Premier of Western Australia

Premier of Western Australia
Ministry
State
Incumbent
Colin Barnett
Style The Honourable
Appointed by Ken Michael
as Governor of Western Australia
First John Forrest
Formation 29 December 1890
Term length At the Governor's pleasure

The Premier of Western Australia is the head of the executive government in the Australian State of Western Australia. The Premier has similar functions in Western Australia to those performed by the Prime Minister of Australia at the national level, subject to the different Constitutions. The current Premier is Colin Barnett who was sworn into office by Governor Ken Michael on 23 September 2008.[1]

Contents

Function

The premier must be a member of one of the two Houses of the Parliament of Western Australia; by convention the premier is a member of the lower house, the Western Australian Legislative Assembly. He or she is appointed by the governor on the advice of the lower house, and must resign if he or she loses the support of the majority of that house. Consequently, the premier is almost always the leader of the political party or coalition of parties with the majority of seats in the lower house.

History

The office of premier of Western Australia was first formed in 1890, after Western Australia was officially granted responsible government by Britain in 1889. The Constitution of Western Australia does not explicitly provide for a premier, and the office was not formally listed as one of the executive offices until the appointment of Ross McLarty in 1947. Nonetheless, John Forrest immediately adopted the title on taking office as first premier of Western Australia in 1890, and it has been used ever since.

John Forrest was the only premier of Western Australia as a self-governing colony. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, Western Australia became an Australian state and the responsibilities of the office of premier were diminished.

Party politics began in Western Australia with the rise of the Labor party in 1901. By 1904, the party system was entrenched in Western Australian politics. Since then the premiers have been associated with political parties.

Western Australia's constitution contains nothing to preclude the premier being a member of the upper house, the Western Australian Legislative Council. Historically and by convention, however, the premier is a member of the Assembly. The only exception has been Hal Colebatch, a member of the Legislative Council who accepted the premiership in April 1919 on the understanding that an Assembly seat would be found for him, only to resign a month later when no seat could be found.

During the economic boom of the 1980s, the Western Australian government became closely involved with a number of large businesses. A succession of deals were made between the government and businesses, and these ultimately caused great losses for the state. A subsequent royal commission found evidence of widespread corruption. Three former premiers were found to have acted improperly and two of them, Ray O'Connor and Brian Burke, were jailed. This scandal became popularly known as WA Inc.

List of Premiers of Western Australia

Premier Party Assumed office Left office Term
Sir John Forrest (pro-Forrest)1 29 December 1890 15 February 1901 &1000000000000001000000010 years, &1000000000000004800000048 days
George Throssell (pro-Forrest) 15 February 1901 27 May 1901 &100000000000000000000000 years, &10000000000000101000000101 days
George Leake Opposition1 27 May 1901 21 November 1901 &100000000000000000000000 years, &10000000000000178000000178 days
Alf Morgans Ministerialist1 21 November 1901 23 December 1901 &100000000000000000000000 years, &1000000000000003200000032 days
George Leake Opposition1 23 December 1901 1 July 1902 &100000000000000000000000 years, &10000000000000190000000190 days
Sir Walter James Opposition1 1 July 1902 10 August 1904 &100000000000000020000002 years, &1000000000000004000000040 days
Henry Daglish Labor 10 August 1904 25 August 1905 &100000000000000010000001 year, &1000000000000001500000015 days
Sir Cornthwaite Rason Ministerialist 25 August 1905 7 May 1906 &100000000000000000000000 years, &10000000000000255000000255 days
Sir Newton Moore Ministerialist 7 May 1906 16 September 1910 &100000000000000040000004 years, &10000000000000132000000132 days
Frank Wilson Ministerialist 16 September 1910 7 October 1911 &100000000000000010000001 year, &1000000000000002100000021 days
John Scaddan Labor 7 October 1911 27 July 1916 &100000000000000040000004 years, &10000000000000294000000294 days
Frank Wilson Liberal (WA) 27 July 1916 28 June 1917 &100000000000000000000000 years, &10000000000000336000000336 days
Sir Henry Lefroy Nationalist 28 June 1917 17 April 1919 &100000000000000010000001 year, &10000000000000293000000293 days
Sir Hal Colebatch Nationalist 17 April 1919 17 May 1919 &100000000000000000000000 years, &1000000000000003000000030 days
Sir James Mitchell Nationalist 17 May 1919 16 April 1924 &100000000000000040000004 years, &10000000000000335000000335 days
Philip Collier Labor 16 April 1924 24 April 1930 &100000000000000060000006 years, &100000000000000080000008 days
Sir James Mitchell Nationalist 24 April 1930 24 April 1933 &100000000000000030000003 years, &100000000000000000000000 days
Philip Collier Labor 24 April 1933 20 August 1936 &100000000000000030000003 years, &10000000000000118000000118 days
John Willcock Labor 20 August 1936 31 July 1945 &100000000000000080000008 years, &10000000000000345000000345 days
Frank Wise Labor 31 July 1945 1 April 1947 &100000000000000010000001 year, &10000000000000244000000244 days
Ross McLarty Liberal 1 April 1947 23 February 1953 &100000000000000050000005 years, &10000000000000328000000328 days
Albert Hawke Labor 23 February 1953 2 April 1959 &100000000000000060000006 years, &1000000000000003800000038 days
Sir David Brand Liberal 2 April 1959 3 March 1971 &1000000000000001100000011 years, &10000000000000335000000335 days
John Tonkin Labor 3 March 1971 8 April 1974 &100000000000000030000003 years, &1000000000000003600000036 days
Sir Charles Court Liberal 8 April 1974 25 January 1982 &100000000000000070000007 years, &10000000000000292000000292 days
Ray O'Connor Liberal 25 January 1982 25 February 1983 &100000000000000010000001 year, &1000000000000003100000031 days
Brian Burke Labor 25 February 1983 25 February 1988 &100000000000000050000005 years, &100000000000000000000000 days
Peter Dowding Labor 25 February 1988 12 February 1990 &100000000000000010000001 year, &10000000000000352000000352 days
Dr Carmen Lawrence Labor 12 February 1990 16 February 1993 &100000000000000030000003 years, &100000000000000040000004 days
Richard Court Liberal 16 February 1993 10 February 2001 &100000000000000070000007 years, &10000000000000360000000360 days
Dr Geoff Gallop Labor 16 February 2001 25 January 2006 &100000000000000040000004 years, &10000000000000343000000343 days
Alan Carpenter Labor 25 January 2006 23 September 2008 &100000000000000020000002 years, &10000000000000242000000242 days
Colin Barnett Liberal 23 September 2008 incumbent &100000000000000030000003 years, &10000000000000146000000146 days
  1. The premiers were not officially associated with organised parties until 1904.

Graphical timeline


Living former premiers

As of March 2008, seven former premiers are alive, the oldest being Ray O'Connor (1982–1983, born in 1926). The most recent premier to die was Sir Charles Court (1974–1982) on 22 December 2007, aged 96.

Name Term as premier Date of birth Current age
Ray O'Connor 1982–1983 6 March 1926 &1000000000000008500000085 years, &10000000000000347000000347 days
Brian Burke 1983–1988 25 February 1947 &1000000000000006400000064 years, &10000000000000356000000356 days
Peter Dowding 1988–1990 6 October 1943 &1000000000000006800000068 years, &10000000000000133000000133 days
Dr Carmen Lawrence 1990–1993 2 March 1948 &1000000000000006300000063 years, &10000000000000351000000351 days
Richard Court 1993–2001 27 September 1947 &1000000000000006400000064 years, &10000000000000142000000142 days
Dr Geoff Gallop 2001–2006 27 September 1951 &1000000000000006000000060 years, &10000000000000142000000142 days
Alan Carpenter 2006–2008 4 January 1957 &1000000000000005500000055 years, &1000000000000004300000043 days

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Barnett sworn in as WA's 29th Premier, The West Australian, 23 September 2008

References

  • Reid, G. S. and M. R. Oliver (1982). The Premiers of Western Australia 1890–1982. University of Western Australia Press. Nedlands, Western Australia. ISBN 0-85564-214-9.
  • The Constitution Centre of Western Australia (2002). Governors and Premiers of Western Australia. West Perth, Western Australia. ISBN 0-7307-3821-3.
Executive
Legislative
Judicial