Opinion Piece - Welcome back ScoMo! Here's 11 things WA needs from you
Scott Morrison’s jet will touch down in WA in less than two weeks.
He hasn’t been here for more than 18 months. He went six months before the pandemic without visiting and he hasn’t made an effort to visit since we returned to more normal border arrangements.
It is no wonder West Australians are starting to question if Scott Morrison is onour side. He can’t just come here for a week of fundraisers and photo-ops and pretend everything is fine.
Month after month I have become more convinced that Scott Morrison is the Prime Minister for New South Wales.
Maybe he will prove me wrong.
I have always said that when it comes to the pandemic, Labor wants the Federal Government to do well. That means being a good Opposition. Holding the Government to account. Speaking up for our communities.
So here is my test for the Prime Minister when he finally does visit Western Australia.
First, he must comprehensively and sincerely apologise for backing Clive Palmer.
When Morrison and Christian Porter backed the billionaire Queenslander, they chose their political allies over 2.7 million West Australians.
We haven’t forgotten.
Two, the Prime Minister must admit that Roe 8 will never be built. This means standing up to Ben Morton who has built his political career on this single project. Once the Federal Government gives up on this road to nowhere, we can finally get on with talking about the infrastructure projects WA does want and need.
Three, the Prime Minister needs to fill his jet with vaccines for WA. The rollout is embarrassingly behind schedule. Our nation is already 3.4 million doses behind.
Four, he needs to announce his decision on submarine maintenance. It is unfair on both West Australian and South Australian workers that the Prime Minister can’t even make a decision.
Five, Scott Morrison should sit down with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry to discuss their childcare reform proposals. Even industry in WA knows that the current childcare system, which the Prime Minister designed, is broken. We need more affordable childcare, now.
Six, sort out the Perth City Deal mess with the WACA pool. It seems the minute Mathias Cormann left the Senate, his handcrafted city deal started to fall apart. The whole idea of the city deal was to get people working together. Instead it has done the opposite.
Seven, find some women to replace the Liberals who are rumoured to retire at the next election. Currently, just 33 per cent of the Liberal Party’s WA senators are women and just 27 per cent of their Lower House members. It is simply not good enough in 2021.
Eight, put Perth on the map — the tourism support map. Western Australia was “an after-thought at best” in the last tourism support package, according to the Tourism Council of WA. We need the discounted flights that will support our tourism industry.
Nine, he needs to visit regional WA. I can’t remember the last time a Liberal Prime Minister visited regional WA. Scott Morrison certainly hasn’t spent a night there. He needs to appreciate the breadth and diversity of our great State.
Ten, he needs to bring a new commitment for social housing investment in WA. We know his government did a deal with the Senate crossbench to waive Tasmania’s housing debts. But he has invested nothing in Perth. He could start with Stirling Towers that has sat vacant in Highgate for five years. It should be the home to hundreds of essential and low-income working families.
Finally, the Prime Minister should stand with me in the Perth CBD and announce funding for a statue of Dorothy Tangney. A monument to democracy, to women’s representation and to strong Western Australian representation in the Commonwealth Parliament.
Patrick Gorman is the Labor Federal Member for Perth
This opinion piece was first published by The West Australian on Monday, 5 April2021.