Tag: Barry Urban

As I noted in a column in January last year, the program’s stated purpose was “for interested WA Labor members who are committed to working through local government to see the ideals, platform and policies of WA Labor applied and realised at a local community level”. When Templeman announced in a fanfare of publicity a departmental inquiry into Melville on November 29, 2017 — citing some 300-odd complaints against the council over three years — O’Malley was standing at his side. Templeman said he expected the inquiry would take “months, if not a year”. The inquiry concluded taking evidence in May last year and a draft report was sent out to interested parties in mid-December, with responses closing on January 3. On Wednesday morning, I put in the following questions to the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries: How many local government authorities have been subject to an official inquiry in any form since the election of the McGowan Government? How many of those inquiries are still under way? When will the report into the City of Melville be released? “Currently the department has five authorised inquiries that are yet to be finalised. “The report relating to the authorised inquiry into matters at the City of Melville will be finalised following consideration of feedback on the draft report from persons named or referred to in the report.” The first question was completely avoided, as was the third, and the fourth was just obfuscated. Last May, he confirmed that three months earlier he had hired as his senior policy adviser Julian Hilton, a former member of the Melville Community Association.

Here is a look at some of the big questions and issues looming in WA politics in 2019. The key question remains who would take over if Dr Nahan were toppled. Probably the Labor Government's biggest headache in 2018 was the state's prison system, highlighted by chaotic scenes in the Mid-West when 10 prisoners escaped amid a riot that caused millions of dollars' worth of damage. The Government will be hoping increased public sector construction work and an improvement of the mining sector get that number trending in the right direction in 2019. In terms of leadership chatter, the Liberals will undoubtedly draw the most attention, but there has been some speculation about the future of Mia Davies in the top job for the Nationals. The more stable trend unemployment figure falls from 5.2 to a six-and-half-year low of 5.1 per cent The widely watched seasonally adjusted unemployment number rose from 5 to 5.1 per cent The ABS says 37,100 jobs were created in November, but they were dominated by part-time positions Despite the better-than-expected addition of 37,100 jobs to the economy in November (most economists had been tipping around 20,000), the unemployment rate edged up to 5.1 per cent due to an increase in the proportion of the population in work or looking for it, known as the participation rate, which rose to 65.7 per cent. ACT and NSW have lowest jobless rates, WA highest The ACT had the nation's lowest jobless rate at 3.4 per cent (in trend terms), which is not unusual given that many of its residents move there for work and leave when that work finishes. "There hasn't been a lower jobless rate in that time," Mr James wrote in a note. Mr James said the jobs market remained in "strong shape", with the more stable trend unemployment rate easing from 5.2 to 5.1 per cent. More people than ever are looking for jobs and finding work."