Question Time

Ambulance Ramping

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) (14:25): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Attorney-General about election commitments.

Leave granted.

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI: Since the 2022 state election, and despite promising to fix ramping, the Labor government has delivered the 15 worst ramping months in the history of this state, with August ramping figures nearly 900 hours worse than the worst month recorded under the four years of the Liberal government. My question to the Attorney-General is: does the Attorney-General stand by the Premier's statement of 18 March 2022 regarding ramping when he said, 'There is only one way to fix the ramping crisis and that is to vote Labor tomorrow.'

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (14:26): The answer to the question is: I have in the past and I will continue to support what the Premier says and does—that is how we do it on this team.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: It is quite remarkable again that we see the lead-off question, the question designed to put pressure on and take down the government, being asked about an area that has nothing to do with someone in this chamber.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: We have seen time and again the Leader of the Opposition lead off with a question about health—a question to a minister in the another place. You can just imagine—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: —some of the tactics meetings the opposition would have before question time. They would be getting together saying, 'I know what's genius, I'm not going to ask about goats today, I'm going to take down the government with something that's to do with a minister in another chamber.'

I can imagine: you would have the Hon. Michelle Lensink cautioning against this, being the only one to have ministerial experience on the other side—they wouldn't even make her deputy, the most experienced person that they have got—cautioning against doing this, wasting your first question over and over again. I can imagine they wouldn't listen to that sort of sane advice, and here we go again. I support my Premier. I know it is something quite foreign in the Liberal Party, supporting their leader, but that is what we do here.