State Economy - Diversification Motion
Hon Andrew O'Donnell (11:27 pm) without notice:
I move: That this house:
(a) Recognises the opportunities presented in the ongoing diversification of the Western Australian economy.
(b) Acknowledges the opportunities afforded to Western Australia due to our location, our natural landscapes, and our natural resources.
(c) Commends the Cook Labor government on its work to enhance opportunities in tourism, creative industries, defence industries and local manufacturing.
Hon Dr Steve Thomas: Hon Andrew O'Donnell might take this is a compliment; he is the new Hon Dr Sally Talbot in the Labor Party at the moment. Well done, you!
The first thing the government does is to move a motion of condemnation. The second thing it does is to move a motion of self-congratulation.
This is the expertise of the Labor Party—self-congratulation.
The government is very good at self-congratulation by announcing nothing! It reannounces things that it has done 10 times before and congratulates itself for it.
It is not done just in the Legislative Council, just in case honourable members were unsure about what was going on; the government also does this in press releases and press conferences.
It did it today when it announced the South West Interconnected System transmission plan and reannounced things that it had already announced, with no more funding in it. The government has all these Clean Energy Links. It announced funding for the Clean Energy Link–North. That was announced months ago, but it reannounced it today. Well done; jolly good show, everybody! That is what we are talking about; the government reannounces things all over again.
By the way, there were a couple of great bits in today's announcement. The government has glossy brochures for everything.
Well done, Hon Dan Caddy! If you wave a glossy brochure, you do not have to have any substance. This is the new philosophy of government.
There are lots of bits that are hilarious in today's announcement, but one bit of today's great announcement was that the government has worked out that it has strategic industrial areas that are important and need power.
Hallelujah! Well done, Labor Party; you have done a great job. Strategic industrial parks need energy.
It has only taken the government two budgets and 18 months to work that out. Congratulations! I am surprised we are not debating that. Well done!
The government has announced that it has worked that out. It has not worked out how it is exactly going to work, but they need power.
The government announced that today as well. Well done, everybody; congratulations for working that out. That is a big step for the Labor Party. We are still waiting for a whole-of-system plan, but it has gone that far. Congratulations!
Its entire transition plan is two years behind schedule, but well done. It reannounced that again today as well.
What the government has done with this motion today is that it has reannounced the issue that the Labor Party likes to reannounce in this chamber regularly; that is, that it believes in diversification.
I listened carefully to Hon Andrew O'Donnell and I got one quote down exactly; the other one I am not so sure about.
He said, I believe, that this government did not notice these opportunities by chance. That was in relation to diversification.
I did not get the other one down exactly, but he said a couple of times something along the lines of the government having been working on this since 2017, when it got elected to government. How diversified is the economy, Hon Andrew O'Donnell?
How successful has the government been, or does it just talk about it? Does it talk about diversification and reannounce it is talking about diversification, and then it reannounces a reannouncement of talking about diversification and note these little tiny minor achievements?
Another glossy brochure; thank you very much. I should sit down because Hon Dan Caddy can wave that at me. I am convinced by that glossy brochure! That works really well.
Several members interjected.
The Acting President (Hon Dr Brian Walker): Order! I am delighted to see that Thursday morning normality has returned, but I would like a little bit more peace and quiet.
Hon Dr Steve Thomas: Thank you very much for your protection, Acting President.
How effective has the government's diversification plan really been?
It has introduced trains, and that is good; we like the train sets. It creates jobs; well done. They are assembly jobs. The government is not actually manufacturing trains; it is bringing them here and assembling them.
As Hon Steve—which Steve are you? I get very confused— Martin says, squeegees are still needed to get the mist off the front, and they are made in China. Well done! Congratulations!
We love to see this local production.
Hon Dan Caddy: Look at you two. You're just like those Muppets.
Hon Dr Steve Thomas: It is unparliamentary to call you "Statler", but we might get there eventually Hon Dan Caddy.
Well done; the government has done that little bit. I love the tourism component. On the day that a story came out saying that the only state in Australia that saw a decrease in tourism, both in visitor numbers and spend, was Western Australia, Hon Andrew O'Donnell stood up and told us what a good job the government was doing in tourism!
Hon Steve Martin: We need another brochure!
Hon Dr Steve Thomas: Yes; get a brochure for that! Wave that one around at us. The government has done some great tourism programs.
Do members remember Wander Out Yonder? We could never work out who was wandering out there. They could not get workers out yonder, so it had to be Work and Wander out Yonder.
If tourists did turn up, they could not actually get served a cup of coffee, so the government had to go to Work and Wander out Yonder. The work bit did not really work.
We kept asking questions in Parliament about how many jobs had been created through that process and the answer was almost none.
The government has kicked an own goal by putting out that media release this morning on energy and then moving this motion on diversification. I have not had a happier day for ages, Mr Acting President!
Hon Dan Caddy: You're easy to please, honourable member.
Hon Dr Steve Thomas: I am very easily pleased. I am waiting for some government activity on diversification. If the government actually develops a significant amount of it, I will be very pleased.
But in reality, what does the economics of the state do? The government has been "Lucky" Phil. Several members interjected.
Hon Dr Steve Thomas: The mining sector has underpinned this massive growth in income. What has the government done? Sure, it built Metronet. Well done.
Cash was paid most of the way along. Congratulations. I am not sure that Metronet has diversified the economy all that much. It did a good job in creating jobs in the construction industry, in direct competition with all the rest of the construction going on.
Well done on that, but apart from Metronet, which did not really diversify the economy—if it did, it was temporary, because the government shifted workers from one area to another—how much actual diversity in the economic situation in Western Australia has the government delivered?
The answer is next to none. I am an optimist, though. I am the eternal and overbearing optimist, and I like to see some positivity come through.
The honourable member mentioned AUKUS. It is looking reasonably optimistic. I think that is good.
Hon Andrew O'Donnell: For good reason!
Hon Dr Steve Thomas: Absolutely. Which federal government started down the AUKUS path?
Hon Steve Martin: That would have been ours.
Hon Dr Steve Thomas: Which federal government introduced AUKUS?
Hon Dan Caddy interjected.
Hon Dr Steve Thomas: Let me think.
Hon Andrew O'Donnell interjected.
Hon Dr Steve Thomas: Would it have been the same federal government that underpinned the GST arrangement? Several members interjected.
The Acting President (Hon Dr Brian Walker): Order, members! Interjections are always considered disorderly but permitted. I would like this to be a little bit more calm in the interjections.
Hon Dr Steve Thomas: Thank you, Acting President. They do not like being tweaked and they do not like being held to account; they never have!
It was the same government that gave the state government the GST windfall that also underpinned the economy. AUKUS—thank you, federal coalition; GST—thank you, federal coalition.
AUKUS is looking a bit promising, but we have to ask a question around AUKUS: What is the split?
Before government members claim AUKUS as a major diversification, I point out that it might just be the only significant diversification made by this government in eight and a half years because apparently it did not notice these opportunities by chance and has been working on them since 2017.
The only thing that it might deliver with real diversification—putting aside the energy stuff, which is falling apart—is AUKUS, for which the government should be incredibly grateful to the federal governments, depending on how it looks like in the end.
Hon Andrew O'Donnell interjected.
Hon Dr Steve Thomas: I thought it was great; $12 billion from the federal government for AUKUS committed to do all of these wonderful things. We all went, "Yes, that's really good." How much is the state government putting in by comparison? Crickets!
Hon Andrew O'Donnell interjected.
Hon Dr Steve Thomas: Crickets! How much is the Cook Labor government putting into AUKUS? How much is in the budget for it? There is $12 billion from Hon Anthony Albanese; how much from you guys?
I am waiting.
Hon Matthew Swinbourn: Sunday—that was announced by the Albanese government.
Hon Dr Steve Thomas: Yes, Sunday. I am waiting. How much? Where is it? Diversification is great. We are still waiting for it. Stop talking about it and start doing it!
