Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Yes, London to a brick, so no money changes hands—that I am sure Western Australian Liberals will get up and go absolutely berko, scream at the top of their voices about Brian Burke and WA Inc. Do you know what? It was a pretty sad time in WA that it ended up that way. A lot of the people are no longer with us; they have passed away. Anyway, I am sure the intentions were right, but it did not end well. The courts have dealt with it. People went to jail. We needed to fix the mess.

We need to find out the truth here. Who is lying? That is a pretty strong word to use. I am not accusing anyone of being a liar, but who is not telling the truth? Is it the WA Treasurer, Dr Nahan, or is it the federal parliamentary Liberal Party over here? They cannot both be right. One is saying they got a deal; one is saying they did not. There are some very senior ministers in this government who are Western Australian based, and we all know that the Premier, Colin Barnett, but through Dr Nahan, the Treasurer, has been very critical of the pathetic efforts—or nonefforts—of Western Australian senior Liberal cabinet ministers: none other than Senator Cormann, none other than Senator Cash, none other than Mr Porter and none other than Ms Bishop, the member for Curtin. It is very disappointing, because they are selling out WA; they are not standing up for it.

Let us talk about some figures that would give anyone heartburn. Yesterday's The West Australian, that fantastic journal on the other side of the rabbit-proof fence, made it very clear in an article titled 'WA jobless level "in line with recession"'. The Western Australian Liberal government of Mr Colin Barnett had their heads in the clouds while we were going through one of the greatest booms in history. They did not make any plans about what the heck we were going to do when it stopped. Where were all these jobs going to be? I will tell you what—they are not in WA. Shane Wright is a fantastic economics editor for The West Australian, because he is always on the money; he is a visionary. He came out and told it very clearly:

Commonwealth Bank economist Gareth Aird said recession was a fair description of the WA jobs market—

the 'R' word, goodness me—

which has shed 64,000 full-time jobs over the past 22 months.

What would I do if I were Dr Nahan, the Treasurer, and I had been made a promise from someone in the federal arena? That is, apart from Mr Hockey—we know where he is; he is Australia's Ambassador to Washington. I think the more we stuff up, the bigger job we get at the end when we leave—and I am not going to pull that one, because it is true. I will give you some other figures where, if I were Dr Nahan, I would be absolutely panicking. WA has lost its AAA credit rating. In 2013 the boom had just finished. This is how incompetent the state government of WA is. An article on the ABC website states that this year alone the Barnett government:

… unveiled the state's largest ever forecast budget deficit of almost $4 billion.

The article continues:

Treasurer Mike Nahan has handed down his third budget, showing the deficit will surge from a forecast $2.96 billion to $3.9 billion in 2016–17.

Not 'creep' but 'surge'. It was the engine room of the economy a couple of years ago. The article goes on to say:

… state debt will continue to climb, reaching $33 billion next year and growing to $40.19 billion in 2020.

The previous Carpenter government left a pot of money. That mob—their cousins in the West over there—have blown it, and for years Western Australia had the greatest growth and economic opportunities known in this nation. Where the heck has that money gone? I am not even Dr Nahan; I am not the one that has been ratted on, but I am cranky. The article continues:

The Treasurer revised down the budget deficit forecast this year from $3.1 billion to $2 billion, due in part to a $500 million Commonwealth payment for the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

Good. Dr Nahan:

… revealed the deficit would jump by $2 billion in 2016–17.

In The West Australian yesterday was an article written by two of the best reporters in this building—Mr Shane Wright and Mr Andrew Probyn. The article, on page 14, is headed 'Cormann backs "fair" Bell plan'. Minister Cormann is quoted as saying that they are backing it. We just had a vote in this chamber where they did not back it. They do not want an inquiry. They do not want to know what is going on with the 'fair Bell plan'. There is nothing to see here; move along. Senator Cormann was not in here. He is probably busy now. I thought that if he had been in here he would have backed us, because in The West Australian he is quoted as saying:

We want to ensure—the West Australian Government wanted to ensure, and certainly the Australian Government was aware through the treasurer Joe Hockey, that there was an attempt to bring this issue to a close in a way that was fair to all creditors …

What the heck does that mean? He is in here arguing against it. You heard it yourself, Mr Acting Deputy President Whish-Wilson. You have seen him in here denying any knowledge of it. As I said when I started—and I will finish with this—someone is not telling the truth. Have the guts, stand up and dob yourself in.