CORONAVIRUS —
SMALL BUSINESS
942. Mr D.C. NALDER to the Treasurer:
I have a supplementary question.
Given that the Treasurer is forecasting an average unemployment rate of eight per
cent this year, what is the number of workers in small business forecast to
become unemployed once JobKeeper ends in March and what impact will that have
on the unemployment rate?
Mr B.S.
WYATT replied:
It
is quite impressive that whilst the budget is predicated on an eight per cent
unemployment rate, what is the rate now?
Mr P. Papalia: It is 6.7 per cent.
Mr
B.S. WYATT: It is 6.7 per cent.
Gee whizz, Minister for Tourism, you have been listening! That highlights the
fact that actually our economy has been more
resilient than even we expected back in May when we were responding to
the coronavirus. The member for Bateman can giggle all he likes —
Mr D.C. Nalder interjected.
Mr
B.S. WYATT: The member for
Bateman can giggle all he likes, but the fact this makes him somewhat
disgruntled reflects poorly on him. The fact that the employment rate is
lower than we thought it might be is a good thing. It is a good thing because we want to ensure that Western Australians are
able to stay in work. It is interesting that the participation rate is
now basically back to pre-COVID levels. Our labour force is back to pre-COVID
levels and our unemployment rate is 6.7 per cent. That is a good outcome,
Liberal Party members. They should celebrate this. They should celebrate the
resilience of the Western Australian economy.
When
I became Treasurer, it was on the back of four years of domestic recession
under the former Liberal government and we had to get growth going
again. Who would have thought that even with that six per cent contraction in
the June quarter, we could still deliver economic growth across 2019–20?
Do members know why that was? It was because we did the work early in the term
of the McGowan Labor government. That is why the balance sheet is strong. That
is why the economy is doing much better than we thought it would be back in
May. That is why Western Australians, I suspect, in just a few months when they
go to the polls, will say to themselves, ''Will I risk a Liberal–National
government?'' I am pretty sure I know the answer!