Matt Keogh (Burt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

On the weekend before last, my constituents voiced their support for a fresh approach to WA loud and clear at the ballot box, electing a Mark McGowan WA Labor government with a thumping majority. Sitting state Labor members Dr Tony Buti and Chris Tallentire's hard work over the last four years paid off. They both held their seats with swings to Labor of up to 13 per cent. In Southern River, in the north of my electorate, local teacher Terry Healy was elected on an 18 per cent swing; and, to the south and east, former policeman Barry Urban became the first Labor member for the seat of Darling Range, on a 19 per cent swing. In the west of Burt, residents in the electorate of Jandakot delivered a 19.4 per cent swing to Labor's Yaz Mubarakai. It was enough to get Labor across the line and oust a future Liberal leadership hopeful. This is an overwhelming show of support for Labor's plan for Perth's south-east: fixing Denny Avenue, building a new Armadale Road bridge and a Thornlie to Cockburn rail line through Canning Vale, as well as opening the Armadale police station 24/7. These are commitments I have fought for since day one of my campaign, and I look forward to their delivery now.

Whilst this election was undoubtedly fought on state issues, the implications for those in this place are also far-reaching. The Liberal-One Nation preference deal, which was orchestrated with the help of WA senators Cormann and Cash, resoundingly backfired on both parties. Those considering a vote for One Nation came to Labor as soon as it became a apparent that a vote for One Nation was a vote to sell Western Power, to cut penalty rates and to support the Liberals. That brings me to the second federal factor: the Prime Minister's support for penalty rate cuts—backed by Colin Barnett mid-campaign. A post-election ReachTEL poll appearing in today's West Australian shows a full 62.6 per cent of respondents in the 18 seats that came to Labor oppose penalty rate cuts. Perhaps that is why the PM only visited WA for half a day. He spent more time flying over Western Australia to other countries than he did in WA. While Bill Shorten campaigned strongly for Labor in the election, the Prime Minister was sinking schooners on election day for a satirical news site in Sydney. WA can no longer be taken for granted by the Liberals. After four years of this Abbott-Turnbull government ignoring WA's infrastructure needs and investing no new money in rail projects, all it has done is latched itself to the discredited Perth Freight Link. The Turnbull government must accept WA's calls to reallocate this funding to projects that Western Australians actually want, like Metronet. If not, then WA's already low share of Commonwealth funding will plummet.

That brings me, of course, to the GST. The Prime Minister told Western Australians less than 12 months ago that he would introduce a floor, but then he walked away from that promise. The hypocrisy of members opposite coming out last week and saying something needs to be done about the GST is astounding. The ball is now firmly in the court of the members for Pearce, Hasluck, Stirling, Swan and Canning. They know the writing is on the wall. It is the least the Liberals could do for our state after years of neglect.

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