THE PROJECT — WESTERN AUSTRALIAN BROADCAST
185. Mr V.A. CATANIA to the Minister for Tourism:
I
have a supplementary question. Given that Western Australia is under level 2
restrictions, with the peak of Omicron cases yet to occur and we are
still in a state of emergency, is this a good use of taxpayers' money?
Mr R.H. COOK replied:
The
restrictions in Western Australia at the moment would be welcomed by many
people around the world. They would be welcomed by a lot of people on the east
coast. Our idea of level 2 restrictions is other jurisdictions' idea of
freedom and opportunities to go out there and engage in the entertainment
district. Obviously, there are stricter restrictions than many people in Western
Australia are used to, but this is a great time to come to WA. We are open for
business. We are welcoming international students back to our shores. We are
welcoming back business trips and members of the business community who are
looking to do deals in WA because they have seen what a great place it is and
how well we have managed the COVID pandemic to date. We are welcoming tourists
to Western Australia who can see this is an incredible opportunity to Wander
Out Yonder, because Western Australia is a place like no other. That is why we
have such a unique tourism product and we are so proud to promote Western Australia
to the rest of the world.
I understand why the opposition is
asking this question; it is because it read it in The West Australian
this morning, and that is its modus operandi, but we have not provided the
individual contractual details in the past. This approach has been accepted by
the Auditor General in deliberations of previous questions asked by both the
Liberal–National opposition and ourselves in opposition. It is simply
the way we do things. These things are being governed under the Tourism WA
board and with all the appropriate protocols and risk management regimes in
place to protect taxpayers' dollars.
I just for once wish the opposition
would join us and the rest of Western Australia in saying what a wonderful
state this is.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: That is
the end of question time.