Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister
The West Australian
Monday 22 May 2023
One year ago I was walking around in the dark, on the green at the Mt Lawley Bowling Club, staring at my phone.
It was hard to believe the data I was seeing from our Labor team. Labor had campaigned well in the West, but the support from the people of WA was like nothing since Bob Hawke was prime minister. The Liberals had taken our State for granted for too long.
Eastern States colleagues were calling and texting to ask if WA would come through with enough seats for Labor.
So often the national result is known before polls close in the West, but this was different. Once we saw the spectacular results we knew - WA had done our bit and Labor had won the 2022 Federal election.
I was proud of my team in Perth who achieved the biggest swing to a sitting member anywhere in the country. I was proud of the WA Labor team who had elected so much new talent in just one election.
It was a special moment, standing with my wife Jess, friends, family and Fatima Payman (about to become WA's newest senator), as we watched Anthony Albanese deliver his first speech as Prime Minister-elect. He outlined our mission in Government:
"I want to find that common ground where together we can plant our dreams. To unite around our shared love of this country, our shared faith in Australia's future, our shared values of fairness and opportunity, and hard work and kindness to those in need."
This is what we have set about doing for the past 12 months. For all Australians. For all West Australians.
Jobs and livelihoods across WA rely on international trade. That is why it has been a priority to advocate for Australia's interests and invest in our international relationships. Within hours of the election, Prime Minister Albanese was preparing to travel to the Quad meeting in Tokyo.
Within weeks we had delivered on our commitment to increase Australia's climate targets. Giving the community hope and the certainty we need to become a renewable energy superpower.
When we talk about planting our dreams, we do it by investing in the next generation. Included in the October Budget were investments in fee-free TAFE and cheaper child care. For my electorate of Perth alone that is 6800 families, and more than 111,800 across WA, who will benefit from cheaper childcare from July 1.
Our values of fairness are why the May Budget has invested so heavily in Medicare and cheaper medicines. Taking important decisions to make hundreds of common medicines cheaper. We will allow millions of Australians to buy two months of medicine for the price of a single prescription. Saving up to $180 a year per eligible medicine for a general patient. Concession card holders will save up to $43.80 a year per medicine.
Not every decision has been easy. We took decisive action, opposed by the Liberals, to help keep energy bills low in the face of imported inflation from Russia's illegal war.
We have started the hard work of getting the Budget under control after the Liberals left behind a trillion dollars in debt. We are acting on the health risks of vaping and will work with the WA Government to stamp out the growing black market trade.
We introduced and passed the National Anti-Corruption Commission. This was a promise kept for so many, including for the committee at the Mt Lawley Bowling Club who had been so badly dudded by the Liberal-National sports rorts. Albanese and I promised them at a meeting in 2020 we would raise the standard of government in Australia. We have.
For the first year of the Albanese Government WA has been front and centre. The proof is everywhere. Front and centre of our international relations with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan visiting last year. Front and centre of our engagement with 12 visits from the Prime Minister including a Cabinet meeting in Port Hedland.
And WA is front and centre of important steps towards reconciliation, working across partisan divides to bring Australians together for constitutional recognition with Ken Wyatt, Kate Chaney and so many others.
The work of government is never done. But I am just as proud of the team Anthony Albanese leads, and the role WA Labor plays, as I was at the Mount Lawley Bowling Club late on election night last year.
West Australians should equally feel proud that we helped raise the standards, integrity and compassion of the Australian Government on May 21 2022.
Patrick Gorman is the Federal Member for Perth and the Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister.
