The Member for Perth, John Carey, is in line for a Ministerial position after being re-elected for a second term on the weekend.
Carey won the seat back from the Liberals at the 2017 election ousting Eleni Evangel who held it for a single term. With a swing of 17.5 per cent on first preference votes, Carey has transformed his inner-city seat into a much safer prospect for Labor moving forward.
Aside from the period between 2013 and 2017 where Evangel represented the seat, Perth has always been a Labor stronghold with a succession of high profile members including John Hyde and Diana Warnock. Those members have always also had a close connection with the LGBTIQ+ communities. Hyde was the first openly gay man to be elected to the WA Parliament, and Warnock was a vocal campaigner for LGBTI rights.
Like his predecessor John Hyde, Carey served as the Mayor of Vincent before making the move to state politics, and now he’s one of five new faces joining the ministry. Carey joins former journalist Reece Whitby, the member for Baldivis, alongside Amber-Jade Sanderson (Morley), Dr Tony Buti (Armadale), and Don Punch (Bunbury) in the ministry. Which portfolios will be assigned to which politician is expected to be revealed on Thursday.
Former Police Minister Michelle Roberts will take over a the Legislative Assembly Speaker, while Housing and Fisheries Minister Peter Tinley has been dumped from the cabinet.
The historic win has presented some new challenges to the government, it’s been revealed that there are too many Labor MPs for them all to meet in their caucus meeting room.
“I think we are going to go into the dining room at Parliament House, it is quite a big room,” Premier Mark McGowan said on Monday morning. “That will be a little bit unique. But that is where we will have to meet.”
The Premier has also admitted that he doesn’t know the names of all the newly elected members, but he said he knows the cast majority of them.
As counting continues following Saturdays election Labor is on track to hold 52 seats, while the Liberal party is hoping it’ll manage to retain the seat of Churchlands, bringing them to a grand total of three lower house seats.
Yesterday the Liberals Sean L’Estrange was ahead by just 63 votes as counting continued, while in Nedlands – long standing MP Bill Marmion was behind by 427 votes to Labor’s Katrina Stratton. Meanwhile The Nationals were closely watching counting in two seats. They hope to retain both Warren-Blackwood and North West Central where every vote will count.
OIP Staff
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