Three Labor MPs have been elevated to Premier Roger Cook’s cabinet, while his former right-hand man has parachuted right into a senior ministerial support role.
Three Labor MPs have been elevated to Premier Roger Cook’s cabinet, while his former right-hand man has parachuted right into a senior ministerial support role.
Girrawheen MP Meredith Hammat, Kingsley MP Jessica Stojkovski, and upper house MP Matthew Swinbourn were confirmed on Monday as new appointments in Mr Cook’s 16-person inner circle.
The premier also revealed his former chief-of-staff-turned Landsdale MP, Daniel Pastorelli, had jumped straight into a cabinet secretary role, as well as parliamentary secretary to the premier.
The role is widely regarded as the final step members take prior to getting a ministerial call up.
Mr Cook said the new-look cabinet represented a blend of experience and renewal.
“Every Western Australian should have an opportunity to have a decent home, a quality job and access to the services they need,” he said.
“To achieve that, we need a sense of stable government, and the key to that is a unified, hard-working cabinet.
“The election result shows that the WA community has put their trust in my government, a government that will tackle every challenge within with determination, a government that will pursue every opportunity with energy and with excitement, and a government that will work hard every single day to deliver for Western Australians.”
The new appointments bring gender parity to the state government’s cabinet.
Kimberley MP Divina D’Anna and Cockburn MP David Scaife will also hold positions as parliamentary secretaries to the premier and remain tipped to become future ministers.
The Labor caucus has put forward Forrestfield MP Stephen Price as its candidate for speaker of the legislative assembly, and Alanna Clohessy has been picked to hold her role as legislative council president.
Senior Labor minister Stephen Dawson has put his hand up to replace retiring MP Sue Ellery as leader of the government in the legislative council.
Portfolio allocations will be made on Tuesday.
Amber-Jade Sanderson is widely tipped to shed the health portfolio. Mr Cook said plenty of members were champing at the bit to get what is one of the toughest gigs in parliament.
“Having experienced it myself, you are the big kid in the room,” he said.
“You are spending a big chunk on the budget, what you are doing matters and makes a difference to people's lives, so I can imagine there will be a range of people who will be eager to take on that opportunity.”
One key difference for the third-term Labor government will be the need to work with other parties to pass legislation through the upper house.
It is a return to normalcy after four years of complete dominance of both houses of government following the 2021 state election landslide.
Mr Cook said Labor had always worked with opposing parties to ensure the proper function of the upper house.
The Liberal and National parties were particularly critical of Labor’s sidelining of both parties on issues such as Aboriginal heritage and electoral reform during the previous term of government.
