Address-in-Reply
Address-in-Reply
Motion
Resumed from 10 April on the following motion, moved by Mrs Lorna Clarke:
That the following Address-in-Reply to His Excellency's speech be agreed to —
To His Excellency the Honourable Christopher Dawson AC APM, Governor of the State of Western Australia.
May it please Your Excellency —
We, the Legislative Assembly of the Parliament of the State of Western Australia in Parliament assembled, beg to express loyalty to our Most Gracious Sovereign, and to thank Your Excellency for the speech you have been pleased to address to Parliament
Mr Basil Zempilas (Churchlands—Leader of the Opposition) (1:20 pm): It is an honour to join this chamber as the member for Churchlands and I am delighted to make my inaugural speech in this place. I will begin by thanking the Liberal Party and the electors of Churchlands for the confidence that they have placed in me representing them in this Parliament. I also acknowledge and thank my predecessor, Christine Tonkin, for the work and dedication that she displayed in representing the people of Churchlands in her four years as the member for Churchlands.
I also thank all of my parliamentary colleagues who are here today above and below, and in particular thank the Premier for honouring me with his presence for this inaugural speech. Thank you, Premier. I take this opportunity also to thank those who have been on the election journey with me over the last five years—two Lord Mayor elections and now a state election. I have been very lucky to have an incredible support squad. As campaign managers and campaign supporters, I thank Cam Sinclair; the wonder twins, Declan and Cooper Mason; Paul Nash; Justine Burnett; and Gary Mitchell, who is also in the chamber today. There have been many others, but to this core group, I say a huge thankyou.
It is a particular honour for me to represent the people of my electorate, the electorate of Churchlands, a place where I have lived for almost my entire life—certainly most of my life. I grew up in Floreat and attended Floreat Park Primary School, I went to Hale School in Wembley Downs, I played junior footy for Churchlands, Wembley and then for City Beach, Floreat. I played cricket for Floreat junior cricket club; I played basketball at Perry Lakes Stadium and I did swimming lessons at Bold Park—badly—and never got past my intermediate stage despite three attempts.
I now live with my family not far from the house I grew up in with my sisters Diane, who is here in the chamber today with her husband, Kevin, and Roslyn, who is watching on in Greece. It is the house where my parents lived for 70 years. To say I am familiar with the electorate would be an understatement. The place, the people and the spirit of Churchlands and the community is who I am.
The electorate is bounded by spectacular beaches, natural beauty and garden suburbs. Many in this place will see it as a bastion of the middle class and I gratefully acknowledge the good fortune of growing up and now raising my own family in this area. From the Mitchell Freeway across Lake Monger to the coast, the electorate includes the suburbs of Churchlands, Glendalough, Wembley Downs and Woodlands and parts of City Beach, Doubleview, Floreat, Wembley and West Leederville. After the most recent electoral redistribution, it also now includes parts of Osborne Park and Innaloo.
Many Churchlands residents enjoy the great Australian dream of living on larger residential blocks, while a good number of the more than 50,000 residents live an apartment lifestyle. In fact, there is double the number of medium or high-density dwellings in Churchlands compared with the state average. Nonetheless, Churchlands residents understand the need for greater density. As I have said many times over the last 12 months, I have not met a single Churchlands resident who does not accept that need, but the people of Churchlands are also resolute that density must be carefully planned, not ad hoc, and must respect the character and amenity of the local area.
Alongside the residential areas is the commercial and retail district of Osborne Park, home to numerous showrooms and offices and one of the largest car yard precincts in Australia along Scarborough Beach Road. Churchlands is indeed a diverse electorate, not just in characteristic but in its people. More than one-third were born overseas—higher than the state average—while one in five use a language other than English at home. This culturally varied population was very evident as I made my way door to door. As diverse as the electorate is, both in its people and its places, so too are the challenges and concerns on the minds of its constituents. Yet many of these issues are shared right across Western Australia.
Time and again, front doors were opened by young people in their mid-20s still living with their parents. For many, the idea of owning a home or even finding an affordable place to rent feels out of reach and far from reality. Families on two incomes, burdened by rising mortgage repayments, are struggling under the weight of soaring interest rates. Hardworking people deserve the basic promise that their efforts will deliver a comfortable life. But in Western Australia, the cost of living is climbing and it is getting harder just to make ends meet. Every day, Western Australians are grappling with the simplest challenge of paying the bills.
So, the familiar story goes on. Parents are delaying retirement because they know they will need to help their children with home deposits—if they can. Empty-nesters, retirees and seniors—one in five people in Churchlands—have worked hard all their lives. Now, inflation is eating away at their savings. Small to medium-sized businesses across Churchlands are being crushed by skyrocketing costs and red tape, which strangles their ability to grow. Families in social housing attract high rents and soaring demand has locked them out of the rental market. I look forward to being able to be a voice for these people and the issues they confront in this Parliament.
These are the people the Liberal Party has always represented: a broad range of people living in the suburbs, aspiring to get ahead and wanting to do their best for their families. I do so with the firm belief and the values of the Liberal Party, grounded in the philosophy and beliefs of liberalism itself. This includes maximising individual aspiration and supporting private sector initiative and entrepreneurship, providing everyone with the opportunity to get fair reward for effort, and lean government that does not unnecessarily interfere in people's lives and businesses, but is there to support and care for the most vulnerable.
I have been lucky to spend most of my life in the electorate, but that good fortune was built on the hard work and sacrifice of my parents. My mum, Jessie, was one of those Churchlands residents born overseas. Only recently did Mum move into a care facility. For 70 years, she called 21 Highbury Street in Floreat home. But like many of the earliest Greek arrivals in Perth, she was born on the island of Kastellorizo, Greece, in 1929, a few minutes after her twin sister, Anne.
For five years it was an idyllic life, growing up surrounded by family and friends on an island paradise until in 1935 when Mum's parents, Kyriakos and Triantafilia Simeon, decided, like many others on the island at the time, that it was time to head to the other side of the world for more certainty and greater opportunity. In something that is almost impossible to comprehend today, but that tells us much about the times and family duty of the day, when my mum's grandparents were told of the impending family departure, they replied, "But we'll be left all alone here. Why don't you leave the youngest child with us?" They did. That youngest of five children was my mum.
At the age of five, she was separated from her mum and dad, her big brother, her two elder sisters and her twin sister, Anne. Only when my own three children reached around that age was I able to fully comprehend what it must have been like for her and also for her parents. When I was growing up, I recall Mum telling me the story that as a young girl, after her family had sailed away and left her, every time a ship pulled into the harbour of Kastellorizo, which was often, Mum would race down, often in tears, to see if her family was on that boat returning to her. They never were.
Fortunately, some two and a half years later—a lifetime at that age—with her grandfather's health in decline, her grandmother decided it was no longer right to keep baby Glikeria—her Greek name and the name that she was known by then—away from her family. In those prewar years, preparations were made for her to sail with another family and other locals who were making the trip to Australia.
One of the most precious family items we have is a photograph of Mum holding her small suitcase in travelling clothes, pictured with other travellers in her group at one of the Middle Eastern ports that they stopped at en route to their new lives. Mum, although with no direct family members of her own accompanying her on that travelling party—only acquaintances—and at only the age of seven, was wide-eyed, had a big smile and looked confident.
It was to be a hallmark of her life and a quality she instilled in me, my big sister, Diane, and my sister Roslyn. No matter the challenge, whatever the circumstances, be strong, be brave; everything will be okay.
Mum's arrival some two months later is recorded on the Western Australian Museum Welcome Walls in Fremantle. Her name is on panel 166. It lists her arrival in 1937 on the ship Esquilino. The joy of the family reunion at the Simeon family home in Palmerston Street in what we now call Northbridge was short lived. It was quickly off to Highgate State School with twin sister Anne. For the first few days, her mum was surprised to see her in tears. She said, "Jessie, you come home crying every day. What is it? I thought you would be happy to be with us all now." This was in Greek, of course. Mum said, "I am, Mum, but I can't speak English, and Anne and her friends don't talk to me at school!" That quickly passed, and the Simeon twins quickly got over their separation. Mum learned to speak English, and they have been inseparable and in conversation ever since.
Mum has lived a life of dedication and service to her family and her community. In 1996, the little girl left behind in Greece almost 60 years earlier was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia by then Governor Michael Jeffery for services to the community, particularly the Greek–Australian community. Her story has always inspired me—her strength, her resilience and her drive. This September, the Simeon twins turn 96. They are both still going strong and I am very proud that mum, Jessie, is here today to hear her story retold in the Parliament of Western Australia. I hope it will inspire others as it has me.
In 1954, Mum married Anthony Zempilas, the son of another Greek migrant couple from Kastellorizo, Basil and Dialecti. His parents—my grandparents—were born in Greece and married in Greece in 1927. They were soon in Perth. They arrived in 1928, not long after my dad's arrival. Dad died last year at the age of 96. He lived a full and happy life. He was my mate and my mentor, and he would have absolutely loved this. He is not here, but he is here with me in spirit. I am wearing his watch, which one day my son, his grandson, also Anthony Zempilas, will wear. Dad was a big man with a big personality. To see him hold court at family functions or behind the microphone as master of ceremonies at many Greek weddings and community events was mesmerising to his young son. Dad would speak, the crowd would go silent, then there were roars of laughter. I thought, "How do I get amongst that?" Premier, you can blame my dad!
Dad worked with his father, and then, after his father's death in 1961, took over the family business—the Town Hall Fruit Palace at 53 Barrack Street, directly across the road from the Perth Town Hall. Service and small business were in the family. My Uncle Paull owned and operated Paull's Apparel at the bottom of Piccadilly Arcade in the city for almost 40 years. I loved working at my Uncle Paull's shop. My Uncle Con Zempilas was a magistrate and then Chief Magistrate of Western Australia. He would often remind me: ambition and goals are fine, but do not be obsessed by them. He would say, "Work hard today and tomorrow will take care of itself."
Like many Western Australians, my father ended his working life dabbling in mining exploration, but unlike many of his friends and acquaintances across various business interests, he never struck it rich. Still, even though he had never enjoyed the same good fortune as some of his friends, he only ever revelled in the success of people around him. There was never even a hint of jealousy. "Good luck to him", Dad would say when news was announced of a business triumph or other great success from someone Dad knew. It was a quality I greatly admired about Dad. In later years, Dennis Cometti said to me, "Only a true friend can be happy for your success." As usual, Cometti was "centimetre perfect". In a sentence, he had described that great quality of my dad's that I so admired.
Mum's and Dad's stories are just two of the many migrant stories that make up the unique, diverse and wonderful communities throughout this state. They are stories of fortitude and extraordinary resilience and a commitment to each other, their work, their family and their community. Their lessons for me were simple. They taught me to work hard, use common sense and always do the right thing. They showed me the importance of the family unit, however that family unit is made up. They showed me the value of contributing to one's community and taught me to champion those who work hard and lend support to those who need a hand up. They also taught me to dream big, be bold and go for it—that my destiny was in my hands. It was those lessons that set me up for my working life.
Mr Speaker, I join this Parliament with a background in sport, in broadcasting and media, and, more recently, in local government as the Lord Mayor of the City of Perth. After five seasons at the West Perth Football Club, where I broke just about every bone in my body—except, somewhat unfortunately, my nose—injuries and an unexpected opportunity meant a premature end to my league career. I want to thank Channel Seven Perth Managing Director Kevin Campbell and my first news director, John Rudd, for taking a punt on a Murdoch University journalism graduate on the recommendation of Wally Foreman, with whom I had had some interaction through my studies and West Australian Football League footy. I started at Channel Seven as a 22-year-old in February 1994. It was the ride of a lifetime and lasted 31 years.
I saw all the Eagles, and—apologies to the Dockers supporters in the chamber—the one Dockers grand final up close. I called the footy for 10 years. I read the sport next to Rick and Sue for 20 years. I went to nine Olympic Games. I called the Australian Open tennis, hosted Weekend Sunrise and had the great good fortune to anchor Telethon. I promise the Premier now that the days of him being terrorised by me on my walk around at the Telethon Ball are over. What a reminder Telethon is. When we are good at something in WA, we are as good as anyone anywhere in the world—that includes in philanthropy and generosity. Telethon used to be the highest raising television fundraiser per capita anywhere in the world. The "per capita" disclaimer is now no longer needed. Telethon is now the biggest, most successful television fundraiser anywhere in the world—full stop. In this 58th year of Telethon, Western Australians have raised a staggering $688 million to help sick and vulnerable kids. We should all share in that pride.
I also want to acknowledge from my broadcast days Dennis Cometti, someone I idolised who became a colleague and then a mentor and a friend. It was a dream come true to call footy with Dennis. To paraphrase and borrow from Den, I enter this Parliament optimistically and hope not to exit "misty-optically"!
Radio was another part of my career, and for the better part of 25 years I was either on AM or FM breakfast radio. The highlight was my second stint at 6PR on the breakfast show with Steve Mills, when, in 2014, among other things, we introduced Perth to the world famous "Rumour File". There is an irony to standing in this place and talking about "Rumour File" because, let me tell members, as the "Rumour File" host, the best customers for the segment invariably came from this very building. More often than not, they were the press secretaries for various leaders. Once a broadcaster, always a broadcaster! I am not about to blow anyone's cover—but to those who went by the codenames "Polly Waffle"; "Light on the Hill"; one of my favourites, "Two Metre Rita"; and, "Mr Speaker", a very good afternoon to you and thank you for your contributions!
I think I was subject to a rumour or two myself back in 2020, when a plan was hatched to run as Lord Mayor. Although I had always been interested—I had grown up with community politics around our kitchen table at home—I could not see how I would make the transition from broadcaster to any tier of government. In short, COVID was the answer. Suddenly, my travelling days for work were paused, and this coincided with the announcement by then Minister for Local Government, David Templeman, that, after a period of three years with no elected members, fresh elections for the City of Perth were to be held.
I was honoured to become the 18th Lord Mayor of the City of Perth in 2020, and to be re-elected in 2023 with double the vote and five times the winning margin.
Throughout my career, I have had the privilege of being a part of and observing elite teams in operation. I believe in the power of teamwork, and that to get the best outcomes, teamwork is what does it. When people from different backgrounds, with different life and business experiences, who have walked different pathways, unite behind a common belief, great things can be achieved. Through teamwork and transparency, confidence and prosperity has returned to the City of Perth. I am immensely proud of a huge number of achievements and the great progress achieved by our team collectively during my almost five years as Lord Mayor. At the top of that list is the restored reputation of the City of Perth and the increased population of the inner city, with a huge number of student accommodation beds online and many more ready to come online in time for the opening of the Edith Cowan University campus. The huge uplift in vibrancy was fast-tracked through a curated, year-round, world-class events program, which amongst other things saw Elizabeth Quay activated to become a hub for family-friendly entertainment.
The city's local government financial health indicator score improved from 67 five years ago to 88, noting that 70 is the score for sound financial management. During that time, the city has been able to consistently have the lowest rate rises of any major Perth council. Perth's assertive membership of the World Energy Cities Partnership has pushed our city's and state's global role in the energy transition to the world. I am very proud of the almost $40 million raised in four appeals for the Lord Mayor's Distress Relief Fund to help Western Australians in their time of need. I am also immensely proud that we led the charge to champion Australia Day being celebrated on our national day—26 January. We reclaimed the "City of Light" tag for our capital city, and in honour of that origin story from John Glenn over 60 years ago, I am excited that a seven-metre spaceman near Council House on St George's Terrace will pay tribute to that uniquely Perth event.
I wish to thank and acknowledge my fellow councillors and City of Perth CEO, Michelle Reynolds, for her leadership and excellence, and I thank Paul Anastas for his stellar support of me and two other Lord Mayors during his 30 years at the city.
Mr Speaker, I trust that my 30-year career in the media and my leadership at the City of Perth as Lord Mayor brings another perspective to add to the rich and diverse tapestry of backgrounds, skills and experience in this Parliament. I reflect particularly on the people on this side of the house, who bring with them a wide range of real-life experiences. I know they will broaden my understanding of what it is that makes this state great, and what we need to do to secure our future. I thank them and my parliamentary colleagues in this place and the other place for the faith they have bestowed on me to lead the Parliamentary Liberal Party and to take on the role of Leader of the Opposition.
I hope that my experience can act as an incentive for others who may think their heritage or background might hold them back. It should not. Take for example free dress day at Floreat Primary School back in 1980, Mum, when I was in year 4. My mum thought it would be a good idea for me to go to free dress day dressed in Greek national costume. Fair enough, I thought. That was until I got to school and it dawned on me that while most of my mates were wearing VFL jumpers of their favourite player or dressed as Hawkeye or Radar out of MASH, I was in a white frilly shirt, a sequinned vest, a white pleated skirt, long white tights with garters and red shoes with pompoms. I must have been quite the sight that day at kick-to-kick. Character building stuff! But if you can survive that, trust me, the hurly-burly of this place is nothing.
Now wearing normal shoes, it is an enormous privilege to follow in the footsteps of former Liberal leaders, including those who went on to become Premiers, such as Richard Court and Colin Barnett, and whose wise counsel is something for which I am grateful. I would also like to pay special tribute to my predecessor as leader, Libby Mettam. Libby, your support in the early days was incredibly important. I and the rest of the team are very grateful. We thank you for your commitment to this team and for your invaluable guidance and support.
I mentioned two former Liberal Premiers, Richard Court and Colin Barnett, whose achievements in leadership I have admired over decades from afar, and whom I am now lucky enough to know personally. Whatever a person's politics—for the record, I have admired and continue to admire politicians from across the political spectrum—it is not hard to argue that the contribution of those two men in leading Western Australia as Premiers for a combined total of almost 17 years has been enormous. That contribution is measured by not only their longevity of service but by the impact both had on the economic and social development of this state. Their numerous achievements emulated a proud history of leaders, including Sir John Forrest, Sir Charles Court and Sir David Brand, who made bold decisions to support big projects to drive this state forward, from the Goldfields water supply pipeline to the development of the Pilbara, Ord River Dam and Optus Stadium. From our beautiful regions to our capital city, those projects are monuments to ingenuity and have underpinned our economy.
The economic leadership shown by governments willing to think big and forge new trading and investment relationships has ensured that despite our much spoken of isolation and relatively small population, we punch well above our weight in terms of our contribution to the nation's prosperity and our standing in the Asia–Pacific region. It is the reason that we can enjoy our wonderfully unique and envied lifestyle. It is what encourages job creation and investment. It is what generates opportunities to carve out our rightful place on the global stage. We cannot become afraid to dream big. Western Australians deserve strong leadership and a strong voice with ambition to make the most of our special part of the world while also protecting it for future generations.
Of particular importance over the next decade will be the decisions we make on energy policy, as we embark on an energy transition. Energy security, specifically access to safe, reliable and affordable energy, has been and always will be critical to our economic development. The decisions we make during this crucial era of transition must balance the need for a low-emissions future with the absolute imperative of ensuring adequate, affordable and reliable generating capacity. As history shows, our geography and our isolation from a national energy grid have meant we have had to go it alone on energy. We employed that can-do attitude in building and underwriting big energy projects and implementing sensible policy to protect our energy interests, such as the domestic gas policy. I acknowledge former Labor Premier Alan Carpenter for formalising that policy in 2006.
We have shaped our future before, and we must do it again. Let us take charge now to protect the way of life that defines us for generations to come. A strong economic future enables a supportive social environment in which we can care for the most vulnerable in our community. It will help our creative industries to thrive and will ensure that we can protect our unique environment; we can continue to enjoy the extraordinary beauty and wonder it provides and sustain our economic prosperity. The projects that have driven our economic and social development have all made the most of our comparative advantages, most notably the rich endowment of natural resources in this state.
Although it is important to ensure we diversify our economy to secure a future beyond finite commodities, we must recognise that diversification should remain focused on our natural advantages. Our economy and our population are not big enough to successfully sustain a dilution of effort. Put simply, we cannot be all things to all people. And that brings me to what is, of course, our greatest comparative advantage and our greatest natural resource—that is, our people.
From the leaders who have had the strength of their conviction to not only have bold ideas but back those bold ideas and see them through, to the mum starting a small business from home, to the young people forging careers in the Pilbara, to the support workers who go the extra mile to ensure a better quality of life for the person in their care, to the scientists building supercomputers, to the stars in our sporting arenas, Western Australians are indeed extraordinary. Whether it is born out of our isolation, our geography, or our Indigenous or migrant history, we have harnessed hard work, ingenuity, excellence and innovation to overcome adversity to nurture excellence and well and truly make our mark on the world—not bad for a state that makes up around 11% of Australia's population. We are a proud state with an arguably unmatched parochialism that we should harness positively. It is okay for all of us to demand excellence among ourselves, for each other and for our state, our nation and globe. We must ensure that everyone in Western Australia has equal opportunity to pursue excellence in whatever endeavour they choose, no matter where they live—which suburb in Perth, which town or community in the regions. Through education, sports, science, music, art, social services, the public service or indeed politics, this is the key to our future success.
For my part, I feel enormously grateful to have the opportunity to fulfil a role in politics in this Parliament. As member for Churchlands and as Leader of the Opposition, I will work hard to achieve for both my constituents and the broader Western Australian community each and every day. I have reflected on the values and experience that have shaped who I am and bring me to this Parliament as a proud Liberal. While all of us should be guided by values and principles, adherence to a blind ideology at the expense of a wider commonsense perspective does not make for good decision-making. This is particularly important when representing others, as all of us in this place do. As the member for Churchlands and the Leader of the Opposition, I will always put common sense ahead of politics. Policy and legislation based on common sense that is in the best interest of all Western Australians should be at the centre of good government. That demands sensible, informed decision-making based on sound evidence, long-term planning beyond the electoral cycle, prudent financial management, good judgement and integrity, practical realistic solutions, the ability to change course and, yes, if necessary, admit when you have got things wrong. Mr Speaker, you can be assured that I will lead a team that will demand all of this from the members opposite to ensure excellence from the government and the Parliament on behalf of all Western Australians. We will scrutinise and question, and work collaboratively when we agree. We can and should do no less.
I would like to conclude by thanking my greatest supporters: my wife, Amy, who is here today, and our three children, Ava, Chloe and Anthony, who are not here today and who could not possibly have sat through 40 minutes of Dad on his feet! There is no greater responsibility and challenge than raising children. It is one made considerably easier with the support of someone you love. Amy, I would not have been able to do any of the things that I have done or any of the things that I am doing without you on the journey with me. Thank you for your unconditional love, your incredible support and your constant grounding, a role that you have taken on seamlessly from my mum. And there is no greater motivational driver than knowing you can help shape the future for your children and their generation. Ultimately much of what we do here is for them, the next generation. As a young man growing up, to me Western Australia was always a state for doers and dreamers, for innovators and entrepreneurs. That is the Western Australia I want for our kids. It is that spirit that sets us apart and it is that spirit that I will always champion.
I pledge to give everything I can to this Parliament to repay the enormous privilege I have been granted to represent my community, the people of Perth and the great people of Western Australia, wherever they may be. Western Australia is the state that I am so fortunate and so proud to call home. We live in the best place on earth. How lucky we are and how grateful I am to be here representing many, not only in Churchlands but right around the state of Western Australia. Thank you, Mr Speaker.
(Applause.)
Ms Emily Hamilton (Joondalup—Parliamentary Secretary) (1:55 pm): I am privileged to rise in this chamber to deliver my response to the Address-in-Reply. I am deeply honoured once again to stand here as the member for Joondalup for a third term, representing a vibrant, diverse and growing community. I am humbled by the trust that the people of Joondalup have placed in me, and I reaffirm my unwavering commitment to work tirelessly on their behalf. This term, I am proud to serve as the parliamentary secretary to Minister Sabine Winton, supporting her across the vital portfolios of education, early childhood, preventative health and the Wheatbelt. Each of these areas presents unique opportunities to deliver meaningful outcomes, and I look forward to contributing to positive change. I also take pride in the fact that Western Australia remains at the forefront nationally of being the first jurisdiction to establish a dedicated preventative health portfolio.
I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to the Speaker of the 42nd Parliament, the member for Forrestfield, on his appointment. I also congratulate the Premier and all of my parliamentary colleagues, both re-elected and newly elected, on their success. This is a strong team with a clear mandate to lead our state forward. To Premier Roger Cook and our cabinet colleagues, thank you. Thank you for your continued support for the projects that matter to Joondalup. This is a government that listens, that acts and, most importantly, that delivers. I also thank His Excellency the Governor for his thoughtful address, which outlined a compelling vision for WA, one grounded in fairness, opportunity and sound economic leadership. I am proud to be part of a government that is committed to building an inclusive, sustainable future while supporting working people and strengthening local industries. As we begin our third term, the Cook Labor government is not only building on our record but embracing the responsibility that comes with it.
The 2017 state election marked a turning point. After years of neglect by Barnett and the Liberals, our outer suburbs were finally brought back into focus. The incoming Labor government came with a clear and unwavering commitment to bring fairness and to plan for the long term, delivering for communities that had been forgotten for far too long. From day one we got to work. We began investing in what matters most to families in the north: quality schools, a stronger hospital, better roads and rail, and real support for local jobs and skills. This was not just about fixing the damage of the past; it was about building a future that reflects the growth potential and promise of one of the fastest growing regions in the country. Since that pivotal moment, we have not just talked about the change, we have delivered it—not just promises, but real, tangible outcomes for the people of Perth's northern suburbs. We backed Metronet, finally connecting communities with the vital public transport they had long been denied. We have upgraded Joondalup Health Campus and recruited more frontline staff, nurses, doctors and mental health professionals so families can access essential care without the stress of long travel or lengthy wait times. We are delivering the Ocean Reef Marina and, once complete, it will be a premier waterfront hub for Perth's northern suburbs. It will become a major tourism drawcard and a powerful economic driver for the region. We brought TAFE back to life, cutting fees for higher demand courses and opening up pathways into real jobs in construction, health care, technology and the trades. Thousands of locals have already seized these opportunities and are now building their futures right here in WA.
We have built new public schools, expanded existing campuses and invested in modern classrooms, STEM facilities and early childhood education, because every child deserves access to high-quality education close to home regardless of their postcode. We have boosted support for community hubs, local sporting clubs and family services because strong communities are built not just with concrete and steel; they are built through connection, inclusion and a sense of belonging.
We restored the state's Aaa credit rating, secured our fair share of the GST and rebuilt the foundations of our economy without resorting to the privatisation of Western Power or Fremantle port, as the previous government had planned. We invested in local jobs, diversified our economy, revitalised skills and training, and delivered signature projects—developments that will shape our state's future for decades.
In 2021, Western Australians doubled down on their support.
Debate interrupted, pursuant to standing orders.
(Continued at a later stage of the sitting.)
