CORONAVIRUS —
RESOURCES SECTOR — INTERSTATE BORDER RESTRICTIONS
651. Mr Z.R.F. KIRKUP to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question.
Will the Premier be considering any other flexible and risk-based changes that
may be provided to the government as a proposal from the Chamber of Minerals
and Energy or any other sectors; and,
importantly, will the Premier be allowing those Western Australians who are
seeking to travel or to return home on compassionate grounds greater
flexibility?
Mr M. McGOWAN
replied:
There is not any consideration of
anything of that nature. The 14-day quarantine period is an accepted national standard. When it is put in place in Western Australia,
it also involves two tests—one on the second day and one on the eleventh or twelfth day. We often pick up
positive cases on the second day, and occasionally we pick up positive
cases on the twelfth day. The system as it is currently working has been
effective, and it often has uncovered cases of positive infection, almost exclusively
in people returning from overseas.
In
relation to the Chamber of Minerals and Energy and Mr Paul Everingham, the CEO,
they have been great partners. They have worked very, very cooperatively
with the state government over the last six months. I cannot fault them. They
have been terrific. They have realised that this was an existential threat to
the mining industry and to the oil and gas industry in Western Australia that
could have had not only catastrophic consequences for the nation, but also a destabilising influence on the entire world,
had the industry closed. We worked cooperatively right from the very
beginning. In fact, I convened a meeting with the CME before the Council of
Australian Governments meeting on 15 March—perhaps in February—to
discuss the impact of COVID and what could be done. Ever since that time, the
CME has worked cooperatively with the government. I am not going to be at all
critical; in fact, I am very praiseworthy of the Chamber of Minerals and Energy
and Mr Paul Everingham and the way they have conducted themselves.
The recent moves by BHP and Rio Tinto to relocate their
workforces to Western Australia and employ Western Australians has been a result
of the work of the state government and also the support of the Chamber of
Minerals and Energy, which understands that a risk from a workforce that comes
from elsewhere is a risk to the entire industry, particularly in relation to
the threat of infection. If 2020 has taught us anything, it is that we as a state
need to be more self-reliant. The rules and the measures that we have put in
place to ensure that the FIFO workforce of 7 000 people either relocates to Western
Australia or those jobs are provided to Western Australians will be of lasting
economic benefit to our state.