AS Western Australia continues to grapple with worker shortages and crises in both its health and housing systems, the opposition leader said it was "unconscionable" that the State government had been sitting on a record $5.6 billion operating surplus in its State Budget.
Announced last week, the $5.6b surplus was recorded for the 2020- 2021 financial year, with an estimated $2.8b surplus expected in 2021-22 and surpluses in each of the outyears.
State Opposition and The Nationals WA leader Mia Davies said the government had under-invested in WA for the past four and a half years and that the "bread and butter of what the State government is supposed to manage is in crisis".
With the State and Federal governments recently abandoning a proposal to lure hundreds of skilled and international workers into the country and quarantine them at the Bladin Village facility in the Northern Territory in order to help WA farmers get their crops off this harvest, Ms Davies said the Agriculture and Food Minister Alannah MacTiernan and Premier Mark McGowan had failed the agriculture sector.
Earlier this month, Ms MacTiernan said the plan would not be going ahead as the cost of getting the facility operational would be too high without Federal funding.
"I am gobsmacked that we are seeming to have a political fight with our Federal colleagues who have offered Bladin Village, in particular, for the agricultural grains sector for the State Government to fund, to be able to bring in those skilled workers who are so desperately needed," Ms Davies said.
"With $5.6b in the kitty it is remarkable that we don't see a solution being put forward immediately... we are quibbling over things that are so essential to our State's economy."
She said the state of WA's health system was also having an impact on the ability of our borders to reopen.
"The Premier will not address it directly, he talks about vaccination rates and we agree everyone must go out and get vaccinated, but quite clearly the state of our health system is a limiting factor and there should be no dollar unspent to try and rectify what has happened over the past four and a half years," Ms Davies said.
"They have under-resourced our health system and now they have $5.6b in the back pocket of the Premier and the Health Minister."
She said the State government had also "continued to short-change" regional communities in the budget with the Royalties for Regions funding program (RfR) (introduced by The Nationals WA in 2008 in an effort to redirect spending from major population centres to rural areas) "misused by this government".
The State's National and Liberal parties formed an alliance to restore the integrity of the RfR program earlier this year.
"They've still got payments going to the Water Corporation and other State government agencies for business as usual expenditure," Ms Davies said.
"That program is supposed to be for regional development and deal with some of the challenges we have in delivering services and infrastructure outside of the Perth metropolitan area."
With WA recording $15b of surpluses over the past five years, Liberal MP for the South West Steve Thomas delivered a blistering attack on the Budget, saying the budget was a missed opportunity.
"We are talking about the biggest boom in the history of Australia," Mr Thomas said.
"It's not quite the biggest budget surplus in one financial year - New South Wales had a $5.7b surplus one year, but it is nearly the biggest in the history of a small Australian State.
"However, effectively for the regions, they've funded their election commitments, but they haven't taken advantage of this massive amount of revenue for a vision for the future."
Mr Thomas said this year's budget had been an ideal opportunity to diversify and build on WA's economy as well as introduce taxation reform, but that the budget lacked that vision.
"On top of that, the Premier is unable to deliver much of the infrastructure he has in place because of an overheated infrastructure market place," Mr Thomas said.
"They have been sitting on this money, rolling in this wealth, and we still have crisis after crisis in service delivery."
Liberal MP for the Agricultural Region Steve Martin said while he was pleased the budget included some funding for the housing sector in Geraldton, Bunbury and Albany as well as upgrades for the Geraldton hospital, he was disappointed the government had opted not to fund the Bladin Village quarantine facility to bring skilled workers in for this harvest.
"I don't think the sector cares whose fault it is, or who is responsible - they want it sorted and the budget was an opportunity to do that," Mr Martin said.
"A lot of money is being thrown around in this particular budget and we are having a multi-billion dollar harvest coming up soon and they still couldn't get around to sorting that one."
He also said he was disappointed the budget hadn't given a regional focus to the vaccine rollout, with the vaccination rates of WA's regional areas lagging behind the State's metropolitan areas, and our metropolitan areas also lagging behind the other States.
"The budget was an opportunity to really make a special effort in that regard, especially up north inside those Indigenous areas, and more broadly across the ag region," Mr Martin said.
He said the State's regional areas had also missed out on "big picture" road and rail projects, with the possible reinstatement of the State's Tier 3 grain rail lines receiving no mention in the budget.
Premier Mark McGowan said the budget was about setting up WA for the future.
He said responsible budget management had delivered strong budget surpluses that provide the government with the capacity to fund WA's future.
"Whether it be hospitals, water, social housing, port and trade infrastructure, climate change and renewable energy, or digital capability - this budget is about making sure our State's long-term future is funded and secured," Mr McGowan said.
"Our financial capacity has been bolstered by higher revenues across a range of sources as a result of our strong economy, including increased royalties from a higher iron ore price.
"However, as we know, the iron ore price is extremely unpredictable.
"My government's budget management is in stark contrast to record deficits under the Liberals and Nationals.
"We will continue to keep the budget healthy to deliver quality services and infrastructure, keep fees and charges low and respond to crises as they emerge."
