09.32 pm, Thursday May 24 2012

McGowan shakes up WA shadow cabinet

17:10 AEDT Fri Jan 27 2012
By Lloyd Jones
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West Australian Opposition Leader Mark McGowan has revealed a big reshuffle of the shadow cabinet, vowing to take on Premier Colin Barnett's "tired, dated, retirement-mode government".

The new leader announced on Friday he had created new portfolios dedicated to cost-of-living issues, economic reform, early childhood and the suburbs.

In the reshuffle, Ben Wyatt becomes shadow treasurer as well as being spokesman for indigenous affairs, native title and the cost of living.

Michelle Roberts loses the shadow treasurer post to take on the police portfolio and become manager of opposition business in parliament.

Margaret Quirk loses police but retains emergency services and picks up bushfire response and electoral affairs.

New additions to the cabinet, Peter Tinley and Bill Johnston, pick up planning and housing and state development and energy, respectively.

"It's a team that will take on a tired, dated, retirement-mode government being led by Mr Barnett," Mr McGowan told reporters at parliament.

He said Mr Wyatt would perform well as shadow treasurer and cost-of-living spokesman as a graduate of the London School of Economics.

Mr Wyatt was stripped of the treasury portfolio a year ago following his failed leadership challenge against former Labor leader Eric Ripper.

Mr McGowan said the cost of living was the number one issue facing West Australians, and Labor would continue to focus on it after four years of Barnett government utility price rises.

He said he was keen for Ms Quirk to use her "forensic ability" in her new bushfire response role to examine the government's "disastrous" handling of the destructive Perth Hills and Margaret River bushfires.

Mr McGowan said he also wanted Ms Quirk in her electoral affairs role to examine why the Liberal Party was receiving six or seven times the donations Labor was getting.

"You need to cross-check, where are the donations coming from, who's making them, what decisions are being made by government?" he said.

"We're the underdog, they're a fundraising machine. We need to expose what's going on."

He targeted the Liberal Party's 500 Club, saying he wanted to know "if it's a vehicle for avoiding disclosure" and whether the threshold for declared donations needed to be reduced.

Mr McGowan would not comment on whether Ms Roberts or Ms Quirk were disappointed about losing their treasury and police portfolios.

He said Ms Roberts had been promoted to the leadership team in her new role as manager of opposition business.

In the police portfolio she would be "more than a match for the very tired Rob Johnson", Mr McGowan said.

The new leader himself takes the portfolios of regional development, economic reform and public sector management.

Roger Cook remains deputy leader of the opposition and retains the health portfolio, Paul Papalia has education, agriculture and food and John Quigley retains the attorney-general portfolio.

Sue Ellery stays opposition leader in the upper house and retains child protection, disability services and community services, while taking up the new portfolio of early childhood.

Ken Travers adds suburbs to his portfolios of transport and finance, while deputy leader in the upper house Kate Doust has commerce, trade, consumer protection, small business and science.

 

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