PLAN
FOR JOBS
243. Ms M.J. HAMMAT to the Premier:
I
refer to the McGowan Labor government's plan for jobs and its
unprecedented investment in supporting Western Australia's economic
recovery. Can the Premier outline to the house how this investment is creating
more jobs for Western Australians and helping to drive down unemployment, and
can the Premier update the house on how this investment is supporting more Western
Australians to get the skills and training they need to enter the workforce?
Mr M.
McGOWAN replied:
I thank the member for Mirrabooka
for the question and for having me in her electorate this morning. Today's
job figures are a vindication of the work of this state Labor government. Our
unemployment rate today dropped to 4.7 per cent, down from 4.9 per cent the
month before. It is the lowest unemployment rate in eight years. It is the
lowest unemployment rate of all the states of Australia. It is lower than the
national unemployment rate, by 0.4 of one
per cent. When we came to office four years ago, the unemployment rate was 6.5 per
cent. It is now 4.7 per cent. Over
that period, we have created 87 700 jobs all over Western Australia—in
the city and in the regions. The number of unemployed people has fallen by 3 900 over the course of the last
month and is the lowest number of unemployed people over the last six
and a half years.
One of the key points that has
contributed to that outcome has been our investment in TAFE and training, the
lifeblood of activity for many industries in Western Australia. There has never
been a better time to go to TAFE and study. We slashed TAFE fees for a large
number of courses—180 from memory—by up to 72 per cent over our
time in office. That has resulted in a 27 per cent increase in enrolments this
year versus last year. We have put in place the Lower Fees, Local Skills
program. There has been a huge increase in enrolments in courses such as
electrical courses to become an electrician, early childhood courses and the
diploma of nursing. A whole range of courses have had a massive increase in
enrolments basically because the government took action to get people back into
TAFE. Of course, over the course of the previous Liberal–National
government TAFE fees had risen by up to 500 per cent, and for some courses it
was more than that! TAFE was priced out of reach of many families, in
particular working-class families around Western Australia. We have had to work
hard to fix that.
Young Western Australians like the
ones I met this morning in Balga are able to get into these courses; the
courses are affordable and they can undertake their studies. They can get a great
job that will secure their future for the rest of their lives. This builds on
all our activity, and everything we have done has resulted in this
extraordinarily low unemployment rate today—the lowest in Australia—the
best jobs growth in Australia and the most successful economy in Australia,
under this state Labor government.