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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 1159 asked in the Legislative Council on 14 December 2021 by Hon Dr Steve Thomas

Parliament: 41 Session: 1

SUMMER JOBS CAMPAIGN — BUSSELTON–MARGARET RIVER

1159. Hon Dr STEVE THOMAS to the Minister for Regional Development:

My apologies for the length of this question. I refer to the minister's statement of 10 November 2021 headed ''New campaign to help address hospitality worker shortage in Busselton–Margaret River region''.

(1) As at 14 December, how many Busselton–Margaret River hospitality businesses have registered or signed up to the ''ctrl your summer job'' campaign, geared to encourage 14 to 17-year-olds to take up summer jobs in the region?

(2) How many 14 to 17-year-olds have been successfully placed in businesses under the ''ctrl your summer job'' campaign in Busselton–Margaret River?

(3) How is the success or failure of this campaign determined, and what are the predetermined criteria for the campaign?

(4) Which government entity has oversight of the campaign, and what feedback mechanisms has the government afforded to business operators to comment on the campaign?

(5) With south west businesses labelling the ''ctrl your summer job'' campaign as an absolute joke in the Bunbury Herald, will the minister acknowledge and apologise for the McGowan government's abject failure to acknowledge and address ongoing critical labour shortages, not only in the south west but also statewide?

The PRESIDENT: Before I give the minister the call, I would like to suggest to the Leader of the Opposition that he have regard to standing order 105. I will not rule the question out on this occasion, but I indicate that it is a very long question.

Hon ALANNAH MacTIERNAN replied:

(1)–(5) I say that the member should apologise not only for the length of the question, but also for the stupidity of the question. We all understand that we are in a global pandemic and we have closed borders. The population of Western Australia strongly supports that. What have our people been trying to do? They are going out there and finding every possible source of labour, including the 2 000 Pacific Islanders we brought in. We decided, ''Let's see whether we can do something to get school leavers and kids on school holidays engaged in the hospitality industry.'' We are giving it a go; we are having a crack. No-one has pretended that this is a total solution. It is about doing every possible thing that we can to find labour to help.

We put out this program, and I commend the South West Development Commission for taking the initiative. We have had 79 businesses sign up. I love it when the Leader of the Opposition asks questions because he can never bear to listen to the answer. Those businesses that signed up include the gentleman from Peko Peko who was quoted in that article. Seventy-three jobseekers have registered and, in total, they have applied for 123 positions. So far, only three of those young people have been employed. The rest are waiting for the employers to contact them and to see whether we can make a match. We do not apologise in any way, shape or form for taking the initiative to try to find any possible pool of labour. As the Leader of the Opposition might know—he is probably not aware—school holidays have just started, although not for all of them. We are hoping that the employers will contact those 79 young people who have registered for work.

Hon Dr Steve Thomas interjected.

The PRESIDENT: Order! Thank you for your answer, minister. Because I gave the Leader of the Opposition a free kick on the concise nature of his question, I also gave you a free kick in relation to standing order 106, this time.