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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 761 asked in the Legislative Assembly on 8 October 2020 by Mr D.C. Nalder

Parliament: 40 Session: 1

STATE ECONOMY

761. Mr D.C. NALDER to the Premier:

I have a supplementary question. With 240 000 Western Australians either unemployed or underemployed, would the Premier not say that our domestic economy is in a perilous state, despite a second mining boom?

Mr M. McGOWAN replied:

There is a pandemic going on around the world. Western Australia is one of the only places in the world that has now had five months, perhaps longer, of no community spread of the virus, and we have a growing economy. Very, very few other economies in the world are actually growing. We have the highest consumer and business confidence of anywhere in Australia. We launched a recovery plan—the first state in Australia to do so—of $5.5 billion. In order to promote more consumer confidence, over the weekend we were able to announce a $600 credit to people's electricity bills for households around Western Australia. That is a $600 credit to everyone's electricity bills. That is a massive cost-of-living benefit the likes of which no government in Western Australian history has ever done before. That assists us in recovering from COVID and builds on the success of the Attorney General and the Treasurer in securing the Bell Group payment. After 30 years of various governments trying, this government has managed to secure that payment, and we are giving it back to consumers and people across the state.

I ask the shadow Treasurer—is he the shadow Treasurer? He does not answer; he probably does not know himself. Rather than the shadow Treasurer continuing to talk down Western Australia —

Mr D.C. Nalder: I don't!

Mr M. McGOWAN: Yes, you do. All he does is talk down Western Australia! I think it is a factor of his bitterness that he has absolutely no authority or role within the state opposition. He is exhibiting a factor of that bitterness. Rather than talk down the Western Australian economy, how about he supports us? He has not supported us once during the whole pandemic. The member has objected to everything we have done to keep the state safe and strong.