The new Western Australian government Cabinet will be officially sworn in at a ceremony at Government House today (19 March).
On 8 March, Western Australia re-elected the Labor Party for a third term of government with 44 of 59 seats in the Legislative Assembly.
The Liberal party increased to six seats from two seats at the 2021 State Election and are now officially the State Opposition. The National party secured 5 seats. There remain 5 seats in the Legislative Assembly where the vote is still being finalised and declared.
Premier Roger Cook has unveiled his new Cabinet, which he says has the experience, energy, and talent to deliver for all Western Australians.
The new Cabinet includes three new ministers – Girrawheen MLA Meredith Hammat, Kingsley MLA Jessica Stojkovski, and Upper House MP Matthew Swinbourn.
They join Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti, and Ministers Stephen Dawson, Jackie Jarvis, Paul Papalia, Dr Tony Buti, Simone McGurk, Amber-Jade Sanderson, John Carey, Don Punch, Reece Whitby, Sabine Winton, David Michael, and Hannah Beazley.
Member-elect for Landsdale Daniel Pastorelli has been appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier, as well as Cabinet Secretary.
Kimberley MLA Divina D’Anna and Cockburn MLA David Scaife have been appointed Parliamentary Secretaries to the Premier.
Member of the Legislative Council Samantha Rowe has been appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti.
Other Parliamentary Secretaries include Yaz Mubarakai, Pierre Yang, Jodie Hanns, Cassie Rowe, Emily Hamilton, Lisa O’Malley, Caitlin Collins, Dan Caddy, Katrina Stratton, and Kim Giddens.
Forrestfield MLA Stephen Price has been endorsed as the candidate for the new Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. Upper House MP Alanna Clohessy has been endorsed to remain President of the Legislative Council.
“We will ensure WA’s economy remains the strongest in the nation by backing our resources industry, diversifying our economy for the future and making more things here,” Cook says.
“We will work hard every day to make sure that no matter where you live – in our suburbs, our towns or our remote communities – every Western Australian has a decent home, a quality job and access to the services you need.
“It’s a plan to build more things here – to set our State up as a renewable energy powerhouse, create more jobs for Western Australians and invest in training skilled workers for the jobs of the future – a future that is made in WA.”
While the Premier will retain the portfolio of State Development, he has used this reshuffle to stamp his authority on the next term of government, according to AMEC.
“Importantly, for the mining Industry, the Hon David Michael MLA, will remain the Minister for Mines and Petroleum after a strong first year in the role. He adds the portfolios of Finance; Electoral Affairs; Goldfields-Esperance and the role of Leader of the House. The Leader of the House position is a key role in the scheduling and delivery of legislation.”
AMEC’s priority will be to continue to work with Minister Michael to deliver needed Mining Act reform, including the Eligible Mining Activities approval regulations, as well as the next phase of delivery of Resources Online. From the previous term, Minister Michael loses the Ports portfolio, which moves to Hon Stephen Dawson MLC, the new Regional Development Minister.
Similar to prior Labor Governments, Premier Cook has reintroduced region specific portfolios to give special responsibility to Ministers for areas of the State.
Fresh to the cabinet table is the Hon Matthew Swinbourn MLC who will be the new Environment Minister, having served as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Mines and Petroleum. A new face in Cabinet, he will be tasked with continuing to deliver on the Vogel-McFerran Review reforms. Cementing the delivery of those Vogel McFerran reforms and ensuring the approvals teams in the Department of Water and Environment Regulation are adequately resources will be AMEC’s priorities.
Don Punch MLA has shifted from Regional Development to the Aboriginal Affairs portfolio. AMEC will be speaking directly with him regarding the challenges faced by the industry with rising costs and lengthy timeframes across the sector. This is a critical portfolio for our industry and a key appointment in the new Cabinet.
In the Legislative Council, the upper house of Parliament, the Government has secured 16 of 37 seats. As counting continues, the Liberals appear to hold 11 seats, up from 7 in the previous term of Government.
The cross bench will include four Greens, two National party and representatives from One Nation and Legalise Cannabis. As the final ballots are counted there is a strong possibility that both the Australian Christian and Animal Justice parties will also each secure a seat.
This will mean a cross bench of four new parties, with new representatives and agendas. AMEC will begin to reach out to each of the new elected legislative councillors to detail the crucial role they will play in the passage of legislation.
Write to info@mining.com.au at Mining.com.au
Images: Stock
