Made in WA plan
Motion
Hon Shelley Payne (Agricultural Region) (11:23 am) without notice: I move:
That this House notes the Cook Government's Made in WA plan outlining investments and policies to ensure our state continues to thrive in an evolving global economy.
It is good to be back after our long break since the beginning of December. Excuse me; I am a bit rusty. It was a bit of a shock when Hon Samantha Rowe said yesterday that it has been four and a half months since we have been here. It does not feel that long, but I guess we have had Christmas, New Year, the summer holidays and the election period, and counting and more counting, and the Electoral Commissioner is still counting. But I know we have all been busy out in our electorates, and the Cook government has definitely not been resting. We have been working hard and continuing to deliver for Western Australians.
We have achieved a lot over the past few months, and today I want to talk about our Made in WA plan, which was launched in February. It is leading on from a lot of the hard work that we have been doing over the last eight years to diversify and strengthen our economy, create jobs and boost our manufacturing capability.
Since coming to government in 2017—the numbers have been going up and up as we have been reporting it—we have created more than 330,000 jobs. It is really extraordinary. The latest statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics say again that we continue to dominate, with the strongest employment and population growth in the nation. Our unemployment is the lowest of all the states, and, like I said, we have the strongest employment growth. Our population growth also continues to be the highest in the nation.
We had the opening of Parliament earlier this week and had the pleasure of having the Governor, His Excellency the Honourable Chris Dawson, come and open Parliament. It was great to hear some of his positive commentary about the hard work of our government. I will repeat some of the things that he talked about in his speech. He talked about us focusing on delivering our cost-of-living support; that is our number one priority. He also talked about Western Australia remaining the strongest economy in the nation and there being no better place to get a job. He talked about our strategy for job creation to ensure that WA remains a global leader in resources, diversifying our economy for the future, becoming a renewable energy powerhouse and making more things in WA. He also talked about our new economic vision—our Made in WA plan to bring local products, innovations and manufacturing to the forefront of our economy. He talked about growing the value chain for all Western Australian industries that are delivered in Western Australia and about us finding the things we can make here in all sectors from mining to agriculture, health, our creative industries, defence and energy. He also talked about some of our commitments to progress that vision—our commitment to building trains, buses and ferries locally and our commitment to manufacturing major energy infrastructure locally by establishing our new Western Power manufacturing facilities. He talked about our vision to create more local screen productions at our Perth Film Studios in Whiteman Park. He talked about attracting job creators and innovators through our fantastic Investment Attraction Fund. He talked about our creation of the local battery industry, the attraction of innovative home builders through our grants and low-interest loans, and also the major job precincts that we are establishing through our $1 billion fund to activate strategic industrial areas across the state. I thank the Governor for his support for all the hard work of our government.
It is really good when a federal government is in sync with a state government. It is great to look at the collaborative work that our government has been doing with the federal government over the last few years since the Albanese government was elected in sync with the federal government's plan for a future made in Australia. That is the federal government's new economic plan to support Australia's transition to a clean energy economy, build a more diversified and resilient economy and create more jobs. We are both working together towards a future built in Australia.
As I said, we have been working really hard over the past few months and the past eight years since we have been in government. I want to commend the government for quite a few things that we have been doing, particularly in the manufacturing space. Another thing we have done lately is look at buying back the rail network after 25 years under private control.
I commend the government for those negotiations. Since the network was privatised by the former Liberal–National government in 2000, demand on the freight rail network has grown substantially. We have seen a lot more freight on our roads, so it is great that our government is now looking to reverse that. The agricultural supply chain program, which is jointly funded by the federal and state governments, has resulted in some great outcomes in some of the upgrades. It has been great to see CBH invest in more trains to get some of that agricultural freight back on the network. The funded Broomehill upgrades are fantastic and comprise a fast loadout facility and passing loops. Great stuff is happening in the regions.
Speaking of rail, last week we saw the first locally built Rio Tinto iron ore rail wagons roll off the track. That is the first of 100 rail wagons that have been built and manufactured right here in Western Australia, and that is thanks to the $6.9 million that came from the government's local manufacturing investment fund. A lot of great grant programs are helping with some of this manufacturing.
I also want to congratulate Hon Rita Saffioti for the work she is doing with Metronet and our transport system. In April last year, we launched the first C-series train to be built here in WA. It is the first of 246 trains that will be built in Western Australia for Metronet and the Australind line. Buses are also being manufactured. In September last year, the first electric bus went into service on the CAT bus service. This is another great initiative that has created over 100 jobs. It is the first of 18 new electric Perth CAT buses, with 130 electric buses and infrastructure upgrades also part of our program of work. I again commend Minister Saffioti on her vision to create a net zero transport system. Ferries are also included; all three WA ferries have been built in WA. The most recent one was built in Dongara, which Hon Sandra Carr would know about. As part of the government's commitment, it has put out a tender for the design and construction of a new fleet of electric ferries as it looks to expand the ferry transport system in Perth, which is really great.
I want to take a moment to comment on AUKUS and the work that Minister Papalia has done in his new role as Minister for Defence Industries and his recent trip to the United States to build links with some of the defence companies there. Defence is set to become the second largest industry after mining, with tens of billions of dollars being invested by the federal government. We will become home to the biggest naval maintenance hub in the Southern Hemisphere, which is a great opportunity for Western Australia. We also have the new TAFE Defence Centre of Excellence. I commend Mandy Walker, last year's winner of the AgriFutures' Rural Women of the Year, for her pilot project and the work she has done to engage regional businesses in the opportunities that have come from the AUKUS deal. It will be great if regional businesses are engaged in some of the manufacturing opportunities that will happen in the defence industry.
As a regional member, I am pretty passionate about manufacturing in the regions. I have previously talked about Gnowangerup, which is one of my favourite places, as a powerhouse of manufacturing with the investment that has gone in. Some of our grant programs have really helped manufacturing businesses all across the regions, not only Duraquip in Gnowangerup, but companies such as Gilmac, Bedford Harbour Engineering in Esperance and Price's Fabrication and Steel in Williams. These regional economic grants have helped housing and modular housing manufacturing in the regions; indeed, Evoke Living Homes is helping to pump out more housing.
Another of the grant programs, the investment attraction fund, has been fantastic. It has given a lot of help to one of the projects near me, the Springdale graphite project. It is looking to do a lot of its downstream manufacturing in Collie. It has received funding through not only the Investment Attraction Fund, but also the Collie Industrial Transition Fund. It is exciting that it will be one of the first graphite projects in not only Western Australia, but also Australia. This project, which is located near Hopetoun, is a great project because it is on farmland and will not result in a lot of environmental impacts. For those members who do not know, graphite is a really important component of batteries. Batteries need more graphite than they do lithium, so the government has made an investment to allow for the downstream processing. Part of the Made in WA plan involves looking at making batteries here, and I thank the government for its investment in that.
Mineral Commodities' graphite project in Munglinup is very close to the Springdale graphite project. The other week I had a chat with Scott Lowe about how the project is progressing and some of the things the company wants to do. It is very keen to do its downstream processing in Esperance, which is only about 100 kilometres away. The company is looking to speak with DevelopmentWA about getting help to find some industrial land in Esperance for the project down the track.
Other grant programs have really helped with manufacturing. The value-add investment grants have been good. Eight Western Australian businesses have benefited from that grant, with government recently announcing another round of $7 million.
I talked briefly about the Centre of Excellence and the Defence Centre of Excellence. I want to say how lucky we have been to get the Clean Energy Skills National Centre of Excellence here in WA, which started operations last year. It is great that a couple of centres of excellence have been funded in Western Australia to help us prepare for our future economy. In closing, I again commend the government for its Made in WA plan. Hopefully, everyone has had a chance to look at it and the work that the government is doing to set up Western Australia for the future.
Hon Dr Steve Thomas (South West Region) (11:38 am): It is always hard to tell how seriously to take some of these debates on a Thursday morning. Of course, I take them very seriously. I have been trying to find a descriptor word for the government, and I settled on "aspirational"—not inspirational, because that would mean something completely different, but aspirational. It is a group of "gonnas" for the most part—an aspirational government. The Made in WA slogan is a very good three-word slogan, similar to "Stop the Boats" and all those other things. I understand that three-word slogans have been relatively successful. But when we get to the detail of what is going on, what exactly is the government talking about? I think I have a copy of the same Made in WA document that members opposite have been waving around. It states:
We will boost our manufacturing sector and make more things in WA, including:
Household and Industrial Batteries
Vanadium Batteries
Transmission Towers and Energy Infrastructure
Housing Innovation Manufacturing
Wind Turbines
METRONET Trains
METRONET on Swan Ferries
Electric Buses
Iron Ore Rail Cars
It is good to be aspirational. If a government cannot be inspirational, it might as well be aspirational. Well done to the government. I am sure the minister will tell us that they are all impending. I like a bit of aspiration.
What exactly are we aspiring to do? For example, let us look at a couple of issues. We have to love the Metronet trains. Yes, the government reopened the construction sector to build the Metronet trains but Metronet trains are not being manufactured in WA. Prefabricated metal is being imported, and it is then bolted together. We are not yet manufacturing trains in Western Australia. It is good to be aspirational. I am not here to attack the Premier, but I think he has got a bit bogged down in the house that shall not be named because it is not all about assembly; it has to be a bit about manufacture if it is a manufacturing policy. When the government says that it is manufacturing railcars, people seem to think that it is manufacturing the actual railcars but it is actually bringing in prefabricated materials. Those who are old enough—I am not casting any aspersions; I am already in trouble for age jokes this morning—might remember the kit home ads from many years ago, when a mate and I could put up homes with a spanner. As I said, members who are old enough can remember, though I am not casting any aspersions.
Hon Martin Pritchard interjected.
Hon Dr Steve Thomas: Thank you, Hon Martin Pritchard; I appreciate it.
That is what is going on. We are assembling goods in Western Australia, not manufacturing them in WA. As I said, I have no problem with the government being aspirational and ambitious but it would be good if it had a more honest conversation about what it is actually delivering. I can tell the government that, for the most part, it is still importing stuff. There is a lot that we could run through.
When we talk about wind turbines, at this point it is aspirational. Wind towers are aspirational. The turbines themselves come in on ships and are then put on massive great long trucks. Half of them are driven through Collie and other places at the moment, ending up where they are going to be assembled. They are not manufactured here. They are not likely to be manufactured here in the near future. But sure, let us be aspirational. Let us not attack the government—"I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him". Let us see how we go. There are a few other products in that same category, such as iron ore railcars.
Interestingly, I went to the Rio Tinto awards for contractors last week. It was very good event. I could recommend it to everybody. One of the winners was a company that is actually doing a lot of prefabricating for the iron ore railcars. The railcars come into Western Australia already fabricated and manufactured, and hopefully a reasonable number of them will be assembled over time. That is what is going on.
Another product—vanadium batteries—is also interesting to talk about. I say to the minister that I actually support the announcement to build a vanadium battery in Kalgoorlie. It may help with the disasters at Kalgoorlie if the upgrade of the backup gas systems are not in place and the deal with TransAlta is not formalised. A vanadium battery would be one more string to the government's bow. It wants to use local vanadium, which I think is an excellent idea. It is an aspirational government; it wants to use local vanadium. That is great. How many vanadium mines do members think are producing vanadium at the moment? How many companies are downstream processing? How many companies can put together a battery completely from Western Australian materials? None of that capacity exists. If a vanadium battery is going to be built in Kalgoorlie in the short term, I think that is a great idea. It is somewhat experimental. We are still working on it, but it will not happen for years.
When the power went out a year ago and the Labor Party had done nothing in the two previous years to keep the lights on in Kalgoorlie—
Hon Neil Thomson: Millions of dollars.
Hon Dr Steve Thomas: Yes, it cost millions of dollars, and the government got a good swift kick. Building this battery might assist the process, but it will not be delivered as being manufactured in Western Australia. The lead-in time is three to five years. The government will certainly not deliver it in this term of government. It is an aspirational goal to deliver a lithium battery, which I support. It is a $150 million investment. We somehow have to build the vanadium industry. We have had debates about this before. I forget which members spoke about it. From memory, it might have been Hon Sandra Carr or Hon Shelley Payne who were talking up the vanadium industry a couple of years ago. We were all in mass agreement that this industry might develop. It is not an industry yet.
Interestingly, we both took policies to the election to reduce vanadium royalties, not that any are effectively being paid at the moment. The Liberal Party policy that I wrote said that we will give them a five-year holiday. The Labor Party wanted to give them a partial holiday. We all kind of agree on that. Let us not get to the first debate in the first week of the 42nd Parliament with the government congratulating itself on its Made in WA policy. Let us talk about a "potentially made in WA" policy if it can do all these things to deliver all these outcomes in the coming four or five years.
It is a bit like the government's plan to transition out of coal-fired power generation, which it still will not deliver under its current plans. Even that is in a part of its Made in WA plan under "transmission towers".
Hon Stephen Dawson interjected.
Hon Dr Steve Thomas: Yes, people say that; they say I am a pessimist. A pessimist is what an optimist calls a realist. The minister should just remember that in the future. The government is going to be building transmission towers and energy infrastructure. That is good. It will need them because its current transition plan does not work. We are going to run out of energy in 2027 based on its current plan. It does not have enough energy. Funnily enough, if we look at what the Labor Party said, it will have more gas in the system anyway.
Hon Stephen Dawson: Should we talk about your energy policy from the last election?
Hon Dr Steve Thomas: Absolutely. Is the minister talking about the 2025 election?
Hon Stephen Dawson: I think you said it was crap.
Hon Dr Steve Thomas: No, we do not talk about the 2021 one. I have spoken on the 2021 election policy ad nauseam. I do not need to repeat myself. The minister knows what I said. I believe that was a summary, not a statement.
The government's energy policy is falling over. It is constructing stuff to actually deliver the energy transition. It has an aspiration to get involved in those industries. That is good. It should be aspirational. I am going to hold the government to that for the next four years because I think the best it has is aspiration, and I think we should encourage aspiration. I aspired to be six foot when I was younger. Our aspirations do not always come true. Hon Dan Caddy, Hon Tjorn Sibma and I are classic examples of that.
Hon Stephen Dawson: If he sat on your shoulder, it would.
Hon Dr Steve Thomas: Now, let us not be rude!
The government should be aspirational and also honest as part of that process. It should be a little honest that it has a bunch of projects that probably will not come off. It has a few that are a possibility. It is a bit like the investment it has made into Collie for the transition away from coal. Some of those projects might work. A couple of them look quite reasonable. I back the ones that look reasonable. I am not here just to throw rocks at the government. But the government is not converting Collie and it is not yet converting manufacturing in this state.
Hon Peter Foster (Mining and Pastoral Region) (11:45 am): It is with pride that I get up today to talk on the fantastic motion moved by Hon Shelley Payne. Members may recall that in August or September last year I put forward a motion on manufacturing during private members' business.
Hon Neil Thomson interjected.
Hon Peter Foster: It is interesting that Hon Neil Thomson has chosen to interject. Yesterday, I was actually reading the debate on that motion in the Hansard. All through my speech on that occasion, Hon Neil Thomson decided to waste a lot of my time with his interjections. In some of those interjections, he took the opportunity to talk down Western Australia. It is really ironic that when Hon Dr Steve Thomas got up today, he also talked down Western Australia. He mentioned vanadium. Hon Sandra Carr and I have met with a company called Australian Vanadium Limited, which is working on plans to mine vanadium north of Meekatharra and onto Mullewa. It has a processing centre right down here in Perth, in Wangara.
I visited that manufacturing centre down here in Wangara in January last year. I was joined by Madeleine King, who is the Minister for Northern Australia and a few other things in the federal government. They showed us how they do electrolyte processing on those batteries. One of the batteries that they processed in Perth, in Wangara, was sent up to Kununurra, and it was installed in November last year. Western Power is doing a trial with that vanadium battery. I cannot wait to see the learnings from that trial because they are going to be useful for the battery that is going to Kalgoorlie.
It is really disappointing that the member spent that 10 minutes talking down things that are happening here in WA. As Hon Shelley Payne pointed out, we announced that this plan was part of our state election campaign in February. It was great to be at the campaign launch, and it was really great to see the audience holding up "Made in WA" signs. We have a lot of global uncertainty. We have all been watching the news on Trump and tariffs—one minute they are in and the next minute they are out. It is a really scary time for the global economy.
Let us also think back to the COVID-19 pandemic. We had global supply chain disruption, factories were closing because COVID-19 was getting around, people were wearing masks et cetera. It was really difficult to get parts. I mean Hon Shelley Payne and I often travel with Rex to regional WA. It was having problems with its planes because it could not source parts from overseas due to those global supply chain disruptions. We need to be able to make things here in WA, and that is what this plan is about. Members might say that it is aspirational, but actually it is what we need. It is jobs for the future. It is jobs for our kids. It was really disappointing to hear during the last debate last year when we talked about manufacturing but also again during this debate today that that is aspirational. Well, yes, we have a plan. We have a plan to build things here in Western Australia. What plan to make things in WA did members opposite take to the state election?
Hon Dr Steve Thomas: I love a bit of agreement. We're agreeing it's aspirational.
Hon Peter Foster: You did not take any plan whatsoever to the state election.
Last night I went through some of the Liberal Party's election policies. Their policies were about uranium mining, payroll tax relief and a few other things but there was nothing about manufacturing or jobs here in WA. I actually just had a quick conversation with the Leader of the House about Matagarup Bridge. Remember Matagarup Bridge over the river here in Perth? The Liberal–National government was going to get it constructed overseas. It did not even have faith or trust in the manufacturing industry here in WA.
In the member's contribution today, he talked about railcars being put together here in Western Australia. Do you know what? That is jobs for Western Australians. Western Australians are putting together those railcars. What does the member have against Western Australian jobs? It sounds like the Liberal Party is really happy to send jobs overseas but does not want to support jobs here in the west. It does not want to support jobs here in the west—disgraceful!
I believe the honourable member represents the South West. The Jobs for WA plan talks about the Advanced Manufacturing and Technology Hub, also known as AMTECH, which is being worked on for the South West. The plan has a commitment of $55 million to develop land at Picton for the Advanced Manufacturing and Technology Hub. We have secured Western Power as the anchor tenant for the initial phase of the development. This plan formally recognises AMTECH as an industrial area of strategic importance for advanced manufacturing and renewables to support the state's clean energy transition. I am not sure whether members are aware of the AMTECH proposal. I know that the South West Development Commission is also involved in it. I would suggest—
Hon Dr Steve Thomas: It's aspirational.
Hon Peter Foster: Well, there is work taking place and money has been put aside for it. At least we have a plan, honourable member. You do not have a plan! I have sat in this chamber for four years. Often when we do private members' business, we get the opposition reply, and that would a perfect opportunity for members opposite to put on the record what their plans are. We have heard it often with housing, with different things. They never put their plan on the record. Again today, we are debating on manufacturing and about building things here in Western Australia and they have no plan for that.
I meant to add that the member mentioned that he went to the Rio Tinto event last week. I was also at that Rio Tinto event. What I liked about that event is that Rio Tinto is supporting WA jobs and WA businesses. Rio Tinto can support WA made but the Liberal Party cannot. I think the iron ore for railcar manufacturing is a fantastic story. When I meet with Rio Tinto, I always challenge them to import less from overseas and to make things here in Western Australia, and it is great to see that this program will be expanded and will even come up to Karratha. We will be making those railcars in Western Australia. I cannot wait for the facility to open and for that to take place in Karratha. We have a few engineering firms and advanced manufacturing firms in Karratha, Camco Engineering to name one. These are jobs for our kids and for the future. We talk about people leaving regional WA and going down to Perth. Well, it is great that we are going to have engineering businesses and advanced manufacturing businesses in the regions so that our young people stay in the regions. We have free TAFE. Young people can go to TAFE in the regions for free. They can get a job in the regions. They can do manufacturing jobs and stay in the regions.
I will leave my comments there because I know a couple of members on this side would like to make a contribution. I thank Hon Shelley Payne for moving this motion. I am glad to be part of the Cook Labor government team that has a plan for building things in Western Australia. As I said, it is really disappointing that the opposition does not support that.
Hon Lorna Harper (East Metropolitan Region) (11:56 am): For maybe one of the last times, I rise to speak in this chamber, and I am delighted to speak on the wonderful motion moved by Hon Shelley Payne about the Made in WA plan, especially since I was not made in WA! I noticed Hon Dr Steve Thomas held up just one page from the Made in WA plan brochure. The member talked about the Diversify WA framework and I want to point out that he forgot to mention launching into space as a way of diversifying our economy. I was going to suggest that maybe a few members in here could be launched into space! When we talked about promoting WA wine, we did not actually want to also promote WA whiners! That is my way of saying that I will not be accepting interjections while I am speaking.
I am proud to live here in WA and I am very proud to be part of the Cook Labor government. In reference to the part about this Made in WA vision for the future being aspirational, my gosh; imagine being aspirational and wanting to hope for the future! Somebody tried to say that was a terrible thing to do. I happen to think that is wonderful. The biggest part of that is the training of our future workers for future jobs. I have to say, I am so proud to be part of the Cook Labor government that is investing in training. As somebody who was a graduate of TAFE, although it was rather a long time ago—I highly recommend TAFE to anybody—I am really pleased to say that with the Made in WA policy, apprenticeships are now booming. Remember them? Sorry; my colleagues on the other side of the chamber find it hard to remember apprenticeships since they all but disappeared under previous Liberal governments, but apprenticeships bring in young people and train them for these jobs. It is very hard to bring people back and teach them the skills that were lost when we lost apprenticeships in the past. They point their fingers and say, "You're only putting things together." We actually have to train people and create new jobs and industries, which is something the WA Labor government is doing.
Training a whole pipeline of workers and bringing people through and having more skilled workers is why lots of people want to come and live in WA. Of course, they want to come and live in our houses. It is not unknown to a lot of people that we have had a bit of a sting when it comes to housing in Western Australia, with more people coming in. But imagine the aspiration of a government that then goes, "We've got more people coming in; I think we have to increase our construction workforce." That means we will bring in apprentices and will get bricklayers, plumbers and carpenters—in Scotland, we call them joiners. Let us train them. We have our rip-roaring iron ore industry. We rely on trucks across all our roads, so let us bring in heavy vehicle driver training. Imagine actually getting people in and training them how to drive heavy vehicles. I say that because my husband is a multi combination (MC) truck driver and he has a lot to say about people's driving—usually mine. I have to remind him that he will be walking to the airport if he makes any more comments! But it is important.
We will be expanding and investing $33.8 million for a round of the successful TAFE modern equipment program. Why would we not do that? Let us look at the statement made by Roger Cook, our Premier, the other day: "Future workforce builds with growth in Fee-Free TAFE enrolments". I wish it were fee free when I went, but it was not, which was, again, a long time ago. The new data shows over 46,000 enrolments in fee-free TAFE in 2024. That is pretty amazing. There are already more than 25,000 enrolments in fee-free qualifications and skill sets this year. Record enrolments followed the state government making 140 courses fee free. "Fee free" is really difficult for me to say. This government will invest $58 million in TAFE and apprenticeships. This initiative is going from strength to strength. This government is aspiring to ensure that as we move forward the government is supporting what is coming next, not just about what is happening now, unfortunately, unlike some my colleagues on the other side, harking back to the 1950s when women were in the kitchen, sat down and kept quiet. Unfortunately, I feel that with the new members coming in there will be rather a lack of female voices on the other side, which is a shame. It will be interesting to see what happens when they do not have my lilting tones telling them off on a Thursday morning.
Of the qualifications available through some of the initiatives, the largest percentage growth and enrolments for 2024 was in building and construction. Isn't it amusing and interesting that it is something that we needed and the opposition said that we had no plan for moving forward, but we managed to have a massive 263% increase in certificate IV in building and construction enrolments. That would tell me that there are a lot of people out there who are interested in learning a trade. My father was a joiner, a journeyman, a carpenter, whatever you want to call it. He was very skilled, had to go through an apprenticeship and worked really hard at his role. These are skilled jobs. If anybody is trying to do anything in their house they will note that these are skilled jobs. Great skill is required to become a plumber, an electrician, a bricklayer or a carpenter. Whether someone is male or female, whether they are traipsing across the roof putting a roof up or building a nib wall in their shower for their new house or whatever, we require these skilled people. I am thankful that the Cook Labor government has the foresight, aspiration and inspiration to provide that fee free at TAFE. That word "aspiration" is going to come back and bite the member a few times. I think he will realise that.
Hon Dr Steve Thomas: I will enjoy it!
Hon Lorna Harper: I am sure you will, because we have heard that about you!
I am super excited and very proud to be standing here as a member of a Labor government that has brought forward fee-free TAFE, has encouraged people to go out, to learn, to expand their knowledge and to make sure that we aspire for our future. I will always be proud to have been a part of a government that has done this, that has progressive, future-thinking policies. I again would love to thank Hon Shelley Payne for bringing this forward and for highlighting how proud we all are in this policy from WA Labor.
Hon Louise Kingston (South West Region) (12:05 pm): I thank members for their contributions this morning. It has been really interesting listening to them, because I own a manufacturing business in Manjimup. We would love to be manufacturing more stuff in Manjimup, but unfortunately the government keeps interfering in our industries and keeps shutting them down over and over and over again. Now that the timber industry is completely closed, we have something called "ecological thinning". I raised a question yesterday about what is happening with the hundreds of thousands of tonnes of product that is not being distributed out to the sawmills and is not being utilised in developing new industries. Because this is obviously one of the last times I will probably get up in this chamber and speak, I am interested to see what the government is going to do with ecological thinnings and that new industry. A company wanted to come here and wanted a relatively small amount of money compared with how much has been paid to various different pursuits since the closure of the timber industry, and it was literally turned away. It could have been producing a downstream engineered timber product. These are the type of things that we need to focus on.
In terms of running a manufacturing business in Western Australia, we have never had a visit from anybody from Labor to talk to us about what has happened in our lives over the last 20 years of owning that business—not once. They might like to come and talk to some of those businesses in Manjimup. There is a lot of opportunity down there. There is a fabulous industrial area that is totally and utterly underutilised. We also have opportunities to provide low-cost housing and training for young people. That in itself is hugely problematic. I love the way that members opposite are always throwing around "free TAFE!", "free TAFE!", and that always comes from socialism, doesn't it, where the government takes money from hardworking people and gives it to others. We need to ask the question: Who pays for those free opportunities, particularly when the government closes down industries in places like Manjimup? Over his time in the industry, my husband has employed close to 40 apprentices, of which quite a few are still working in the industry. The cost of free TAFE to us is we have to send our apprentices to Bunbury one day a week, every week, to find their way there, accommodation, cost of meals and all that sort of stuff. It is not covered in those free TAFE fees, of course. Why is TAFE training not delivered locally? Why do students have to go to Bunbury? Why do people from Albany have to go to Perth for four weeks as a block release, live away from their families and spend their time less productively than it could be by being delivered in the workplace? We have asked this question many, many times because a lot of TAFE training is not fit for purpose. It is written by people who do not understand the industry, who never speak to people like my husband or those in the industry on exactly what they need for their various businesses. That is just one thing that I could add to this motion.
The other issue was a really interesting one. I recently got an email about the size of the seats on the new Metronet trains. I have not ridden on the Metronet train—I have no need to, obviously, because I live in regional Western Australia. The money spent on that will never benefit me, but apparently the seats are too small. What Hon Dr Steve Thomas was saying about them being assembled in Western Australia makes sense, because if they were constructed in a country that clearly have people not of our build, that is probably the reason. That is the type of stuff that happens when there is a disconnection between the people who are using it and the people who are building it.
Hon Peter Foster raised the inability to access parts during the COVID pandemic. We feel that acutely every day that we run our business. Parts are incredibly difficult to access these days. We have lead times of three or four months on some jobs because of the supply chain interruption. We are now manufacturing parts in our business. Our ability to access the raw resources is incredibly difficult. A lot of the raw resources are very poor quality, and I want to raise that point fairly substantially. We need to focus on getting a steel manufacturing operation happening in Western Australia. The steel that we access is fairly specialised steel and it is very difficult to get. It has been a chagrin of our operations for a very long time. We are a small innovative company. We do not make big flash things, but we do stuff in a number of different niche areas. One that I am pretty proud of is the vine-pruning implement that my husband produced in conjunction with the viticulture industry. That came about because, during the COVID pandemic, workers could not come in to work on the vineyards. The machine that is used is very heavy. Over the last 10 or 15 years, we have seen a lot more backpackers coming from Asia rather than Europe. They are finer and not quite as strong as the European backpackers, and that was posing a big problem for the viticulture industry because the machines were handheld. It was a two-stage process and they could only cut the vines at one stage and the wires at the second stage. It was very labour intensive and very costly. One of the guys in the industry came to my very clever husband, who has designed a number of things over the years. I just wish he had understood the patenting system, because I probably would not even be standing here now; I would be retired somewhere on holidays! The implements that he has designed over the last 50 years—he has been in the trade now for 52 years, which I think is pretty impressive—have been rolled out for various different applications across the horticulture, agriculture, viticulture and mining industries. This implement goes on the front of a mini-excavator. I think they were doing 40 vines a day, or something like that, and they can now do 400 in about an hour. That is a really good example of looking at opportunities in the manufacturing sector and at what we can do locally.
The other thing that we need to look at carefully—I am glad that Hon Kate Doust is not here because last time she called me a disgrace—is the wages structure for businesses. We used to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We still offer that service, but we do not bring in workers to do that work anymore; we just cannot afford to do it. My husband has undertaken all of that out-of-hours work over the last 10 years because the penalty rates are incredibly high and difficult to manage. That is one area that we could really revolutionise in not just Western Australia, but Australia in general. It is a more broad policy belief that I have always held. Why is it fair that a small business person does not get paid for any of that sort of stuff? We do not get superannuation or long service leave. We do not get any of the added rates that we have to pay our workers, which really limits our ability to invest back into our business and to grow our business.
There are a few challenges for manufacturing in Western Australia in getting out into some of the regional areas that have smaller businesses. I love what the lady who won the Rural Regional Remote Women's Network of Western Australia award last year is doing in bringing those regional businesses together. It is a huge opportunity, but it is also a big issue to deliver that in regional areas. There are a lot of challenges in running a business in the more remote and regional areas that need to be understood before the Made in WA plan can be rolled out effectively. I look forward to watching that with interest and seeing what sorts of benefits it will bring, particularly to my area of the South West. I hope that it does come to fruition.
Hon Stephen Dawson (Mining and Pastoral Region—Minister for Regional Development) (12:15 pm): I note that Hon Ayor Makur Chuot also wants to make a contribution, so I will make sure that she has some time left. I will not take the whole time.
I thank Hon Shelley Payne for bringing this important motion to the house. I thank her for her interest in Made in WA. Having had the opportunity to spend some time with her in Esperance recently, I certainly know about her passion for regional manufacturing. We had a good conversation about the good stuff happening down in Gnowangerup. Of course, we had a good chat about the regional economic development grants and how they have enabled manufacturing to take place in Western Australia.
When Western Australia finds itself in a place of global uncertainty, as we are seeing at the moment, it is really important that we are not as reliant on everywhere else for everything, as we have been in recent history. Of course, having lived through the COVID pandemic, I was reflecting on the first day of the 42nd Parliament on the fact that four years ago when we had the first day of the 41st Parliament, we were wearing masks and there were fewer people in the house. At that time, one of the learnings from COVID and one of the challenges we faced was about being so reliant on products from overseas, such as face masks and hand sanitiser. We have taken on some of those learnings and we are manufacturing at least some of those products here now. That global uncertainty really puts us in a challenging place. Of course, the factors really are beyond our control, but we know that the Western Australian economy is up to the challenge.
A number of people mentioned the free TAFE courses that the government has been offering for the last little while. I thought Hon Louise Kingston's contribution was a bit disappointing, because free TAFE courses have made a difference in regional Western Australia. I am disappointed that she thinks it has not been enough for her or her business. I certainly know that other businesses throughout the regions in particular have benefited from it. I visited a company in Albany last week called Westerberg Marine, which has previously been a recipient of RED grants. It was great to hear how that company has grown from six to 17 employees over the last few years, and it has five apprentices at the moment. There are companies in Western Australia taking up these offers and it is creating jobs.
Hon Louise Kingston: Do they have to send them away?
Hon Stephen Dawson: I did not ask that, but it does not matter.
Hon Louise Kingston: It does matter.
Hon Stephen Dawson: The fact is that they are free.
Hon Louise Kingston interjected.
Hon Stephen Dawson: Do not take them. We are not forcing the free courses upon the member. They are free courses. They are there for her to access if she wants to, but if they are a hindrance for her or her business, do not take them. Let somebody else take them. That is the easy thing to do—let somebody else employ people who want to take them up and let us get benefits for people in the regions.
We have international challenges, as I have mentioned, but we have the strongest economy and the best employment figures in the country, and we have the clearest plan to grow our economy by making more things in Western Australia. I am a little bit disappointed in Hon Dr Steve Thomas and his use of the word "aspirational" today. We have a plan to make things in Western Australia. We have made things before.
Hon Dr Steve Thomas: You have an aspirational plan to deliver.
Hon Stephen Dawson: It is not aspirational. We will deliver, honourable member. The member's negativity today is disappointing. He is normally more full of beans on a Thursday, but he is very negative today.
Right now, our Made in WA plan is more important than ever, particularly in the face of the uncertainty around the world. We will use that uncertainty to double-down on our efforts to diversify our economy and to make more things in this state. We will use the policies that we took to the election a few weeks ago to help protect local jobs in this state by making our economy more resilient and by making more here.
I could go on, but I dare say this will not be the last time we will speak about Made in WA in this 42nd Parliament, because we have a great deal of plans—household and industrial batteries to be made here, vanadium batteries. We have transmission towers and energy infrastructure on the list, housing innovation, manufacturing, wind turbines, Metronet trains, Metronet on Swan ferries, electric buses, and iron ore railcars. The list goes on, so we will certainly talk about this again. We will be delivering our Made in WA plan. I cannot wait to keep talking to the honourable member about this. I cannot wait to see the jobs that are created from these plans. I will leave it there. I congratulate Hon Shelley Payne again for bringing this motion to the house. I thank those who have contributed. I will let Hon Ayor Makur Chuot make a contribution.
Hon Ayor Makur Chuot (North Metropolitan Region) (12:20 pm): Thank you, Minister Dawson, for giving me these few minutes to thank Hon Shelley Payne for this fantastic motion on our Cook government's Made in WA plan. As members heard from our colleagues, what can I say as a mother of a teenage boy who has just enrolled in his engineering course? There is a future for our young people here. I have heard a lot of stories from previous speakers that with our Made in WA plan, there will be hope for future generations and they will not have to travel to other states because we are making things locally.
As we know, Western Australia has the strongest and best performing economy in the nation right now. We are very humble, particularly me for being re-elected in my second term with our government. We are very humble. The people of Western Australia know that we will deliver on our promises and that is why we are back in government. We know that the Made in WA plan will not just be a talk in the show; it will be delivered. We will do the work and deliver on our promises. The Made in WA plan will not just be another set of initiatives, as I said, but it is a crucial step in continuing to position Western Australia as an economic powerhouse, as has been mentioned by many of our colleagues previously. Our focus is definitely in key areas such as innovation, job creation and education. Hearing the honourable member from the other side put down our TAFE initiative was very shocking because we are talking about the cost of living. People are really struggling. They cannot even afford to put food on the table. For us, one of the things we can do as policymakers is make it easy for people so they can go and educate themselves so they can be empowered. I know mothers, some of them single parents, who face it hard. By having free TAFE, they could be able to get a meaningful education for themselves to get meaningful jobs for their families.
Sustainable development that benefits every Western Australian is another one of our key areas. Our Cook Labor government has already shown what can be achieved by forward thinking. Forward-thinking policies and genuine commitment to local industries and success of these initiatives is not just accidental but is a result of the strategic investment and strong economic foundation our government has put forward in the last four years. From 2017 until now, the Labor government has created over 343,000 jobs, which is on the Made in WA plan. It is a free statistic; people can see it. That should be shown to people who think the WA government is not doing its job. It is something that sets the benchmark for the employment growth in our state. This is a testimony to WA proudly being a job-focused state and proof of these numbers can be seen on the website like I mentioned. The WA Cook government's Made in WA plan is to ensure we create more jobs here, more than what we have already made.
Motion lapsed, pursuant to standing orders.
