William Joseph Johnston (born 11 August 1962) is an Australian politician. He has been a
Labor Party member of the
Western Australian Legislative Assembly since the
2008 state election, representing
Cannington.
While still a student Johnston spent time abroad as an
American Field Service exchange student to
Bandung
Bandung ( su, ᮘᮔ᮪ᮓᮥᮀ, Bandung, ; ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of West Java. It has a population of 2,452,943 within its city limits according to the official estimates as at mid 2021, making it the fourth most ...
, Indonesia. He is married to
Kate Doust, the member for the South Metropolitan Region.
Prior to entering Parliament, Johnston spent seven years as the state secretary of WA Labor and was a former senior official of the
Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association, the union representing retail and warehouse workers.
In the
2013 state election, Johnston was re-elected for a second term in office. In opposition, he was the shadow minister for State Development; Energy; Mines & Petroleum. He was reelected again at the
2017 Western Australian state election
The 2017 Western Australian state election was held on Saturday 11 March 2017 to elect members to the Parliament of Western Australia, including all 59 seats in the Legislative Assembly and all 36 seats in the Legislative Council. The eight-a ...
.
McGowan Ministry
When Labor was
elected to government in 2017, Johnston became Minister for Asian Engagement; Minister for Housing; Minister for Electoral Affairs; and Minister for Commerce and Industrial Relations. Five days after the cabinet was sworn in, he swapped the Housing portfolio with
Peter Tinley
Peter Charles Tinley (born 9 July 1962) is an Australian politician and former soldier. Peter has been a Labor Party member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly since November 2009, representing the electorate of Willagee.
Early li ...
, after Tinley resigned as
Minister for Mines and Petroleum over a possible conflict of interest.
On 13 December 2018 Johnston gained the
Energy portfolio and relinquished Electoral Affairs, Commerce and Asian Engagement.
As Minister for Industrial Relations, Johnston introduced
industrial manslaughter laws. These laws include a maximum penalty of between five and 20 years imprisonment for individuals, along with fines of up to $10 million for companies responsible for the death of a worker.
In October 2020, Johnston and Premier
Mark McGowan announced the Household Electricity Credit, a $600 credit applied to every household electricity account. The credit was funded by a settlement of the decades long
Bell Group litigation.
Also as Energy Minister, Johnston launched Western Australia's first Whole of System Plan, a long-term plan for the
South West Interconnected System electricity network. He has also overseen reforms to solar buyback arrangements,
intended to support the stability of the electricity network as household solar generation increases.
References
1962 births
Living people
Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia
People from Canberra
21st-century Australian politicians
Energy Ministers of Western Australia
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