Jim Chalmers thanks senior WA business bosses for ‘frank’ discussion on State, national economy in Perth

Some of WA’s most influential business leaders met with Jim Chalmers on Thursday for a “frank” discussion about the Australian and State economies, on the Treasurer’s first trip to Perth since he handed down the Federal Budget. At a breakfast organised by The West Australian, Dr Chalmers briefed a group of WA high-profile figures that included former premier Mark McGowan, and his treasurer Ben Wyatt. Business leaders included Hancock Prospecting chief executive Gerhard Veldsman, Crown Perth chairman John Van Der Wielen and BHP Nickel West boss Jessica Farrell. Dr Chalmers said he had been grateful for the opportunity to engage with the group. “We had a very productive, very upfront, very frank discussion about the big challenges and opportunities in this economy, the national economy, and in the context of the way the world is changing,” he said after the breakfast. “So much of our policy is informed by genuine engagement, blunt and frank talk with people on this side of the country. “This Budget had WA front and centre. WA is a huge beneficiary of the Budget, and that’s partly because of the way that we’ve engaged, in good faith, with the industries of WA.” The Treasurer’s trip to WA came as a political stoush grows over the Government’s proposed $7 billion production tax credit package, which Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has rejected, labelling “billions for billionaires”. “I heard Peter Dutton and Angus Taylor describe what we’re doing with tax credits for important industries as welfare,” Dr Chalmers said. “It couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s not welfare to incentivise . . . big job-creating, wealth-creating industries that are so central to the WA economy and the national economy. “Peter Dutton and Angus Taylor should be apologising to the wealth creators of WA for describing them in a disparaging way.” Also in Perth on Thursday, Mr Dutton said the Government had actually been inconsistent in backing WA projects. “At the moment, the Government talks out of both sides of their mouth. They say when they’re here in WA that they support these projects. When they get back to the east coast, they don’t support it,” he said. “We’ll support it, because it’s in WA’s best interests and the country’s best interests as well. “As Prime Minister, you need to be responsible in the way that you’re spending taxpayers’ money, and if you’ve got some of the most astute investors . . . taking the decision that they don’t want to invest their money in some of these projects, then I think it’s a reasonable question to say, ‘should we be investing taxpayers’ money into those projects.”