Extract from Hansard [ASSEMBLY — Tuesday, 12 September 2017] p3773a-3819a Mr Ben Wyatt; Ms Mia Davies; Ms Jessica Shaw; Mr Sean L'Estrange; Mr Bill Marmion; Mr Terry Redman; Mr Matthew Hughes; Ms Libby Mettam; Mr Mark Folkard; Mr John Carey; Mr Reece Whitby; Mr Stephen Price; Ms Lisa Baker; Ms Janine Freeman; Mr Simon Millman; Mr Chris Tallentire; Ms Sabine Winton; Ms Margaret Quirk APPROPRIATION (RECURRENT 2017–18) BILL 2017 APPROPRIATION (CAPITAL 2017–18) BILL 2017 Declaration as Urgent On motion by Mr B.S. Wyatt (Treasurer), resolved — That in accordance with standing order 168(2), the Appropriation (Recurrent 2017–18) Bill 2017 and the Appropriation (Capital 2017–18) Bill 2017 be considered urgent bills. Cognate Debate Leave granted for the Appropriation (Recurrent 2017–18) Bill 2017 and the Appropriation (Capital 2017–18) Bill 2017 to be considered cognately, and for the Appropriation (Recurrent 2017–18) Bill 2017 to be the principal bill. Second Reading — Cognate Debate Resumed from 14 September. MS M.J. DAVIES (Central Wheatbelt — Leader of the National Party) [4.10 pm]: I rise to contribute to the second reading debate on the Appropriation (Recurrent 2017–18) Bill 2017 and the Appropriation (Capital 2017–18) Bill 2017. What an absolute con job we have heard in this house this afternoon about the budget that the Labor Party has brought down. They have all drunk the Kool-Aid. They have read the talking points that have been circulated to all and sundry and they actually believe them. They believe that this is a good budget. Several members interjected. Ms M.J. DAVIES: They do; they are convinced; they are very earnest and urgent. There was a question about whether the National Party is responsible for the situation with this budget. I can tell members that the Nationals have always taken their role seriously in this Parliament. I can tell members also that in regional Western Australia the delivery of this first budget by the McGowan Labor government was accompanied with a sense of inevitability and deep gloom. Although members opposite constantly crow that they have the most regional members, I can tell them that when we go to their electorates, we find that they are on the nose. They have drunk the Kool-Aid because nobody in regional Western Australia—indeed, I think it stretches further than that—believes that this is a good budget. The Nationals and our constituents braced ourselves prior to budget day. We knew it would be bad and that Labor did not like royalties for regions. From election day to budget day, many signs were coming from the government that royalties for regions was on the chopping block. We were very clear with the electorate beforehand that that would happen: a Labor government would raid royalties for regions to meet their own election commitments. We understood very clearly that the incoming government’s intent was to demonise and demolish royalties for regions, and that is exactly what they have done. Over the last six months we have seen cuts to programs and information being dribbled out to community groups, shires and all sorts of other organisations to which commitments by the previous government had been given. They were ready to go. This morning I heard one very distressed member of the public call in to radio about an aged-care project, trying to understand why their aged-care project had been cut off the list, yet there was some discussion around a $7 million swimming pool for a community that did not want it. That was in a seat that the Labor Party has held for the last five years, so the government should not cry that it did not know and that it had only a short time to come up with the budget. The Labor Party should have known very well that that community did not want that project. We knew that royalties for regions would be cut, because how could the government let it survive as a constant reminder that regional Western Australia has been put on the back burner for the next four years? The government could not have royalties for regions in any meaningful way in its budget as a constant, daily reminder that the Liberal–National government put regional Western Australians first. It has demolished, demonised, substituted and shunted things that were never designed to be paid for by royalties for regions to wash out the value that has been delivered to this state by that program. That is what this budget means to regional Western Australia. The regional members of Parliament who stood and applauded when this budget was handed down last week should hang their heads in shame. I would be really interested to see how their constituents are responding. Mr K.J.J. Michel interjected. Ms M.J. DAVIES: They should hang their heads in shame because there is nothing in this budget, member for Pilbara — The ACTING SPEAKER: Members! [1] Extract from Hansard [ASSEMBLY — Tuesday, 12 September 2017] p3773a-3819a Mr Ben Wyatt; Ms Mia Davies; Ms Jessica Shaw; Mr Sean L'Estrange; Mr Bill Marmion; Mr Terry Redman; Mr Matthew Hughes; Ms Libby Mettam; Mr Mark Folkard; Mr John Carey; Mr Reece Whitby; Mr Stephen Price; Ms Lisa Baker; Ms Janine Freeman; Mr Simon Millman; Mr Chris Tallentire; Ms Sabine Winton; Ms Margaret Quirk Mr K.J.J. Michel interjected. Ms M.J. DAVIES: He did not stand up when he had a chance to talk about state agreements. He made no contribution in this house about what is happening in his electorate. He should hang his head in shame. Mr K.J.J. Michel interjected. Ms M.J. DAVIES: Does he not understand that this government’s focus is on Perth? There are more Labor Party members from the metropolitan area than there are regional members. That is just the way it goes. That is why we see the Minister for Transport stand up every five minutes and talk about Metronet. That is why the regions will get a few lollies along the way but they will not see what happened under the Liberal–National government during the last eight years. They will not see those transformational projects. It does not matter how good they reckon they are, they will not win them because it is about the numbers and they do not have enough. But they could at least stand up and have a go because regional members of the Labor Party were all elected on a promise to keep royalties for regions—every single one of them promised their constituents. I do not think any one of them is prepared to stand up and concede that they came to the role under a false pretence. That is what their electorates believe; that is what they are telling us. Unless they are living under a rock, every country Labor MP will get the same feedback as we get as we travel around the state. If people voted for Labor, they would feel betrayed, deceived and cheated. I want to talk about the fact that every budget comes down to a choice and that is what we are debating today. This budget indicates very clearly that the Labor Party and the McGowan Labor government have articulated their priorities. We had to wait almost six months but the Labor government priorities are abundantly clear. We will mark down the 2017–18 state budget as a point in time when the Premier and Treasurer made choices. They made a choice to abandon regional Western Australia by raiding royalties for regions and they made a choice to break their own election commitments and promises on no new taxes by increasing payroll tax, the most insidious of taxes—a tax on jobs. They made a choice to break their word to the gold sector—this from a government that has fallen over itself since coming to government to be shoulder to shoulder with the iron ore sector and the two big miners. It turns out that when the government met with the mining sector, it wanted to be friends only with the guys with the deep pockets. It made a choice to break its word to the gold sector. It made a choice to break its word to the police, the men and women who put their lives on the line for us. It made a choice to sack 3 000 public sector servants. They are the choices that the Labor Party has made—the Treasurer, the Premier and his cabinet. I think they are the wrong choices. The National Party believes they are the wrong choices, and I tell members what: the community absolutely thinks they are the wrong choices. They will not drive jobs, growth or prosperity. That is what they were elected on a promise of, but they have broken all their promises. Those choices spell misery and pain for everyone in this state who can least afford it. The Nationals want to the know why the Labor Party, the Premier and the Treasurer are happy to break those promises to the gold sector, the public service, WA Police and the business community—not just the two big miners, but 1 300 businesses, which are significant employers in this state—with a tax that is a tax on jobs. It is insidious. Every government and every opposition has argued that there should be a decrease in payroll tax. Every industry group has also argued that. This government came to power on the back of “we will not increase taxes”— broken promises.