Another Barnett backflip threatens State's reputation

28/11/02
State Development Minister Clive Brown today said Opposition Leader Colin Barnett's series of backflips on industrial development could threaten both investor confidence and the turnaround in business investment realised under the first two years of the Gallop Government.
Speaking in Parliament, the Minister pointed out that Mr Barnett's opposition to the recently approved HIsmelt project was inconsistent with his strong support for a steel mill close to Rockingham when he was Resources Development Minister in the Court Government.
"When in government, Mr Barnett was a strong advocate for locating the Compact Steel Mill in the IP14 zone of the Kwinana Industrial Area," Mr Brown said.
"The location proposed by Mr Barnett was on Rockingham's doorstep, whereas the HIsmelt plant will be appropriately located in the heart of the Kwinana industrial area."
The Minister said Mr Barnett's attitude towards the environmental approval process had also changed.
"When advocating for Compact Steel, Mr Barnett said opponents of the mill should await the EPA's assessment of the project before judging the proposed steel mill," he said.
"Now, as Opposition Leader, Mr Barnett says we should scrap the HIsmelt project, despite the EPA giving it the nod.
"It seems Mr Barnett believes in one set of rules when he is in government and another set of rules when someone else is in government."
Mr Brown said Mr Barnett's reversal over the Kwinana project came hot on the heels of his Burrup backflip where, earlier this year, he abandoned the planning process he oversaw for the Burrup Peninsula.
"For eight years, Mr Barnett oversaw a planning process which resulted in land being allocated to a number of projects in the Burrup Industrial Precinct," the Minister said.
"Earlier this year, he said the State should abandon the commitments it had made to these projects and tell them to pack up and move to the Maitland Estate.
"The Shire of Roebourne, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and all the Burrup proponents agreed that forcing the projects to move would kill the projects and lead to a loss of investor confidence in Western Australia."
Mr Brown said one of WA's comparative advantages as a location for major projects, when compared with international competitors, was the low level of sovereign risk associated with investing here.
"WA competes for major projects with many other countries, some of which have lower labour costs, some of which have lower energy costs and some of which are closer to their markets," he said.
"One of the biggest advantages we have in WA is that we have low levels of sovereign risk; that is, international investors can rely on Governments to honour their commitments and to maintain consistency in policy.
"The inconsistency between Mr Barnett's stance in government and his position in opposition is not helpful to the Government's objective of creating jobs and opportunities for Western Australians."
Mr Brown said the Gallop Government was pleased with its record in overseeing a turnaround in business investment.
"Business investment declined during the final three years of the previous government," he said.
"Under the Gallop Government, business investment surged by 17.5 per cent during our first full year in office.
"Our objective is to continue to build on this, as it means jobs and opportunities for all Western Australians."
Minister's office: 9222 9699