Election of President
The Clerk (Mr Sam Hastings) reported that the office of President was vacant and called for nominations.
Hon Stephen Dawson (Leader of the House) (10:38 am) without notice: I move:
That Hon Alanna Clohesy do take the chair in the Council as President.
Hon Nick Goiran (Leader of the Opposition) (10:39 am): I formally second the motion.
Hon Alanna Clohesy (10:39 am): Clerk, I submit myself to the will of the house.
(There being no other nomination, Hon Alanna Clohesy was declared elected as President, and was conducted to the chair by the mover and seconder of the motion.)
(Applause.)
The President (Hon Alanna Clohesy) (10:40 am): Honourable members, I commence by acknowledging we are meeting on the traditional lands of the Whadjuk Noongar people and I pay my respects to their elders past and present, and I extend that respect to elders across our great state. Thank you for the honour of electing me to serve as your President for the 42nd Parliament. It is a role that I will continue to treat with high regard and much respect. I look forward to bringing the knowledge and experience gained in my previous term to strengthen and grow all aspects of the role for the betterment of the Parliament. I commit to presiding over the Council to ensure fairness in all our deliberations—fairness based on standing orders and related conventions and traditions. These elements are key to us all participating in the work of this place equally. They remind us of our shared values such as respect—respect for ourselves, for each other, for this Parliament and for the people we seek to represent. Importantly, they give us stability in an ever-changing and fast-paced world. I will continue to champion our shared values of equality, diversity, and inclusion. As a constant reminder of this, I will maintain my preference for use of the title President without the gendered honorific.
To our many new members, welcome. I undertake to work with you to facilitate your full participation in this place to the best of your ability. You come to this place with a diversity of experience and I hope to assist you to incorporate this experience into the Parliament to continue to strengthen our work. To our returning members, it seems like yesterday that we saw each other. But seriously, I will continue to work with you to assist you in your important roles in this place. For example, I look forward to developing and expanding our professional information and development opportunities and exploring with you other ways to continue to provide you with support in your important work here.
More broadly, much of the role of the Presiding Officer is also the management of the operations of the Parliament as a whole, and I will work to ensure our Parliament continues to function efficiently and effectively and based on good governance principles. Members, with much work ahead of us over the next four years, and they will go very quickly, we will face many challenges and equally many opportunities. I look forward to working with you as we undertake this journey together as parliamentarians to ensure the best outcomes for the people of our great state of Western Australia. Thank you.
