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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 482 asked in the Legislative Assembly on 8 September 2021 by Mr G. Baker

Parliament: 41 Session: 1

McGOWAN GOVERNMENT — FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

482. Mr G. BAKER to the Premier:

I refer to the McGowan Labor government's record of strong and responsible financial management. Can the Premier outline to the house how the government is using its success in restoring the state's finances to invest in WA's future, to support the economy and to tackle the challenges confronting our state?

Mr M. McGOWAN replied:

I thank the member for the question. I also acknowledge the students from Tambellup, who I met outside in the corridor. On behalf of the member for Thornlie, I acknowledge the members of The Southern River Band, who are in the back of the chamber. Upon walking in, I thought they were a group of 1970s escapees! But it turns out that they are in the running to play at the AFL grand final, which will be just wonderful.

Members: Hear, hear!

Mr M. McGOWAN: The government has worked extremely hard over our four and a half years in office to repair the budget and put it back onto a sustainable pathway. We have to remember that when we arrived in office, debt had climbed from $5 billion when the previous government arrived in office, to $44 billion because of the shocking financial management of the last Liberal–National government, with record deficits, record debt and out-of-control spending. We put in place strong financial management and have arrested that climb. Indeed, we have paid down debt, and we are the only government in Australia that is doing that.

That has allowed us to do a range of things that will benefit Western Australia forever. Today I was able to announce, with the Minister for Environment and the Minister for Forestry, a historic move to protect all our native forests from large-scale logging. Large-scale logging will end at the end of the current forest management plan, in 2024. This will ensure that 400 000 hectares of karri, jarrah and wandoo forests will be preserved forever. It builds on the decision of the Gallop Labor government 20 years ago to save the old-growth forests. It means we will have a legacy for our children, our grandchildren and their grandchildren forevermore, to preserve important conservation areas across the state.

Obviously, over the last two centuries we have logged way too much, so we are now doing our best to repair what was a terrible historical mistake. As part of this, we are also going to invest $350 million of new money to expand the softwood estate. Over the long term, this will save plantation timber jobs, create new jobs in that area and also save thousands of jobs in the construction industry in Western Australia that require those sorts of timber products. It is a $350 million investment, or $35 million a year.

On top of all that, we have announced that in total at this point we have budgeted $9 billion for recovery and other measures to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. We have announced $1.9 billion in recurrent spending in the health and mental health systems, which means more beds, nurses and doctors, and more mental health services across Western Australia. We also announced $3.1 billion in capital works for the health system, including $1.8 billion for a new women's and babies' hospital in the electorate of Nedlands. On Sunday, we announced the single-largest investment in social housing, a record $875 million, which will ensure that over the next four years, 3 300 social houses will be constructed or acquired across Western Australia. That will ensure a pipeline of work for the housing industry, particularly as the heat comes out of the industry now.

It is disappointing that the Leader of the Opposition has opposed some of these measures. I note that the Leader of the Opposition was out there this morning attacking our efforts to preserve forests in Western Australia. I am more than happy to point out that over the last 25 years, the opposition's record—both Nationals WA and Liberal—has been to continue to want to the destroy the natural heritage of this state.