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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 923 asked in the Legislative Council on 15 September 2020 by Hon Nick Goiran

Parliament: 40 Session: 1

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.