WA Parliament
Analysis
Political leadership
Which state in Australia has the most political power?
NSW and Victoria have long competed to be Australia’s most consequential state. But economic and population changes, along with the pandemic’s influence on state power, have shaken things up.
- by James Massola
Latest
Opinion
Opinion
Labor reaps what it sowed with monumental Aboriginal heritage act failure
After six years, thousands of people consulted and substantial resources expended on the process, the government has created little more than 279 pages of fire starter to get them through this cold winter.
- by Hamish Hastie
Updated
Mark McGowan
Premier says Rockingham by-election win ‘solid’ despite swing against Labor
Labor has retained the seat of Rockingham but without Mark McGowan’s star power they’ve lost considerable ground in the polls.
- by Sarah Brookes and Heather McNeill
‘It will be tight’: Signs Labor is nervous as polling opens in race to replace Mark McGowan
Labor has held the seat of Rockingham since 1974. But Premier Roger Cook isn’t ruling out the unthinkable that Labor’s candidate will lose the seat vacated by former premier Mark McGowan.
- by Sarah Brookes
Analysis
Mark McGowan
Mark McGowan isn’t missing WA politics, but will Rockingham show Labor is lost without him?
The Rockingham by-election is the first electoral test for Premier Roger Cook and comes off the back of new polling that shows the WA Liberals would win a state election if it was held today.
- by Sarah Brookes
Exclusive
Charity
From degenerative back pain to half-marathons: WA politician’s bone donation journey
After a 2001 bone donation transformed Colin de Grussa’s life, he is now lacing up to run a half-marathon for a national tissue and organ donor awareness campaign.
- by Alex Condon
McGowan’s Rockingham replacement admits drink-driving history weeks out from byelection
Magenta Marshall, Labor’s candidate to replace former premier Mark McGowan, lost her licence for six months after blowing over the limit at a booze bus in 2021.
- by Sarah Brookes
WA’s huge ‘GST fairness fighters squad’ is proof GST is unfair: Tasmania
As the battle to retain WA’s share of the GST continues amid a pending review, it’s been revealed the state has employed eight dedicated ‘GST fairness fighters’. Most other jurisdictions have none.
- by Sarah Brookes
Last year 5 million hectares of land was burnt in WA. So, does prescribed burning work?
Calls for an independent inquiry into WA’s prescribed burning program have been rejected by a parliamentary committee despite scientists labelling the practice damaging.
- by Sarah Brookes
It’s a time warp as Rocko voters head back to polls to replace McGowan
Time is fleeting as a by-election looms, and one candidate is sporting not only a solid gold endorsement, but a name made memorable by the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
- by Sarah Brookes
Abortion still falls under WA’s criminal code. New laws will change that
Premier Roger Cook said Western Australia’s abortion laws had fallen well behind other jurisdictions.
- by Sarah Brookes