Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Momentous events occur in all states, and on the weekend we had one in Western Australia—the state election. I would like to thank the people of Swan about the four state seats that fall within the electorate of Swan, and I also take this opportunity to congratulate the Premier, Colin Barnett, on his government's re-election. The South Perth electorate is held by a good mate of mine, John McGrath, a former journalist. He is horrified by the media legislation being introduced into this place to gag dissent about this government. John has been around for a long time—he was elected in 2005. His primary vote was 67 per cent, an increase of 14 per cent over the 2008 election. I congratulate him for his re-election in the seat of South Perth and I look forward to working with him again in the district around the seat of Swan.

The seat of Cannington was held by Bill Johnston, the former state secretary of the ALP. I see Bill at a lot of events out in the community, and I know Bill has worked hard for his electorate. I give particular recognition to Jesse Jacobs, the son of Graham Jacobs, a minister in the Barnett government. We have all been through long campaigns, and sometimes we see a little overenthusiasm in some electorates. There was a bit of guerrilla warfare in the seat of Cannington, but Jesse did really well, gaining a 10.3 per cent swing on primaries but he just missed out on being elected. So, again, I congratulate Bill Johnston on his re-election and look forward to working with him again for the benefit of the residents of Swan.

In Victoria Park, Haider Zaman only nominated two months ago and he put up a great fight, receiving a 4.7 per cent swing. I see the member for Shortland is here—we share the area of Belmont in our electorates, and I would particularly like to mention Glenys Godfrey who, on her third try, has now won the seat of Belmont in the Western Australian state parliament. Glenys is 63 and has served as the mayor of Belmont for six years. Last year in members' 90-second statements I spoke about a gentleman by the name of Ron Godfrey. Ron was Glenys's husband, and he passed away during the election period while Glenys was campaigning. He passed away at 6.30 in the morning and Glenys was out doing a community forum at 9.30 the next day. I congratulate Glenys for her stoic performance—she will be a great member for the people of Belmont and I look forward to working with her as well in the next four years.