CORONAVIRUS —
ECONOMIC RECOVERY
507. Mr
M. HUGHES to the Premier:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's $5.5 billion WA recovery plan.
(1) Can the
Premier outline to the house how this comprehensive plan will help drive the
state's social and economic recovery from COVID-19?
(2) Can the
Premier advise the house how this plan will support local jobs by not only
creating a pipeline of work for Western Australians, but also by cutting red
tape?
Mr M.
McGOWAN replied:
I thank the
member for Kalamunda for the question.
(1)–(2) Obviously,
the last six months has been the most difficult period in Western Australian
economic history since the Great Depression, which was virtually 100 years ago.
A great many jobs have been lost and many businesses have suffered across the
state. COVID-19 is not over. We are guarding against its return and our hard
border with the east has been critical in defending the health and wellbeing of
the people of Western Australia. It has also allowed us to open our economy
within Western Australia, more than any other state. We are seeing evidence of
that in all sorts of sectors, whether it is retail, housing, car sales, and the
growth in payroll.
Mr D.C. Nalder interjected.
The SPEAKER: Member for
Bateman, it is not a chat-fest.
Mr M. McGOWAN: We have seen
massive growth in many of those areas, including —
Mr D.C. Nalder interjected.
Mr M. McGOWAN: Seriously,
member for Bateman!
The
SPEAKER: Member for Bateman, I call
you to order for the first time. You do not have to comment on everything.
Mr M. McGOWAN: Member for
Bateman, you have been demoted; please.
Mr D.C. Nalder interjected.
Mr M. McGOWAN: He has been.
He has been demoted. The Leader of the Opposition took away from him his
cost-of-living portfolio. That has been one of the political stories of the
break—that is what he did—and he lost finance. If the member
for Bateman wants to interject, we will point these things out.
Mr D.C. Nalder interjected.
The SPEAKER: Member for
Bateman, I call you to order for the second time.
Mr M. McGOWAN: As a consequence
of what has occurred, we have launched the $5.5 billion WA Recovery Plan—this
document here. That is $5.5 billion of initiatives to support industry and
business, communities, and jobs across Western
Australia. The plan has 21 priority areas, including local manufacturing,
growing food industries, investing in renewable energy and new
technologies, capital works, industrial land assembly, and defence—you
name it. It is a comprehensive plan to support the Western Australian economy.
One of the things that we have done
as a priority is green jobs. We launched this a couple of weeks ago. That will
see more than $60 million of investment, in particular 1 000 conservation jobs
across the state, ensuring that we have
native vegetation rehabilitation schemes and estuary rehabilitation schemes,
ensuring we provide employment opportunities in fencing, seeding and
planting, and supporting native habitat for fauna such as Carnaby's
cockatoo and the like. As we know, conservation can be a big job generator for
many people.
At the same time, we have worked
with the commonwealth to streamline environmental approvals to remove
duplication, not to remove protection. I wrote to the Prime Minister in
December of last year seeking a bilateral agreement for the state to manage
these matters and not have one set of approvals under the EPA act and then you
go to the EPBC at the commonwealth level and you have to go through the same
thing again. Removing duplication is very important. I am pleased to say the
Prime Minister has agreed, and we have reached an agreement that will reduce
delays and result in approval time frames being reduced by an average of six
months. This will help us deal with
approvals but at the same time not reduce standards. We hope and expect this
will result in significant additional investment in an environmentally
friendly way for Western Australia. This has been an important initiative the state has taken. But, as I said, we want to have
balance in these things. Our green jobs plan is about providing balance.
Our renewable energy plan, and our expansion
of the conservation estate and marine park estate—all these things—are
about protecting the environment. At the same time, we have reached agreement
with the commonwealth to remove duplication, so it is a win all around.