• Premier launches 'Our Priorities: Sharing Prosperity' visionary program
• 12 key performance indicators to target important issues facing Western Australia
• 'Our Priorities' include measurable targets, to hold the State Government to account
• Election commitment delivered to drive positive outcomes for Western Australians 

An additional 150,000 Western Australian jobs will be created, as part of the 'Our Priorities: Sharing Prosperity' program announced today by Premier Mark McGowan.

The Our Priorities program consists of six key outcome areas and 12 priorities, or targets. The targets set are ambitious and will require a sustained focus by the State Government. 

As promised at the election, the McGowan Government's targets will require collaboration across government and the wider community to achieve the outcomes expected.

Each priority includes measurable targets for Ministers and senior public servants that can be transparently tracked on the program's website. The Our Priorities program includes:

A strong economy:

• Create 150,000 jobs: By 2023-24, the total number of employed persons in WA will increase by at least 150,000 from 2017-18 levels.
• Repair the State's finances: Maintain a three per cent surplus of general government revenue from 2020-21. 

A bright future:

• Improve the health and wellbeing of children in the early years: 10 per cent increase in the number of children developmentally on-track on all five Australian Early Development Census domains by 2027.
• Increase student reading and numeracy: By 2024, 100 per cent of WA NAPLAN Year 5 and 9 reading and numeracy mean scores to improve by more than 10 scale points.
• Increase participation in STEM: By 2024, increase the number of Year 12 students completing two or more STEM courses to 85 per cent. 

A liveable environment:

• Build METRONET and increase housing opportunities nearby: By 2031, the number of homes in the Perth and Peel region in close proximity to a public transport node will increase by 45 per cent.
• Increase conservation for future generations: By 2023-24, land reserved for conservation in Western Australia will be expanded, including an increase of five million hectares or 20 per cent of the current conservation estate.
• Make a cleaner, more sustainable environment: By 2030 at least 75 per cent of waste generated in WA is reused or recycled.  

A safer community:

• Reduce youth reoffending: By 2022-23, have no more than 50 per cent of young offenders return to detention within two years of release.
• Reduce illicit drug use: By 2022, reduce the proportion of the Western Australian population who have taken an illicit drug in the last 12 months by 15 per cent from 2016 levels. 

Regional prosperity:

• Deliver stronger regional economies: By 2023-24, increase the number of employed persons in regional WA by 30,000. 

Aboriginal wellbeing:

• Reduce the overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in custody: By 2028-29, reduce the number of Aboriginal adults in prison by 23 per cent from 2017-18 numbers. 

A new, standalone unit will be established within the Department of the Premier and Cabinet to help guide the implementation of the priorities program.

In addition to the 12 targets, the final report of the Sustainable Health Review will be handed down in coming weeks with recommendations to guide an implementation program to drive better health outcomes for patients.

The Public Sector Commissioner will work on the best way forward for linking the salaries of directors general and chief executive officers to the 12 key targets. It is anticipated a model will be ready to be rolled out after the expiry of the four-year pay freeze for senior public servants, which was introduced by the McGowan Government.

For more information, visit http://www.ourpriorities.wa.gov.au

Comments attributed to Premier Mark McGowan:

"Our Priorities sets out the task ahead for our State, so we all share in our prosperity.

"It is a visionary program that sets our State up for the future. We will own the challenges we face and take on the responsibility of implementing real, positive change.

"Creating jobs is the best way we can do that, and that's why I'm committed to creating an additional 150,000 jobs - including an extra 30,000 jobs in regional WA.

"The same-old business as usual approach of government needs to evolve.

"I realise that by setting our targets, they will define my job as Premier of Western Australia.

"That's why they are not just about words on a piece of paper - they include measurable targets that holds my Government to account, in a transparent manner.

"The launch of these whole-of-government targets marks the first step in establishing a new way forward for government to work with community and business, to create a brighter future for every Western Australian."

Premier's office - 6552 5000