McGowan set to outline concrete election commitments for Goldfields after delivering on 2017 promises

Mark McGowan says his party will be delivering a set of concrete election commitments for the Goldfields in the run-up to next year’s State election. WA Labor released its Plan for the Goldfields during the 2017 State election campaign, and has spent the past three years honouring the millions of dollars worth of commitments. During a whirlwind trip to Kalgoorlie-Boulder yesterday where he announced Labor’s candidate for the hotly contested seat of Kalgoorlie, Ali Kent, the Premier said his party would launch a “further plan for the Goldfields” before the State election in March. But he remained tight-lipped about what might be in the plan. “Obviously prior to the last State election in 2017 we consulted widely,” Mr McGowan said. “We worked out what was needed here; whether it was work on the hospital, whether it was important roadworks, whether it was mental health facilities, whether it was support for some of the smaller regional communities across the Goldfields and we’ve delivered on our commitments. “So we will do the same again in the lead-up to the next election. “One of the things we pride ourselves on is extensive and comprehensive policy work to ensure that we support the needs of people across regional WA and we’ll do this again.” Addressing party members and the media on the balcony of the LoKal Hub building on Hannan Street, Mr McGowan acknowledged the crucial role mining had played in powering the economy through the coronavirus pandemic. “Keep doing it, love your work,” Mr McGowan quipped after being asked if he had a message for the Goldfields mining industry. He went on to say the mining industry had “been great over this period” but was quick to remind people the State Government had been instrumental to it remaining operational. “There were some calls nationally for it to shut down because of the fear of COVID,” he said. “We kept it operating, we worked with industry to ensure that we had the safest practices in place for the workforce, especially those who fly-in and fly-out from the city or regional centres. “As I said to the National Cabinet, the Prime Minister and everyone else, I mean if we shut that industry down how are we going to fund our hospitals and our schools and our police force and all the things we take for granted? We need to actually keep economic activity happening in a COVID-safe way and that’s exactly what we did.” City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder chief executive John Walker has previously raised concerns about the city’s power supply being at capacity and potentially hindering future development. Mr McGowan said the State Government was constantly doing “edge of grid activities” to increase power generation, particularly using renewables. “Western Power and the Minister for Energy (Bill Johnston) and Synergy are constantly looking at what else can be done to secure edge of grid,” he said. “That’s an ongoing process, but we’ll make sure that we provide whatever support is necessary to provide power into these communities.”

McGowan set to outline concrete election commitments for Goldfields after delivering on 2017 promises

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