacks predictability, we need to keep open this option to extend the period.
The
minister said something similar in relation to the Residential Tenancies
(COVID-19 Response) Bill 2020. In reaching its decision to extend the
emergency period, the government considered a range of factors including, but
not limited to, the commonwealth government's approach to income
support, the current and predicted economic conditions, and the degree to which
existing interventions have been effective. The government took into account
information from a range of sources, including key stakeholders, the Department
of Treasury, the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, and the
Department of Communities.