Cook government—Priorities
Mrs Lisa Munday: Mr Speaker.
Several members interjected.
Mr Basil Zempilas: Mr Speaker.
The Speaker: The Leader of the Opposition.
1. Mr Basil Zempilas to the Premier:
I knew we liked you, Mr Speaker; thank you. We have already congratulated you and, with your indulgence, I would like to congratulate the member for Kwinana, Premier of Western Australia, on his election victory on 8 March and take this opportunity to congratulate all members on both sides of the house on their election victories. In that spirit, I direct my question to the Premier.
As we just heard from the Governor in his outline of the agenda for the 42nd Parliament of Western Australia, we are in a period of global uncertainty and, as he said, it has never been more important for WA to be economically resilient.
Several members interjected.
The Speaker: Members!
Point of order
Dr Tony Buti: Point of order.
The Speaker: We have a point of order that will be heard in silence.
Dr Tony Buti: Thank you, Mr Speaker. I refer you to standing order 77 that talks about preambles, opinions, statements et cetera to not be too long.
The Speaker: Thank you, member, I will not be upholding that point of order. Carry on, Leader of the Opposition.
Questions without notice resumed
Mr Basil Zempilas: Accordingly, will the government shift its focus away from fantasy projects, like rugby teams and racetracks, to things that matter to Western Australians, like fixing our hospitals and addressing crime in our suburbs and our towns?
Mr Roger Cook replied:
Can I take the opportunity to congratulate the member for Churchlands on his election as Leader of the Opposition and congratulate the member for Moore on his election as the Leader of the National Party. I also take the opportunity to acknowledge the former member for Butler and former Attorney General, John Quigley, who is in the chamber today. I congratulate the member for Butler for her outstanding inaugural speech that we heard just now.
It is important that when parties present themselves to the people of Western Australia, they present the policies that they seek to gain a mandate for in relation to a whole range of policies. We know that in this election we put a very comprehensive plan to the people of Western Australia for how we are going to keep this state the strongest in the nation; how we are going to continue to make sure that we build more things here through our Made in WA plan; how we are going to continue to invest in our healthcare system, making sure everyone has a home, building more homes faster, more affordably; and continuing to make sure that people, no matter where they live—in the suburbs, in remote communities, in our regional centres—have all the services and infrastructure they need. Mr Speaker, didn't the people of Western Australia respond to our mandate? Didn't the people of Western Australia endorse that great plan that the WA Labor Party put to the people of Western Australia? That is the reason our friends opposite have not progressed past the aisle.
It is the reason the people of Western Australia are looking to a government that will diversify the economy; make sure that we build more things here by backing our resource industry and backing ourselves; create quality Western Australian jobs; make sure that we have the skills we need through our free TAFE program; and make sure that we have jobs for not only our children, but also our children's children. That is the mandate that the people of Western Australia gave us.
Of course, it is not all about the hard infrastructure. It is not always about the hard resource and manufacturing industries. Sometimes it is about our softer industries, such as our amazing tourism and hospitality industries. I had the honour last night of attending the Australian Hotels Association awards, at which we saw outstanding Western Australians providing excellence in the sorts of industries that we are looking to to continue to propel the Western Australian economy. Over 100,000 people across Western Australia are employed in tourism and hospitality industries. That includes sport and tourism, as I have said. It includes entertainment—pubs, clubs, live entertainment and creative industries. That is also a central part of making sure that we create jobs for Western Australians, and that is what the people of Western Australia endorsed. The people of Western Australia decided, "We want that, and we want a WA Labor government."
2. Mr Basil Zempilas to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question. Does the Premier concede that the time and money that this government has wasted on pursuing those fantasy projects like a rugby team and a racetrack could have been better spent on addressing ambulance ramping and getting more police on our streets?
Mr Roger Cook replied:
I will tell members what is fantasy.
Ms Rita Saffioti interjected.
The Speaker: Treasurer!
Mr Roger Cook: That is the fantasy that the Leader of the Opposition created for the people of Western Australia when he was the Lord Mayor. What were the projects that he was promoting when he was the Lord Mayor of Perth?
Several members interjected.
The Speaker: Premier! Members!
Several members interjected.
The Speaker: Members! Premier!
Mr Roger Cook: Let us talk about what the Leader of the Opposition was focused on!
Several members interjected.
The Speaker: Premier, we have a point of order.
Point of order
Mr David Bolt: Is the Premier ever going to answer the question?
Several members interjected.
The Speaker: Members!
Mr David Bolt: I refer to relevance to the question, Mr Speaker.
Mr Paul Papalia interjected.
The Speaker: Attorney General, thank you.
A member interjected.
The Speaker: Minister! Member, there is no point of order. I shall not be upholding that.
Questions without notice resumed
Mr Roger Cook: Mr Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition asked me to talk about some fantasy projects, so that is exactly what I am going to present. First of all, when he was the Lord Mayor, he talked about a bigger bell tower to be built in the middle of the Swan River. He said:
Really what we need to do is double or triple the size of it.
Hear me out! He said:
Either that or build a podium somewhere out on the Swan River and put it out there where it's got nothing around it.
That would really make it stand out! He talked about a cable car to Kings Park. He said:
… it's time to build that cable car. It would not only become an instantly recognisable feature, it would be a great connector.
And who can forget the redevelopment of the Swan River foreshore—a billion-dollar project. He said:
You will see a number of a billion dollars quoted. That's quoted because we don't want to set unrealistic expectations.
I think that my favourite was a dance festival modelled on Coachella. This is his solution for the economy! He said:
It's crystal clear Perth needs a permanent, recurring, lock-it-in the calendar event we can call our own … a dance festival …
Or who could forget the Commonwealth Games? We saw how well that went in Victoria.
Several members interjected.
The Speaker: Members!
Mr Roger Cook: Mr Speaker, we know that, at the end of the day, when the Leader of the Opposition was Lord Mayor, he had other things in mind. It was to shut down the women's shelter for women escaping domestic violence. That is his record. I will place our record as government and our mandate from the people of Western Australia front and centre of this team any day.
