Opposition Leader Shane Love MLA has labelled the Cook Labor Government’s new Cabinet a missed opportunity to reset and move forward, describing the changes as more style than substance.
Mr Love said the new Cabinet failed to address many of the issues with the previous Labor Government.
“If the Premier was serious about learning from his Government’s mistakes, he would have removed Paul Papalia from Cabinet altogether,” Mr Love said.
“While it’s a relief to see the Police portfolio reassigned, Minister Papalia’s ongoing failures in Corrective Services, a portfolio plagued by scandal and tragedy, should have made his exit a
priority.
“Minister Papalia’s refusal to listen to the Opposition, the WA Police Union, and the Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services has repeatedly highlighted his unsuitability for the role.”
Mr Love said other Ministers should also have been moved on.
“Other underperforming Ministers, like Don Punch, should also have been removed from Cabinet. His poor handling of the fisheries portfolio created widespread uncertainty and discontent across the sector, culminating in a humiliating backdown during the State Election campaign.”
Mr Love also criticised the Premier’s decision to keep Treasury and Transport under the same Minister, calling it a failure to address obvious governance flaws.
“The Minister responsible for the biggest blowouts, and the largest capital expenditure should not also control budgeting. Metronet’s $10 billion cost blowout alone is a prime example of why these portfolios must be separated.”
He said the rebranding of the Housing portfolio to Housing and Works was a tacit admission the Cook Labor Government had failed to get on top of the housing crisis.
“Despite pulling every lever, the Housing Minister has refused to deliver meaningful relief to first home buyers, like axing stamp duty, and failed to deliver enough Government Regional Officer Housing or social housing. A new title won’t solve the problem is the approach remains the same.”
Mr Love also questioned the designation of eight regional Cabinet roles, describing it as an attempt to recover from Labor’s disastrous regional election result.
“This is simply an attempt by WA Labor to course correct after an election which saw regional voters turn their back on the Cook Labor Government after eight years of neglect.
“While I welcome any increased decentralisation, it must also come with an increase in resources for the regional development commissions, and a true restoration of Royalties for Regions,
otherwise it is simply tokenistic.
“Carving up regional development to Perth-based Ministers with limited ties to the communities their tasked to represent will not address the complex challenges regional communities face.”
