Sarah-Jane Tasker: Fixing WA’s labour shortages will need more than McGowan’s European recruitment drive

Are chicken fast-food joints the canary in the coal mine of this State’s increasing economic headwinds? The other week we were talking about KFC substituting lettuce for cabbage in its burgers because the cost of the unimpressive vegetable had skyrocketed. On Thursday, The West reported Chicken Treat in South Hedland had offered up to $130,000 to attract a manager. If Chicken Treat is offering that for a manager in a regional area, you can just imagine what the major miners are promising to attract workers. WA is a boom-bust State and we are definitely in the boom of the cycle given the record profits from resources companies and their crippling staffing shortages. One mining executive recently told me he could easily hire up to 500 people on any given day if there was the pool of talent available. The National Skills Commission data released on Wednesday showed 34,500 positions were advertised in WA in May, up 113 per cent on pre-COVID levels. That figure smashed through the peak recorded in the 2008 boom. Premier Mark McGowan is on the direct flight to Rome on Saturday to sell our amazing State to the world but he also needs to be pressuring the Federal Government to address the wait time on visas. The median wait time for a 491 visa — authorisation for skilled work in regional settings — is up to six months. Labour and materials shortages are fuelling inflation and the Government needs immediate solutions to address these issues before the crisis worsens.