The Hon Sussan Ley MP
Deputy Leader of the Opposition
Shadow Minister for Women
Shadow Minister for Industry
Shadow Minister for Skills and Training
Shadow Minister for Small and Family Business
Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash
Shadow Attorney-General
Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
Senator for Western Australia
Tom White
Liberal Candidate for Curtin
TRANSCRIPT
Press Conference – Scarborough Beach
TOPICS: Liberal Party, public safety, security equipment, Scarborough Beach, community safety, infrastructure investment, crime rates, cost of living, housing policy, North West shelf, mining industry, Medicare, environmental policies, small businesses, federal election.
14 April 2025
E&OE
Tom White
Well, good morning everyone, My name’s Tom White, I’m the Liberal candidate for Curtin. It is an absolute pleasure to welcome to Western Australia and to Curtin Sussan Ley, the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party, and of course, Senator Michaelia Cash, welcome to Curtin, great to have you here, Michaelia.
Senator Cash
It’s great to be here.
Tom White
Today I’m making an important announcement on behalf of the Liberal Party that if elected, we will invest $1.5 million dollars in vital security equipment to protect this public space, which has become an incredibly popular location for families right across Perth to visit, particularly during weekends and on Thursday evenings. We saw just a couple of months ago how dangerous this space could be if it’s not well protected. And of course, the most important responsibility of every government is to keep people safe, and people need to have the right to come down here and enjoy public spaces with their friends and family without the risk of any safety incidents happening. And so we’re making this investment today in vehicle bollards, in improved security surveillance equipment and public announcement systems to avoid any potential disasters that could so easily happen in this space. Some weekends, there are forty or fifty thousand people down here, and we want to make sure they’re having a wonderful time with their family and friends without any risk of incident. So we’re pleased to make this commitment. It’s a reminder of what it takes to get things done. We need someone on a team here in Curtin, in the rooms where the decisions are being made in Canberra, to ensure that we get investment that we need vital infrastructure right here in Curtin, and it’s simply not good enough for people to stand on the sidelines and commentate. This electorate, this community needs action. So it’s a pleasure to be here today to make this announcement. I’m going to pass now to Michaelia to make some further comments, and then we’ll hear from Sussan. Thank you.
Senator Cash
Thanks Tom, and as always, it’s fantastic to be here with Tom White, who will actually be my local member after the next election here in Curtin but also to have someone who is a frequent visitor to our great state, and that is, of course, the Deputy Leader of the Federal Liberal Party, and that is Sussan Ley. As Tom said, this announcement today is part of our plan to get Australia Back on Track, safer communities. Looking at Scarborough Beach now compared to when I was growing up in the 70s and 80s, this has just been completely transformed into a place where, as Tom said, you can have 10s of 1000s of people – Mums, Dads, kids, out here on a weekend enjoying themselves, but they need to know that they are enjoying themselves in a safe place. And that is why the announcement that Tom has made today that he will deliver as part of a Dutton Coalition government is just so important to a safer Curtin, a safer community. But more than that, as I said, part of our plan to get Australia back on track. Talking about our plan to get Australia Back on Track. Wow. Yesterday, Mr. Albanese, here in Western Australia, the most we got from Anthony Albanese and Tanya Plibersek was an incredibly awkward air kiss. What we were looking for here in Western Australia was a joint press conference where they could announce their decision on the North West shelf project again, though they’ve kicked the can down the road. What does that say to Western Australians? Well, it says to us that you’re treating us like mugs. The Albanese government had 30 days in which to make that important decision, and that 30 days started in December of last year. But of course, they can’t make that decision because they are trying to play to the inner city votes the greens and the Teals in Sydney and in Victoria in Melbourne. They say one thing on the East Coast, and then they come over here and they say another thing on the West Coast. And let’s be clear here, if it was good news for Western Australians, you would have seen Anthony Albanese and Tanya Plibersek stand up yesterday and advise that a decision had been made on that important project. As I said, the most you got was an incredibly awkward air kiss. Well, guess what? That does not serve the people of Western Australia well. But what we were also hoping for yesterday here in Western Australia, given that Mr. Albanese has committed, if he is re-elected with the teals and the greens, to implement his new environmental agency, his disastrous nature-positive, mining-negative laws. Why won’t he tell Western Australians what is going to be in these laws? Again, perfect opportunity yesterday to stand up with his Environment Minister and actually address us and yet again, all we got, as I said, was an incredibly awkward air kiss. Well, Mr. Albanese, stop treating us like mugs here in Western Australia. You are the most anti-WA, anti-mining Prime Minister, our great state has ever seen. And when it comes to bulk-billing and Medicare, the Prime Minister quite frankly, is just a liar. He stands in Western Australia and says to people, I’m going to make Medicare great again. Really, it’s a little ironic Prime Minister, seeing as you are the one, your government has seen bulk-billing rates in the great state of Western Australia drop by 15 percent. So instead of pulling out just your Medicare card, perhaps you need to start being honest with Australians and with Western Australians and pull out the credit card as well, because Western Australians know that under Anthony Albanese, it has never been harder and more expensive to see a doctor. As I said, the most anti Western Australian, anti-mining and resources Prime Minister, our great state has ever seen, and that’s why on May the third, quite frankly, he needs to be given the boot.
Sussan Ley
Very well said indeed, Michaelia. Senator Cash and Tom White, it’s lovely to join you both here. There’s no greater fighter in the Federal Parliament now for the great state of Western Australia than Senator Cash and the value that she adds in bringing the real issues, the real concerns of Western Australians to Canberra has never ever been overlooked by any of us. So it’s terrific to join you today, Senator Cash. Tom White, you will be another frank, fearless, firm voice inside our party room, in a Peter Dutton-led government, and everything that I have seen of you in the many visits that I’ve made to Curtin and indeed to Perth and the state of WA more generally, has demonstrated to me how important you will be to represent this seat in Perth, because your background in business, your intellectual power when it comes to policy making, what you can bring to our team will really, really be welcome, so I am delighted to support you here today. We’ve made some announcements together. This one’s important because it concerns community safety, and we as a Coalition, never taken a backward step when it comes to keeping our communities safe. Sadly, as I travel this country and this great state, I meet too many people who have either been a victim of crime or know someone who has been a victim of crime, that’s not good enough. And as you said, Michaelia and Tom, we need people to come here, enjoy this beautiful scenery, this beautiful coastline, and relax with their families without having to worry about crime. So well done on today’s announcements, Tom, and like all of the ones that you have made, you fought very hard for them, and that demonstrates your commitment. It’s interesting that the three of us, and in fact, the entire team of us, are here every day talking about small business, because we all share a passion for the future of our wonderful small businesses. Tom, you and I have sat in many in Curtin, we’ve talked. But unfortunately, this is a Prime Minister, Michaelia, he doesn’t get Western Australia. He doesn’t get anything about small business in Western Australia. He doesn’t get anything about this great state and how hard people work. How much time they give up with their families, and how they deserve a reward for effort. But remember that since Anthony Albanese became Prime Minister, more than 29,000 small businesses have gone to the wall. In fact, in 2024 in Western Australia alone, about one in 1200 small businesses went to the wall. And I just want to know if this Prime Minister has picked up the phone and talked to any of them, if he has looked any of these small business owners, often mums and dads working incredible hours with small businesses as their dream. I wonder if he’s talked to any of them and apologized or asked how they feel or acknowledge their pain. I don’t think so, because when the tough conversations need to be had, this is a Prime Minister who always goes missing. And Michaelia, you talked about the Prime Minister coming to the west, and as a previous Environment Minister, I know how important these projects are. I know how they have stopped under Anthony Albanese, the pipeline of resources projects that keeps this great state strong is under threat from a Labor-Teals-Greens government, and that threat is real. You look at predictions of a hung parliament, we’re working very hard for a Coalition majority, don’t you worry about that. But when you look at predictions and suggestions of a hung parliament, this is a terrifying prospect for the people of Western Australia, who know that their lifeline of resources and projects depends on a government that understands you have to get approvals, that you have to get mining and resources happening, and you have to get a pipeline that delivers the wealth for this state. And here in Curtin, we’ve got a current member, I say about the Teals, they’re not serious people, They’re not serious people at all. And we know what side of the parliament that Labor-Teals-Greens government, the local member would be sitting, you only have to look her flip flopping around the decisions that this person has made. Tom White has been clear from day one about the North West Shelf, about the importance of that project, and it matters every single day. So thank you for sticking up for all of that Tom. Yesterday, we saw Peter Dutton demonstrate with power and with passion and with emotion. He wants to be a Prime Minister for homeownership, and we don’t want to look any young Australian in the eye and say that our parties would ever stand between you and the great Australian dream of owning your own home. So we were delighted to see new measures announced to add to our existing policies about tax deductibility for first home buyers in new builds. And it’s exciting we know that we can help at federal government level, and that’s exactly what we’re doing. Our offering is far more competitive than Labors. We also need state governments to unblock their supply. This will help too, because it will bring young Australians into new homes, new estates where building projects are stalled. And it will be real relief to the hip pocket when it comes to those early days of going into your first home and how important that is. And you know, I listen to all the criticism, I often wonder Michaelia, for people who actually live in their home, paying off their mortgage, who are quite comfortable, think of those young Australians who are battling every day to do just that. And finally, on the subject of battling and the cost of living crisis that is affecting everyone across this great state, fuel tax excise reduction, so 25 cents a liter off your fuel. And it doesn’t matter whether we’re in Curtin or Bullwinkel. We walk through the supermarkets, we walk down the street, we talk to small businesses, and people are responding so positively, because that’s real cost-of-living relief right now to help people who are struggling. Happy to take questions.
Journalist
On the North West Shelf. You’ve had the environment portfolio before. There’s a lot of detail that goes into those applications. Should it not be, take time to be considered rather than rushed through?
Sussan Ley
There’s no rush. There’s just a massive stalling exercise by this Labor government, by the Prime Minister and by his Environment Minister pushing out deadlines. I know, because having administered the portfolio, you stick to deadlines. You don’t find excuses to push them out, take longer to actually realize the result, push them out conveniently to beyond an election. Because, as Senator Cash says, there’s one message being given here to the people of Western Australia, which seems to be pretending that you care. But there’s another audience on the eastern states, and that Labor-Green-Teal audience does not want this project to go ahead. We know how important it is.
Journalist
But this is a hugely complicated project. I mean, it took the state government six years to work out if it should go ahead. Surely, if there’s any project that warrants an extension of deadlines. It’s this one?
Sussan Ley
This is an important project because it matters to the future of the state of Western Australia and the country as a whole. This is a project where approvals should already have happened. There have been years and years of investigation and approvals, and if you are a government that secretly funds the activists that are trying to stop this project, then you can’t be serious about it going ahead. And I’m not accepting any excuses from this Prime Minister about thorough investigations or timelines needing to be extended. No, the country is depending on this, the gas reservation policy on the East and on the West is one of our most important issues. And here, we need this project, and Tom White is standing firmly behind it, and he can look anyone in the eye, and he can say that when he gets to Canberra, this apparent series of delays will be completely unblocked. Don’t you worry about that.
Journalist
You mentioned Kate Chaney’s flip-flopping. I think, as you described it, on a number of policies, the Coalition has changed its stance on policies over the course of this election campaign. Isn’t that the role of a good politician to listen and to change their views when they realize it should be changed?
Sussan Ley
I’ve watched the Teals in Canberra. I’ve watched them closely, and they’re not serious people, and they introduce Private Members Bills to try to demonstrate that they’re serious. But none of those bills ever sees the light of the day. They have no effect on public policy. They talk a big game, and they achieve absolutely nothing. When you elect Tom White in Curtin, you will have somebody who is inside the senior Coalition partner actually delivering policy that makes a difference, that makes a difference to the community, makes a difference to the state, and makes a difference to the country.
Journalist
But specifically on that issue of changing your mind, it’s not inherently a bad thing for politicians to change their view, is it?
Sussan Ley
Well, I just don’t accept that. You’re asking me about the local member here, and I can tell you that having watched the local member here and the other Teals in Canberra over many years, over three years, they are not serious people, they are not achieving results. And of course, they change their mind, but that change of mind doesn’t ever achieve a single thing, and we want Tom White in Canberra, because he’s a person who can get things done.
Journalist : inaudible
Sussan Ley
Well, there are new builds and new building proposals across this state, as there are everywhere in the country, and some of those projects are stalling because the dollars don’t add up, because you still need the demand for the house of land package. What we’re saying is we will help young people pay that start in a new build, in a new home. But I’m not letting the Cook Labor government off the hook here either. This state Labor government has a responsibility to do what it can to unlock supply. We know that our measure is going to help more young Australians into the dream of home ownership.
Journalist
Question from Journalist. So, what does the Cook Labor government need to do then?
Sussan Ley
Well, the Cook Labor Government needs to unblock the supply when it comes to planning approvals and developments, that’s the same across this country. Supply is very much the responsibility of the Labor state government in the West.
Journalist
Copycat issues are being rolled out throughout our election. Even though the housing policy is different. Are there any differences in what you will tackle that Labor won’t?
Sussan Ley
We’ve got, as I said, the competitive offering of this election, because what this election is about is who can better manage the economy and help Australians get ahead. Now, the energy policy of the Albanese government is damaging the economy. The migration policy is damaging young Australians chance to get into home ownership. It’s vital that we tell young Australians that pathway to that dream of home ownership is real under a Peter Dutton led coalition, we know that there are many measures on the table to support young Australians getting into their first home what was announced yesterday was a game changer. It will help. It will help with more new builds, on more housing estates in new projects that have been so far stalled, that’s exciting for young people. We want to give young people that hope and that optimism that housing for them is not just something that they will have to wait years and years and they never achieve. I’m so thrilled that Peter Dutton has said he wants to be a Prime Minister for home ownership.
Journalist
Are you concerned that that’s going to push people out to the fringes and increase urban sprawl. I mean, we’re talking about 100,000 homes. To keep them affordable, and within that price range, they’re all going to be on the outer suburban fringes, often where infrastructure doesn’t exist to allow people to engage in a metropolitan lifestyle?
Sussan Ley
Well, these new homes can be anywhere, and they can be apartments, and they can be townhouses, and they can be anywhere. And it’s not for the federal government to say where the homes should be. It’s for the federal government to say, here’s an incentive to help a young person with up to, say, $50,000 over five years of their mortgage. That’s real assistance. That’s real cost of living, relief, just like our fuel excise.
Journalist
You’ve been traveling around the country, obviously through the campaign, do you think the WA state election has had much of an impact on what you’re seeing? Are people switched off because they’ve already been through one election?
Sussan Ley
Look Michaelia might like to add to this. And, you know, I’m in WA very often,
Senator Cash
Yep, you are.
Sussan Ley
As you know, and I talk to people all the time. Look, I think the voters can work out the difference between the state and a federal election, I think they know the issues are different. I think they’re focusing at this Federal election on Anthony Albanese and the fact that he just doesn’t get Western Australia. And as I said, Western Australian’s work bloody hard. They travel long distances. They give up time with their families. They work hard. They expect reward for effort. They look at this Prime Minister when he drifts in and out of Western Australia, and they’re listening for something that actually means something to them here in the West, and too often, they don’t hear anything. They should be hearing a really strong commitment to this state via backing in its resources sector. They should hear the Prime Minister say, actually, I don’t think it’s fair that I am funding the environmental activists that are trying to kill your projects here in Western Australia? Did they hear that? No, it just was this fumble between the Prime Minister and the Environment Minister, who doesn’t seem to be invited to participate in very much at all at the moment. Now, that dysfunction is Labor’s business. What I’m worried about is the effect it has on people. I’m worried about consumers, businesses, and what they see in a government that can’t actually understand Western Australia.
Journalist
Talking about what people are going to be hearing, your latest campaign at Leave Labor, or Leaving Labor, has just dropped on SoundCloud. What was the inspiration behind the district directed towards the PM?
Sussan Ley
Well, this is a Prime Minister who has left Australians behind? This is a Prime Minister who has made so many promises that he has broken, and we want people to focus on those promises and remember the Prime Minister who stood there and said, three years ago, life will be cheaper under me. There will be $275 reduction to your power bill, and we won’t leave anyone behind. I don’t meet anyone who feels that they haven’t been left behind by this Prime Minister. I don’t meet anyone whose electricity bills are not going up and up and up, and I don’t meet anyone who has confidence that this Prime Minister understands what their life is like. We have many examples of that.
Journalist
But it does feel a bit petty going to a minute and eight second diss track instead of just countering his policies with your own?
Sussan Ley
It’s important that everyone focuses on what this Prime Minister has not done for the people of Australia that he said he would look after. And I’m encouraged when I talk to people in your patch Tom White, in Bullwinkel, in Tangney, in Hasluck, in Moore, in so many of the seats that I’ll be visiting, do visit when I come here, and they shake their head when you talk about Anthony Albanese. They just shake their head, because they know this person doesn’t get Western Australia. And they know that when you support the Coalition, you actually get a team that understands what your life is like, how hard you’re struggling, how tough it is for the cost of living crisis. And I know that we actually said to the Prime Minister, why don’t you support our 25 cents fuel excise reduction?
It’s good policy, and it’s real cost of living relief right now. It’s not 15 months, 70 cents a day. It’s real cost of living relief right now, every time you fill up the tank, and everyone in this great state drives long, long distances, they’re filling up the tank a lot. They’re not getting any support from this Labor government. We’re going for every single seat here in Western Australia, because we know that the candidates contesting every single seat have got a far better offering under a Coalition government in Canberra. They know. They know that when they come to Canberra, they can fight hard for this state. And I’m so impressed by the candidates I see. The hard work they’re doing. We’re not leaving anything on the field. Our candidates aren’t leaving anything on the field, and we are going for every single seat in this state.
Journalist
But you’d be disappointed if you couldn’t at least win back the four seats that Labor picked up last time I guess, right?
Sussan Ley
Commentators can say what they like about seats here, votes there. That’s not what my day job. It’s not what Senator Cash’s is. We’re out there talking to people, and we know that people are responding well. They’re responding well to Peter Dutton, a prime minister for home ownership, a Prime Minister who absolutely understands Western Australia, and someone who gets what this tough, tough Anthony Albanese government is doing right now to people’s cost of living.
Journalist
Senator Cash, are people telling in WA telling you they’re worried about rising crime rates?
Senator Cash
Oh, absolutely. In fact, as you go around the country, that is a key concern of people. But in particular, when you do, you know, go out and about in WA, the constant, the constant feedback you receive, and particularly when you pose the question, do you feel better off today than you did three years ago when Mr. Albanese was first elected? The answer is, no. I have not found anybody in Western Australia who can look them in the eye and say, Michaelia, I feel better off. And they know the promises that Mr. Albanese made to them prior to the election, he said he would tackle inflation. Well, guess what? Inflation was winning the battle under Mr. Albanese. He said your electricity prices would be lower. That was a blatant lie. Nothing more and nothing less. And I would say to Western Australians and indeed, Australians don’t believe what’s coming out of Mr. Albanese’s mouth now is full excuses. Believe what’s in your bill. He told Australians and Western Australians that interest rates wouldn’t go up under him. Guess what? That was another lie. They went up 12 times. But more than that, for Western Australians, on May the 3rd, the decision that we make is very much about protecting the prosperity of our state. We are a mining and resources state, that is where we derive so much of our economic wealth from. That is where Australia derives so much of its economic wealth from. If you actually put in place policies that have a negative impact on mining and resources in Western Australia, you ultimately deprive Western Australians of the money that goes to build the roads, to build the hospitals, to build the schools, and on any analysis, Mr. Albanese has been, you just need to talk to industry. He has been the most anti-Western Australia and anti-mining and resources Prime Minister, our great state has ever seen. Do not judge this man by what comes out of his mouth. He will do and say anything to con Western Australians. Judge him on his actions. And I have to say the actions could not be clearer when it comes to his blatant lies on Medicare. The fact is, under Mr. Albanese, it has never been tougher to find a GP, because 270 GP clinics have closed under his government in the last three years. But more than that, it’s never been more expensive to see a GP, and the fact that Mr. Albanese doesn’t ever appear to be questioned on when he’s here in our great state, is that bulk billing rates under Anthony Albanese have dropped 15% since the Coalition left office. They’re the facts that we have to deal with every day. They’re the facts that I deal with when I’m out talking to people, in particular in the outer suburbs, when you go into those shopping centers, the easiest conversation you’ll ever have with someone is to walk up to Mum and Dad. They’ve got their shopping trolley, they’ve came out of Woolies, Coles, Audi, wherever they’ve come from, how you feeling, and they just look at you, and they go, you know, price is doing this (higher) and the bag (smaller) under Mr. Albanese. That is their reality, and that’s why, when you say to them, how would 25 cents a liter off your fuel immediately flowing under a Peter Dutton government? Would that help you? And the answer is yes.
Journalist
Back on crime, police sent a release last night about an assault just up here. in Scarborough.
Senator Cash
Sorry, I missed that.
Journalist
Police sent a release overnight about assaults on two people just up here in Scarborough. How would you improve crime in this precinct in Curtin?
Senator Cash
Well, I think that is the whole point of Tom White’s announcement today, a $1.5 million announcement to ensure that the bollards are put up here. So that the Prado, that was unbelievable, wasn’t it Tom? Came through here, drove through here, straight down those stairs over there. It was lucky that no one was significantly hurt. At least another 40 cameras are going to go up. So it is all about providing practical on the ground solutions, to ensuring that when families come out here, they are safe. But one of the other things that we have announced that we will do Federally, and we’ll certainly work with the states and the territories, is we will implement similar laws to what they put in Queensland in terms of Jack’s laws. One of the huge issues now across Australia is actually knife crime, people going out to places like this and carrying knives, we have said that we will implement in Federal places the equivalent of Jack’s laws. In other words, the police will be given stop and search powers if they believe you are carrying a knife, to be able to stop you in Federal places and check you?
Journalist
When you say federal places. Is that airports? What do you mean by that?
Senator Cash
Yeah, federally controlled places. So this is obviously a state government controlled place. So federally controlled places. But at the same time as the Attorney-General, one of the first meetings I will be having, I assure you, with my state counterparts, is on how we can actually ensure Jack’s law, or the equivalent of Jack’s law, is rolled out across Australia.
Journalist
Would you model it on WA’s implementation of Jack’s law?
Senator Cash
Again, happy to have those conversations with across the board, the Attorneys-General. But again, that is just so important, because in particular, somewhere like Melbourne now. I was in Melbourne the other day at an IGA, and it is just devastating when the IGA owner, who’s been there for decades, is subjected to a robbery just before closing, where the youth had a machete and was waving it at his staff. So I think what they did in Queensland in particular, to respond to knife crime really is a glowing example of what we can do, but we’re committed to do that at a Federal level, working with our state and territory counterparts.
Journalist
Senator Cash, you said, the Scarborough Security Initiative at least another forty security camera’s. How many bollards?
Senator Cash
I’ll get Tom to take you through now the great announcement.
Tom White
There’ll be between 20 and 30. Really, that’s a matter of implementation for the City of Stirling that we’ve committed $1.5 million to cover not just cameras to improve weapon detection, among other things, but the bollards ensure that uncertain, chaotic scene we saw back in March would never be repeated, and that the safety of locals…
Journalist
And the City of Stirling, you mentioned earlier, are they committing some money as well?
Tom White
This is part of a broader package, $2.16 million, so the City of Stirling is committing $660,000. We’re joining party here if you like at $1.5 million to make sure the entire program.
Journalist
So, you’ve been doorknocking. Is crime an issue to the people in Curtin?
Tom White
Absolutely, not too far from here in Doubleview I had a conversation with someone just two weeks ago, and my team and I have spent countless hours walking up and down the streets in Doubleview, Innaloo and Scarborough having literally tens of thousands of conversations. Of course, cost of living is the most prominent thing that’s coming up time and time again, but crime in particular neighborhoods is a more common concern that’s coming up, particularly in the last few months. So this announcement today really about addressing those concerns and making sure that any particular potential incident doesn’t happen.
Journalist
This end of your electorate was still quite strong for Labor at the state election I think. Are you confident that you might be able to convince them to switch sides?
Tom White
Well, it was only three months ago that I was doorknocking in Doubleview and I met a young woman who was surrounded by packing boxes when I arrived in the doorstep. She was leaving the electorate because she simply couldn’t afford to stay in that home anymore. And we’ve had the single biggest decline in living standards in the developed world for two years, and people are feeling it. That’s just a statistic, but that is the lived reality that situation is the experience of that young woman on the doorstep and in suburbs like Doubleview, where there are a lot of young families joining the electorate. Hip pocket has never been more painful for them, and I think they’re going to render a pretty harsh word with the Prime Minister when they get the chance.
Journalist
But why do you think they would render a different verdict on the Prime Minister when they’ve given a pretty ringing endorsement for Labor at the state level?
Tom White
Because the Prime Minister’s lost control of the economy. We’ve seen an enormous decline in living standards here. And also, let’s not forget, a lot of people in this electorate are working in mining resources industry or in related industries. When they see the North West Shelf, they don’t see a project, they see a livelihood.
Senator Cash
Correct.
Tom White
They see the ability to put food on the table. 55% of WA’s electricity is coming from gas. That project is hanging in the balance. It’s one of the most important economic assets in our state. The Labor Party is playing political games with the livelihoods of the people of this state, and they are being cheered on by the Teals, it’s unacceptable.
Journalist
And just on the cameras, the weapon detection, there’s a degree of AI involvement there. Do you think people are comfortable with the application of that technology? How do you assure that, I guess? I mean, you’ve worked in the tech sector, you know that things can be hacked. Nothing is 100% secure?
Tom White
Yeah, we’ve had assurances from the City of Stirling that all privacy measures will be in place to make sure people’s identities are. this is software that’s been rolled out around the world. It’s reliable. The software’s in place and we do have faith and trust in it.
Journalist
Is it really that effective? We saw the MCG only a fortnight ago, two people making it in with guns pass similar AI powered security technology. Is it going to work?
Tom White
Well, the truth is, you need a whole government approach to these things. You need to make sure you get effective policing as well as technology in place. It’s not a silver bullet. And we need to make sure we’re building a culture in this country that’s respectful of people and have reduced bias in this in the country that’s also contributing to some big challenges.
Journalist
Just very quickly on the housing front, what specifically does the state Labor government need to do around supply in Curtin do you think?
Tom White
Really, this is a local government issue when it comes to planning, and the state government is increasingly taking control away from local governments to make their decisions locally. It’s a point of massive frustration in communities right across the electorate. So, they need to get that balance right. And the frustration that I’m hearing on the doorstep is that that’s a sort of sledgehammer approach, and they should be empowering local communities to make those decisions.
ENDS
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