Western Australian Election: Results and Policies
On 13 March 2021 at the Western Australian (WA) state election, Labor was reelected to government under Leader Mark McGowan, who was reelected as Premier for the second time.
Legislative Assembly
30 seats are required to form government in the lower house. At the time of publication, Labor has secured 50 seats and is predicted to win 52 of the 59 seat Legislative Assembly. This represents an 11 seat increase from Labor’s 2017 election win and a 16.9% swing towards the party.
Legislative Council
At the time of publication, Labor is predicted to win 22 of the 36 seats in upper house. This represents an 8 seat increase from the 2017 election.
Results
WA Labor has experienced positive swings across the State. The seat of Southern River in southeast Perth has experienced a 26% swing towards Labor, following a margin of 7.9% towards Labor in 2017. Joondalup, a seat that covers outer northern Perth has experienced a swing of 24.3% towards Labor, following a marginal Labor hold of 0.03% in 2017.
Premier Mark McGowan was safely reelected to his seat of Rockingham, with a swing of 13.9% towards WA Labor.
Liberal leader Zak Kirkup, who marginally held the seat of Dawesville by 0.8%, has been beaten by Lisa Munday, the first Labor MP for the seat. This seat has experienced a 15.3% swing towards the Labor party.
The following table depicts the makeup of the Legislative Assembly at the time of publication.
| Party | Confirmed | Predicted |
| Labor | 50 | 52 |
| Liberal | 2 | 3 |
| Nationals | 3 | 4 |
| Greens | 0 | 0 |
The following table depicts the Legislative Assembly seats that are confirmed as changing from the Liberal Party to the Labor Party at the time of publication.
| Seat | Previous Member | New Member |
| Bateman | Matt Woodall | Kim Kiddens |
| Carine | Tony Krsticevic | Paul Lilburne |
| Darling Range | Alyssa Hayden | Hugh Jones |
| Dawesville | Zak Kirkup | Lisa Munday |
| Hillarys | Peter Katsambanis | Caitlin Collins |
| Kalgoorlie | Kyran O’Donnell | Ali Kent |
| Riverton | Anthony Spagnolo | Jags Krishnan |
| Scarborough | Liza Harvey | Stuart Aubrey |
| South Perth | Ryan Chorley | Geoff Baker |
The following table depicts the Legislative Assembly seats that are confirmed as changing from the National Party to the Labor Party at the time of publication.
| Seat | Previous Member | New Member |
| Geraldton | Ian Blayney | Lara Dalton |
The following table depicts the Legislative Assembly seats that are still to be decided at the time of publication.
| Seat | Expected Party | Expected Member |
| Churchlands | Labor | Christine Tonkin |
| Nedlands | Labor | Katrina Stratton |
| North West Central | Labor | Cherie Sibosado |
| Warrne-Blackwood | National | Terry Redman |
The following table depicts the composition of the Legislative Council *at the time of publication.
| Party | Current* | Predicted* |
| Labor | 14 | 22 |
| Liberal | 9 | 6 |
| Nationals | 4 | 4 |
| Legalise Cannabis WA | 0 | 2 |
| Shooters Fishers Farmers | 1 | 1 |
| Greens | 4 | 1 |
Policy announcements
Labor’s election commitments are set to cost $2.4 billion dollars over the forward estimates, as analysed by the State’s Department of Treasury.
Labor has made extensive commitments, including:
Health
- $152 million to redevelop the Peel Health Campus in Greenfields
- $39.7 million to establish an Australian-first methamphetamine addition service in the Perth area for individuals and families in crisis
- $36 million to create 400 new nurse graduate placements over the next two years
- $30.6 million to build an integrated and multi-disciplinary health facility in the Byford town centre
- $24 million to establish a renal dialysis service in Halls Creek
- $12.8 million for the rebuilding of the Tom Price Hospital in the Pilbara
- $10 million towards a new 80-bed Aboriginal health and aged care facility in Queens Park, southeast Perth
- $5.6 million to further support the Parent and Family Drug Support program to support the families and friends of those struggling with addiction
- $2.8 million to construct a purpose-built therapy centre for children with special needs, in Kalgoorlie
- $2 million to finalise upgrades at the Geraldton Hospital
Mental Health
- $86.7 million to build two new Mental Health Emergency Centres and Behavioral Assessment Urgent Care Centres in Rockingham and Armadale
- $35.3 million to expand the Youth Community Assessment and Treatment Team community outreach service to assist young people aged 16 to 24
- $31.6 million to expand WA’s Eating Disorder Treatment services including the establishment of a WA Eating Disorders Specialist Service Hub
- $18.2 million for a youth long-term housing and support program including access to long-term accommodation alongside psychosocial support
- $17.6 million investment for five Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service sites including at the Kimberley, the Pilbara, Goldfields, Midwest and South West
- $12.6 million to implement the Child, Adolescent and Youth Forensic Outreach Service for young people aged between 10 and 24
- $12.5 million for a 20-bed rehabilitation facility in the Perth CBD to be in operation by 2024
Education and Training
- $115.1 million to fund a science lab and STEM centre refurbishment across state high and primary schools
- $95 million to enhance vocational education and training in high schools including the placement of qualified career practitioners in 70 government schools and the establishment of a financial support scheme to assist vulnerable students who may not complete their school based training
- $91.5 million to extend the reduction in TAFE fees on 180 courses until 2025
- $70.4 million to build new primary schools in Landsdale, Mandurah and West Swan for operation by 2023
- $42.2 million to provide more than 100 additional psychologists in WA schools
- $39.5 million towards school infrastructure and maintenance across the state, including new ovals and refurbished classrooms
- $38.5 million to expand the Alternative Learnings Settings pilot program across WA and provide separate and specialised learning environments for students who have committed acts of violence
- $32.4 million for small and medium businesses to provide access to an additional 300 apprentices and trainees
- $29.8 million to place an extra 9000 WA students in VET courses between 2020 and 2024
- $5.2 million to fund the gap in total wage costs between mature age and junior apprentices
Transport
- $60.6 million to reduce the cost of public transport by capping fares for all metropolitan train and bus journeys at the cost of a 2-zone ticket. This will mean that passengers will only pay a maximum of $4.40 per standard trip by using Smartrider and $3.90 for the Smartrider auto-reload
- $55 million to build a second Mandurah Estuary Bridge with an additional $55 million being sought from the federal government in order to commence works by 2023
- $52 million of additional investment into the $507 million Regional Road Safety Program
- $38 million for a new 700-bay Greenwood Station multi-storey carport in northern Perth
- $24 million to upgrade the Smartrider ticketing system by allowing passengers to use credit and debit cards or smartphones in order to tag on
- $22 million to upgrade four priority freight rail projects in Moora, Brookton, Broomehill and Cranbrook
- $20 million to upgrade the Flynn Drive carriageway and the future dual carriageway works in Neerabup
- $18 million to upgrade Kargotich, Solders and Orton roads in Byford, southeastern Perth
- A further $14.8 million towards the $251.8 million Regional Roads Upgrades program
Emergency and Corrective Services
- $22 million to build a new police station for Forrestfield in Perth’s outer southeast, and $19 million to build a new police station in Baldivis, southeast of Rockingham
- $18.7 million for 36 new firefighters at regional fire stations such as Albany, Geraldton and Kalgoorlie
- $18 million for PCYC funding over the next four years
- $14.3 million for a new fire station in southeast Perth
- $12.2 million to expand the drug treatment prison model to the Bunbury Regional Prison
- $4 million for new personal protective clothing for WA firefighters
- $3 million for a new mobile police command centre in the Perth CBD
Family and Domestic Violence
- $9.37 million for an additional regional one-stop Family and Domestic Violence hub and
- $8.53 million for an additional metro one-stop Family and Domestic Violence hub
- $7.68 million to expand the Restraining Orders Conference Pilot which allows parties to agree on the terms of an order without going to court for a formal hearing
- $4.8 million towards an Aboriginal-led specialist family violence court in the Kimberley
- $4.5 million to trial a Family and Domestic Violence Forensic Services which seeks to give authorities a better chance of securing convictions against perpetrators
- $4.17 million to boost family and domestic violence prevention services statewide
- $2.16 million for the rapid rehousing of women and children leaving refuge and a further
- $2.16 million to extend the rapid rehousing trial for Aboriginal women and children leaving refuge
Jobs and Trade
- $100 million to establish the ‘Investment Attraction and New Industries Fund’ to allow WA to be at the forefront of emerging industry
- $50 million for industrial land to incentivise the development of strategic industries
- $37.4 million to transform the State’s mining data and information systems into intelligent data as part of the Geoscience Data Transformation Strategy
- $15 million for the Local Manufacturing Investment Fund to assist WA manufacturers in retooling their workshops to create world class rail wagon parts and develop innovative manufacturing techniques
- $2 million in additional funding for the development of a South West Manufacturing Hub
Environment
- $50 million to expand the statewide Aboriginal ranger program
- $30 million investment into the Perth Zoo Masterplan Project
- $21 million towards an electric vehicle strategy to expand WA’s electric vehicle network
- $15 million for the WA carbon farming strategy and land restoration program and a further
- $15 million into a Carbon Innovation Grants program to fund research towards WA carbon sequestration, capture, utilisation and storage
- $14 million for the development of an e-waste recycling plant
- $13 million for the household energy efficiency scheme to replace low efficiency appliances
- $1 million to fund research into the viability of sustainable processing of iron ore for the creation of green steel
Energy
- $218 million to manufacture and install over 1000 power systems in regional WA over the next five years
- $44.6 million to fund a Schools Clean Energy Technology package in order to install rooftop solar panels in public schools, in addition to three virtual power plans in three Kalgoorlie public schools
State and Regional Development
- $35 million to build a boating facility and marina at Entrance Point in Broome
- $19.8 towards the introduction of the regional airfares zone cap. Regional communities less than 1000km driving distance from Perth will pay no more than $199 one-way and those over 1000km driving distance will pay no more than $299 one-way
- $10 million to support the wind turbine manufacturing industry
- $7.5 million to fund new road infrastructure for the Oakajee Strategic Industrial Area
- $3.27 million to manage coastal erosion
Agriculture
- $15 million towards the Agriculture Climate Resilience Fund to assist WA farmers in managing climate change
- $10.1 million for the Oats Industry Growth Partnership in order to double the value of the State’s oat grain industry over 20 years through leading oat breeding and genetics programs
- $4 million towards a new cotton gin development in Kununurra
- $3 million for the Wine Industry Export Growth Partnership to develop increased international demand for WA wine
Housing
- $39.3 million to create a 100-person Aboriginal short stay accommodation facility in Perth CBD
- $14.3 towards housing 100 rough sleepers in new accommodation and rolling out transitional and crisis accommodation for people in the Perth and Fremantle metropolitan areas
- $6 million to support proposals for increased homelessness initiatives
- $3.65 to expand the street doctor GP service for homeless people who are not engaged with other social or medical services
Tourism
- $20 million towards the Aboriginal Tourism Fund
- $10 million to improve visitor facilities at Karijini National Park
- $9.5 million to build a world class tourism attraction at the Australian Underwater Discovery Centre, Busselton Jetty
- $4 million to fund regional exhibitions by connecting regional galleries with state art collections
- $3.2 million for improved walking, hiking and mountain bike trails in the Mount Adelaide and Mouth Clarence tourism precincts
Sport
- $20 million towards the redevelopment of the East Fremantle Oval
- $10 million to improve the Port Headland Sporting and Community Hub
- $10 million for the Club Night Light Program to allow local governments to light local sports facilities
- $8 million to redevelop the Sorrento Surf Life Saving Club
- $2.1 million for the new youth club precinct in Kalgoorlie
Community, Culture, Seniors and Veterans
- $1 million to establish the Baldivis Men’s Shed in the south coast
- $37.2 million for the continued support of foster care to 21 under the government’s Homestretch program
- $2.4 million for new teen crisis accommodation in northern Perth
Seniors and Veterans
- $16 million to reinstate the $400 Seniors’ Safety and Security Rebate to assist seniors in purchasing home security equipment
- $6 million to triple the support payment for grandparent carers from $650 to $2000
- $4 million to establish an Elder Rights WA advocacy service
- $4 million to boost the ANZAC Day Trust Fund
Culture and the Arts
- $100 million to fund the construction of a film studio in Freemantle
- $50 million to plan, design and fund an Aboriginal Cultural Centre in Perth
- $16 million investment into the WA Screen Fund
Animal Welfare
- $9.3 million towards non-for-profit organisations that focus on animal protection and welfare, including doubling RSPCA funding and a $5 million guide dog breeding program
Further Information
For more information, please contact your Hawker Britton Consultant Simon Banks on +61 419 648 587.