Home

Anthony Albanese to visit Perth this weekend to say ‘thank you’ after Labor’s stunning election wins in WA

Peter LawThe West Australian
CommentsComments
Anthony Albanese will head to Perth this weekend to show his gratitude in-person after West Australian voters delivered Labor a majority government.
Camera IconAnthony Albanese will head to Perth this weekend to show his gratitude in-person after West Australian voters delivered Labor a majority government. Credit: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

Anthony Albanese will visit Perth this weekend to show his gratitude in-person after West Australian voters delivered Labor a majority government.

The Prime Minister revealed he would touch down in Perth on Saturday evening and spend time in the city on Sunday before travelling to Indonesia that night.

He told a caucus meeting in Canberra on Tuesday, the first since Labor’s Federal election victory, that he wanted to say “thank you to people who gave us support this time round”.

Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE

Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.

READ NOW

Labor picked-up four Liberal-held seats in WA — Swan, Pearce, Hasluck and Tangney and gained a 10.1 per cent 2PP swing, which was three times the size of the nationwide result.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Parliament House.
Camera IconMr Albanese hailed the decision to hold Labor’s official campaign launch in Perth earlier this month, despite resistance from some within the party. Credit: AAP

Mr Albanese hailed the decision to hold Labor’s official campaign launch in Perth earlier this month, despite resistance from some within the party.

“About a year ago, I said, ‘I’ve got this idea that we’re going to launch the campaign in Western Australia’.

“Not everyone thought that was a great idea at the beginning. It’s got to be said, not everyone was wrapped. It was probably the weakest reception since I was a cabinet minister and said, ‘We’re going to be 565 mayors to Canberra and you’re going to meet with all of them’.

“But wasn’t that a good call in WA?

“We have an opportunity to shape the future from this position. We know the policies that we have in place, but I said on election night as well, the ‘how’ is important. I’m serious about the ‘how’.

“We need to change the way that politics operates in this country. We need to be more inclusive, we need to be prepared to reach out, we need to be prepared to engage on those issues. We can do that in this Parliament.

“Truth is while we had two losses of value colleagues, we didn’t lose a single seat to the Coalition, which is quite extraordinary in a Federal campaign like that.”

The increased number of Labor MPs from WA is one of the main reasons Cowan’s Anne Aly has been promoted into the 30-person ministry, which is picked by the party’s Left and Right factions.

Caucus will rubberstamp the ministry make-up on Tuesday, with Mr Albanese to then assign portfolios and decide which ministers will sit in Cabinet.

Brand MP Madeleine King and Burt’s Matt Keogh are the other West Australians in the ministry.

It was confirmed on Monday that Labor had secured the 76 seats in the House of Representatives that the party needed to govern in its own right.

Mr Albanese, who revealed Parliament would not sit again until July 26, told his parliamentary colleagues he was determined to secure an even bigger majority after the next election.

“If we keep our discipline (and) implement the program which is there, there is no reason why we can’t continue to be even more successful than we have been at this point,” he said.

“To this point in time, though, remember to keep your feet on the ground but enjoy the journey. For those newbies, you really struck gold because because opposition is not fun at all -- at all.

“So enjoy being part of a government that can make a difference, a government that will implement our policies and programs, a government that will bring people with us on the journey of change.”

Mr Albanese’s voice broke and he chocked back tears as he finished his speech by thanking his team for the “incredible honour of being a Labor Prime Minister”.

Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.

Sign up for our emails