CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
Thank you, Professor Hayne, Seven West and Curtin University for this opportunity to address this Leadership Matters breakfast.
I’m a huge fan of this event and get to as many as I can because I really do believe in the sentiment embodied in the name – Leadership Matters.
The Liberal Leadership plan I want to lay out for you today is very different to what we have experienced under Roger Cook’s Labor Government and very different from what Labor is promising if given another term. It is a clear choice.
A Government I lead will be steadfastly focused on the bread-and-butter issues that affect us all: on cutting government charges, on rebuilding our health system that is on life support, on making our streets safe, on enabling business to get on with what they do by cutting red tape and streamlining approval processes, on keeping the lights on, even in a heat wave.
A Government I lead will not be giving sugar hits, organising circuses or pandering to unions. We will not be profligate with the windfalls of the boom but use it to once again make the living standards in our State the envy of the nation.
There is no prize for guessing that at the top of my list is to restore and rebuild the Western Australia’s Health system after eight years of Labor mismanagement.
Two weeks ago, the Australian Productivity Commission released its report on the state of the Nation’s health systems and WA was running last in the critical areas of Emergency Department wait times; GP numbers and Bulk-billing services.
That report prompted WA AMA president Michael Page to observe that we were “heading towards the abyss as far as healthcare capacity is concerned in WA”
“Heading towards the Abyss!” That’s not me saying it, it’s the Australian Medical Association reacting to the Australian Productivity Commission report and drawing that conclusion.
Of course, the Health Minister most responsible for this dramatic slide is now the current Premier, Roger Cook. The man Labor has shaped its election campaign around. They want us all to follow him over the cliff into the Abyss!
Mr Cook: “it is Outrageous that in a State as prosperous as Western Australia, our health system itself is now on life support”
Under Labor elective surgery waitlists have surged 60% and there are now 30,000 people on those lists. In November 2024 ambulances were ramped outside hospitals for a total of 4,843 hours, that is a 943% increase since the Liberals were last in Government in 2017. That is not just outrageous it is reprehensible.
Every number I have read out represents a person, a real person. A person in crisis. A person who desperately needs urgent attention and is being denied.
Last year 114 lives were lost due to preventable errors in WA clinical care. The key word here being “preventable”. 114 preventable deaths due to a system under unsustainable pressure.
Improving our health and hospital system is a key pillar of the WA Liberals Building a Better Future Blueprint.
We have health sector-sanctioned policies to reduce ambulance ramping, free up hospital beds, guarantee surgery within medically mandated time frames and free vaccines.
We will make an immediate difference by opening two wards at Joondalup Hospital that have been inexplicably shut by Labor.
We will commence the construction of the New Women and Babies Hospital (NWBH) at the QEII Medical Campus—an initiative that builds on decades of bipartisan planning and clinical consensus emphasising the importance of co-locating women’s, children’s and adult tertiary services.
Three weeks ago, I received an email from a constituent which I think succinctly demonstrates the folly of Labor’s decision. And I’m going to read you what it said:
Last week my great grandson was born at King Edward Memorial Hospital. It was well known before the birth that he had TGA (Transposition of the Great Arteries). After birth, the procedure to insert a catheter and balloon to his heart could not be achieved at KEMH despite the best efforts of those on duty at the time. To save his life, urgent transfer to PCH was required. This was done rapidly by ambulance under lights and sirens with two specialists on board. Apparently, he nearly died and would have done so if the journey had been any longer. PCH completed the catheter procedure and subsequently my great grandson had an Arterial Switch Operation to correct the heart plumbing problem.
According to the cardiologists onboard the ambulance during transfer from KEMH to PCH, a 19-20km journey instead of less than 3km would have had fatal consequences and my great grandson would now be in the mortuary instead of recovering from his operation.
I believe we have a picture of the little guy. (Picture on screen) There he is. I’m pleased to report that this little guy is doing well after his operation at PCH.
Now, this is a very recent case, but I can assure you it is not an isolated one. Babies with life-threatening conditions are transferred regularly from King Edward to PCH.
We know it won’t be easy to build the Mums and Babies Hospital next to the Perth Children’s Hospital, but we also know it can be managed and should be done.
I’m tempted to quote JFK: “We’ll do it not because it’s easy but because it’s hard.”
But I simply ask: Why condemn the future health of our Mums and Babies to a second-rate solution… because it’s all too hard to give them the best outcome?
We’ll build it, and we’ll build it at Nedlands.
Also, in our first term we will address the complete redevelopment of our State’s oldest Hospital, Royal Perth Hospital. RPH is our State’s primary trauma hospital. It is a beacon for hope in our most desperate times of need. We never know when or where disasters will strike or accidents or acts of violence will cause injury. West Australian’s have long been comforted by the knowledge that the best trauma specialists in the world are operating out of RPH, but we cannot expect them to continue to provide their service in a cobbled together patchwork of buildings, many built in the 19th century. When the unthinkable happens, all Western Australians need to be confident their loved ones are being supported in the very best way when they need it most. A Liberal Government will make sure this happens.
With determination, with proper financing, with a proper plan, we will stop this deadly malaise in our health system. It will be a major focus of my Liberal team, and we will again lay the groundwork for a world class health system, that will set Western Australia up for the next 100 years.
We are also only too aware of the disparity between the Government’s overflowing Treasury and the quality-of-service delivery to everyday West Australians across a wide range of portfolios, not just Health.
We have a cost-of-living crisis – record numbers of people unable to pay their mortgages, pay their electricity bills, their car registration. We have a housing crisis - with a record number of families unable to find anywhere to live… and we have a government wallowing in money from high iron ore prices and a GST windfall.
Again, I say it is the Bread-and-Butter issues that are our priorities. I hate to disappoint the Rev Heads in the audiences, but we won’t be building a car racing circuit through Belmont or pay hundreds of millions of dollars for a rugby team.
It is simply astounding that under this Labor Government’s mismanagement, Western Australia has seen the highest rate of spending in 15 years outside of COVID, the highest inflation in the nation, and real wages go backwards - stuck at 2011 levels.
Despite record revenue, Labor’s reckless economic policies have left households worse off and the cost of living spiralling out of control. For example, are you aware that since 2017 the Electricity Supply charge has gone up 133%. Yes, 133%! And that increase is for households and businesses.
To address these issues, we have committed to delivering over $1 billion in targeted cost-of-living relief to support Western Australian households, providing real and meaningful assistance and ensuring families, individuals and small business get the support they need during these challenging times.
We will provide real relief through our commitment to reducing Electricity Service Charges by $169 annually, saving families and businesses $676 from his hidden tax over our first term.
We have committed to introduce a Payroll Tax Rebate, easing the burden on small businesses, helping them grow, create jobs, and strengthen local economies.
Fishing families will be better off under a future Liberal government. We will provide them with greater certainties and protections. Fishing licenses currently have to be renewed annually --- we will change this to 5+5-year fishing licences, in line with normal commercial arrangements so they can go to the banks knowing they have no security issues. This will also allow for further tweaking and expansion after 5 years should that be the request from the industry. We will establish an electronic register of unit entitlements that financial institutions can rely on to assist with sovereign risk issues.
We will increase the Stamp Duty Threshold, making homeownership more attainable for first-home buyers and reducing one of the biggest financial barriers for families entering the housing market.
We will expand the Grandcarers Support Scheme, acknowledging the vital role that grandparents play in raising children by providing them with financial assistance.
These commitments reflect our vision for a fairer, more affordable Western Australia where families, seniors, and businesses get the support they deserve.
For the benefit of all West Australians, we have chartered out a reliable and affordable pathway to clean energy transition. Unlike Labor we will not be skewed by ideology, union interests or an alliance with the Greens
We know the Australian Energy Market Operator warned Roger Cook that its premature shutting off of coal-fired electricity generation and its mismanagement of the State’s gas reserves would lead to electricity shortages as early as 2025.
And of course, a month ago 12,000 WA households dropped off the grid in the middle of a heat wave.
Roger Cook blamed “extreme weather” but then, almost as a throwaway line, said blackouts would be “part and parcel” of the State’s transition to green energy.
He basically said: Get used to it!
A Liberal Government will not shut down coal power supply until viable replacements are operational.
The power replacements will be new generation gas fired power stations to a capacity of 300 Megawatts. This will maintain base load security while we continue to invest in renewable solutions as they become feasible. For example, we will continue building 4,400-Megawatt battery storage, and 810 Megawatts of wind power.
But most importantly we will give certainty to industry and families that when they flick the switch, the lights will come on.
The Labor Government's mismanagement of the electricity supply is not an isolated example in the Public Service. Right across the board there are screamingly obvious examples of their mismanagement. Water service charges are up 15.6%, car registration up 34%, motor injury insurance up 20%, the Emergency Services Levy up 20% and stamp duty on general insurance up 46%.
And this has happened while Labor over 8 years has collected $114b in GST and Royalties, a 100% increase on the $57b collected by the previous Barnett Liberal Government.
So, where has the money gone? Clearly not to helping households by keeping taxes and charges down.
The headline blowouts are clearly on infrastructure builds.
· Ellenbrook rail --- $787m more than original budget.
· Westport, which started at $4.7b in 2020 and is now at $7.2b – Who knows where it will and in another 4 years.
· Metronet--- $10.5b more than original budget.
Again, we get phony outrage from Labor about our criticism of Metronet, but we simply ask the question: How can a project costed by Treasury at $3 billion blow out to a projected $13.5 billion?? This is gold standard mismanagement!
A projected cost blowout of$10.5b that could build 300 new primary schools and go a long way towards building the New Mothers and Babies Hospital.
The Cook Labor Government is arrogant, and dismissive of any criticism. It flagrantly ignores its election commitments, and it brushes away very real concerns on integrity and accountability issues.
Most outrageous is that last year the criminal organisation, allegedly infiltrated by criminal bikie gangs and known as the CFMEU, were rewarded by Mr Cook with a 25% pay rises for all of their member contractors working on Metronet projects. Of course, this helps us understand why there was such a cost blowout on Metronet, and we all know that as the CFMEU are major donors to the Labor Party this money would find its way back to Mr Cook and his fellow MPs, many of whom are also CFMEU members.
This is more than mismanagement, it is demonstrating the utter contempt in which Roger Cook, and the WA Labor Party holds West Australians. Recently Roger Cook clearly stated he intends to implement Labor’s Agenda – not a West Australian agenda - and union partnership is one means by which he will do it. We’ll be back to the “no ticket, no start” days if Mr Cook has his way.
A Liberal Government will make it a priority to restore efficient and accountable government by focusing on responsible financial management, and accountable contract management. We will reinvigorate the Economic Regulation Authority which has languished under Labor, increasing transparency around Government policy and decision making with independent economic reviews.
Peter Dutton’s recent commitment to halving environmental approval time frames, and to handing decision-making power back to States will be welcomed in WA.
But it means little under Labor. Despite paying lip service to declaring “war on green tape’’ it is clear WA Labor is paralysed by a green-left ideology fundamentally at odds with supporting our resources industry.
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry estimates there is currently $318 billion worth of projects awaiting environmental approvals in WA.
Dealing with regulatory backlogs will be of the utmost importance to my government, and cooperation between departments to expedite approvals and remove backlogs will be the norm – not the exception.
We will enable parallel approvals to reduce unnecessary delays and remove unnecessary appeals processes and clearly define who can appeal.
The Liberal Government I lead will abolish the Social Surrounds Policy and replace it with a Statement of Compliance which will enable project proponents to utilise Federal approvals in areas such as Aboriginal heritage, local government planning and climate policies for State compliance.
We are committing to a review of the Aboriginal Heritage Act. We will engage with Farmers, Landowners, Industry and Traditional owners to create more certainty around definitions and process on a range of concepts and terms, as well as sensible caps on fees. The review will also include policies and procedures as many of them are outdated.
And we will lift the ban on uranium mining. A decision which will not only support decarbonisation efforts but represent $1billion in export revenue, approximately 9,000 Western Australian jobs and the diversification of the mining industry.
We will refocus our trade offices to capture our new emerging investment markets. The current configuration does not work. The United Kingdom is still a very important source of investment and a gateway to Europe, but it is an established market.
We need trade offices where our trading partners are. We need to focus on our region. In 2023/2024 WA had for example:
· $256.2b in exports, or 48% of Australia’s total exports.
· $125.7b or more than 50% was iron ore.
· $143.1b or over 55% of our exports were to China.
In imports Western Australia consumes 13% of Australia’s imports from China, USA and Malaysia. These are key trading partners in addition to the new emerging markets of Korea, India, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Asian region.
Importantly these trading offices will also be required to focus on securing direct flights from global cities to Perth. Tourism alone in 2023/2024 contributed $13.2b WA’s GSP and supported 110,800 jobs.
The Liberal Government I lead will focus on ensuring our community is Safer. From Day One we will put 300 additional police officers on the beat.
We will do that by extending overtime for existing police officers, something the WA Police Union has applauded. And we will recruit 500 additional police officers over 4 years.
There will be more police on our roads and in the entertainment precincts. We will staff more police stations and reduce response times.
We will not be soft on criminals. We will name every prison fugitive who is the subject of a return-to-prison warrant. We will legislate to amend the bail laws to ensure that those with a serious criminal history must be electronically monitored as part of their bail conditions. Parole laws will be tightened to ensure a supervised offender tampering with a tracking device will be immediately sent back to prison.
Reducing domestic violence will also be a key priority of a government I lead. We will be introducing “right to ask and right to know” laws to expose dangerous offenders. Police will be able to disclose to a victim or potential victim about their partners or ex partners previous or violent offending.
What I have outlined today are our priorities: Getting Government spending under control as a long-term antidote to rising taxes and charges; encouraging trade and investment, fixing the Health system; reducing roadblocks for businesses and industry, keeping a reliable power supply during transition to cleaner energy and making our roads, towns and suburbs safer.
It is the leadership we need right now to set the Western Australia we all love on the right path for the future. A better, healthier safer future for all of us.
That’s what the Liberal Party does and what a Liberal Government will be committed to delivering.
Thank you for your time this morning.
