WA Liberal leader Liza Harvey has accused Premier Mark McGowan of abandoning Western Australia’s record number of unemployed people.
“Yesterday in Parliament the Premier set his sights on the resources companies, demanding more of the 6000 FIFO workers from the Eastern States should be moving to Western Australia and that future jobs should be recruited from WA,” Ms Harvey said.
“This follows the embarrassing Australian Bureau of Statistics figures that highlighted Western Australia has the highest unemployment rate in the country, and the highest number of unemployed West Australians in the State’s history.
“The problem is the Premier’s talk is cheap. It doesn’t create jobs for West Australians now. We have record unemployment because Mr McGowan doesn’t have a jobs plan. This is an economic disaster.
“The Premier and the WA Labor Government have abandoned Western Australia’s unemployed.
“What real action is Mr McGowan going to take to guarantee these fly-in fly-out jobs remain in Western Australia?
“This is just more rhetoric on his so-called WA Jobs Bill that defines local as all jurisdictions in the nation – and even New Zealand.
“To date, all he has provided is $20,000 of Western Australia taxpayers’ money to Eastern States FIFO workers if they move to WA and build a home through the Building Bonus.
“This is money that would be better spent on struggling West Australians without a home.”
Ms Harvey said Mr McGowan needed to stop throwing out flippant lines.
“If the Premier is serious about this matter he will ensure the resources companies move their employees to Western Australia, or employ West Australians who are desperately looking for work – especially when unemployment is so high,” Ms Harvey said.
“In this new world impacted so severely by the COVID-19 crisis, only the Liberal Party will put West Australians first when it comes to jobs.”