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.