Opposition Leader Richard Court has given a new meaning to the acronym WIMP with his refusal to sign an agreement over his election promises.
Deputy Premier Ian Taylor said in Mr Court's case it now stood for What Is My Pledge? - he had the entire State wondering what exactly his election promises meant or if they would be kept.
He said Mr Court had refused to sign the simple undertaking that he would keep his election promises and did not even get around to asking the question `Where Is My Pen' so he could show the same courage as the Premier and sign on the dotted line.
"That is not good enough for the people of Western Australia. They want a clear, open and honest commitment to accountability in government," Mr Taylor said.
"Mr Court won't give that. He won't say where the money is coming from to fund his election promises and he won't say what taxes he will increase to fill the huge hole in his costings.
"In other words, he won't make a commitment to accountability."
Mr Taylor said that even the highly dubious assessment by the Institute for Public Affairs had rubbished Mr Court's costings, and the IPA did not even take into account the loss of $500 million in payroll tax.
"Yesterday we had his finance spokesman Max Evans refusing to give an undertaking that payroll tax would be abolished as promised by Mr Court," he said.
"Western Australian families have a right to know what taxes Mr Court intends to impose or raise to cover his extravagant promises.
"They also have a right to know what Government services will be slashed.
"Mr Court has been beating his chest for weeks about honesty and integrity, but he has failed dismally to display these qualities at the first test.
"It is now clear he would do a Kennett if he won government and the ordinary families of WA would have to pay through the neck for it."
Mr Taylor said that Mr Kennett had just announced a second round of savage cuts in services in Victoria, which included an instruction to regional health directors to identify funding cuts of up to 30 per cent.
"Health is just one area in Western Australia where the Opposition has big problems and will need to take Kennett-like action if it is to meet its promises," he said.
"The Opposition has a $116 million hole in its budget - savings it says can be made through `efficiencies'.
"That means services will be cut.
"In WA we spend about $55 million a year on Community and Child Health Services throughout the State, about half of which is spent in country regions.
"A Kennett-style cut of 30 per cent in that budget would inevitably mean that there would be very severe cuts in services, particularly in country regions.
"There would need to be major reductions in school and infant nurse services, with the closure of at least 30 infant health centres and the withdrawal of school nurses from about 25 high schools.
"It could also mean a severe curtailment of the Aboriginal health worker program - something which is essential to improving the long-term health status of the Aboriginal population.
"Mr Court must come clean - where will the money come from to meet his pledges? I suspect it will come out of the pockets of every Western Australian taxpayer!"
