Mark McGowan (born 13 July 1967) is an Australian politician, the 30th
premier of Western Australia
The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive bra ...
, and the leader of the
Western Australian branch of the
Labor Party.
McGowan was born and raised in
Newcastle, New South Wales
Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area ...
. He attended the
University of Queensland
, mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work
, established =
, endowment = A$224.3 million
, budget = A$2.1 billion
, type = Public research university
, chancellor = Peter Varghese
, vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry
, city = B ...
and worked as a legal officer for the
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister o ...
, serving at naval base , south of
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
. Settling in
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...
, he was elected as a councillor for the
City of Rockingham
The City of Rockingham is a council and local government area, comprising the south coastal suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth.
History
Rockingham is located in the southern part of the traditional tribal territory of the ...
from 1994, and was later elected to the
Western Australian Legislative Assembly
The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House, Perth, Parliament House in the Western Australian capi ...
at the
1996 election, representing the district of
Rockingham. In 2001, he was made Parliamentary Secretary to Premier
Geoff Gallop
Geoffrey Ian Gallop (born 27 September 1951) is an Australian academic and former politician who served as the 27th Premier of Western Australia from 2001 to 2006. He is currently a professor and director of the Graduate School of Government a ...
, and was later a
Cabinet Minister
A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘ prime minister� ...
in both the Gallop and
Carpenter Governments from 2005 to 2008.
McGowan was elected as Leader of the Labor Party in Western Australia following the resignation of
Eric Ripper, and became
Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
in the Legislative Assembly. Although he led Labor to defeat at the
2013 election, he retained his position as leader, and embarked upon a "listening tour" of the state, pledging to restore Labor's credibility with voters. McGowan subsequently grew in popularity, and went on to lead Labor to a landslide victory at the
2017 election, winning the largest majority government in the state's history at the time. He was subsequently appointed the 30th Premier of Western Australia.
Throughout 2020, McGowan led
Western Australia's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, during which time he reached a record-breaking approval rating for an Australian premier of 91%. At the
2021 election, he led his party to an even larger majority, winning 53 out of 59 seats in the Legislative Assembly, and also winning a majority in the
Legislative Council, the largest victory in terms of both vote share and proportion of lower house seats occupied in any Australian state or federal election since
federation
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...
.
Early life and naval career
McGowan was born into a family of
Irish descent in
Newcastle, New South Wales
Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area ...
, and was educated at public schools in
Casino
A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live enterta ...
and
Coffs Harbour
Coffs Harbour is a city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. It is one of the largest urban centres on the North Coast, with a population of 78,759 as per 2021 census. The Gumbaynggirr ...
, before obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1987 and a Bachelor of Laws in 1989 from the
University of Queensland
, mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work
, established =
, endowment = A$224.3 million
, budget = A$2.1 billion
, type = Public research university
, chancellor = Peter Varghese
, vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry
, city = B ...
. He joined the Australian Labor Party in 1984, stating that he was inspired by the leadership of
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and union organiser who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (A ...
. In 1989, he joined the
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister o ...
as a legal officer. He served at the naval base , reaching the rank of
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
. In 1996, he was awarded a
Commendation for Brave Conduct
The Commendation for Brave Conduct is a bravery decoration awarded to Australians. It is awarded for an act of bravery that is worthy of recognition. The Commendation for Brave Conduct was created in February 1975. The decorations recognise acts ...
, for actions he took on service in 1995 for rescuing an unconscious driver from a burning car.
Early political career
In 1994, after settling with his family in Western Australia, McGowan was elected to the
City of Rockingham Council, and in 1995 was appointed Deputy Mayor. He was subsequently pre-selected to run for the
Western Australian Legislative Assembly
The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House, Perth, Parliament House in the Western Australian capi ...
in the seat of
Rockingham at the
1996 election, following the retirement of long-serving MP
Mike Barnett.
At the
2001 election, Labor defeated the
Liberal–
National Government; new Premier
Geoff Gallop
Geoffrey Ian Gallop (born 27 September 1951) is an Australian academic and former politician who served as the 27th Premier of Western Australia from 2001 to 2006. He is currently a professor and director of the Graduate School of Government a ...
chose to appoint McGowan as his Parliamentary Secretary. McGowan was also responsible for chairing the state's ANZAC Committee, the group managing the Western Australia's 175th anniversary celebrations in 2004, and for chairing the Bali Memorial Steering Committee. In January 2005, following the retirement of federal Labor Leader
Mark Latham
Mark William Latham (born 28 February 1961) is an Australian politician and media commentator, currently serving as a member in the New South Wales Legislative Council. He previously served as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and ...
from politics, McGowan was criticised in some quarters for taking unapproved leave to travel to
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...
to lobby for
Kim Beazley
Kim Christian Beazley (born 14 December 1948) is an Australian former politician and diplomat. He was leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and leader of the opposition from 1996 to 2001 and 2005 to 2006, having previously been a cabinet ...
's return to the federal leadership; Gallop reprimanded McGowan and ordered him to return to Perth.
Following Labor's win at the
2005 election, Gallop reshuffled
his Ministry, and promoted McGowan to the role of
Minister for Tourism, Racing and Gaming. Later that year, following Gallop's retirement, McGowan was moved to the role of
Minister for the Environment by new Premier
Alan Carpenter
Alan John Carpenter (born 4 January 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th Premier of Western Australia, from 2006 to 2008. From Albany, Carpenter graduated from the University of Western Australia, and worked as a journ ...
. During his time in the Ministry, McGowan introduced major liquor reforms, including the introduction of small bars, created the Department of Environment and Conservation, and provided approval for the Gorgon Project.
In December 2006, following the resignation of
Ljiljanna Ravlich, Carpenter appointed McGowan to replace her as
Minister for Education and Training
In the Government of Australia, the Minister for Education administers the Department of Education. The position is held by Labor MP Jason Clare, following the Australian federal election in 2022.
Portfolio scope
The Minister is responsible fo ...
. In this portfolio, McGowan oversaw the replacement of outcomes-based education with syllabus documents, re-established traditional forms of marking and reporting, and launched a renewed effort towards the attraction and retention of teachers.
In April 2008, McGowan was criticised by some for referring to ex-Labor MP
John D'Orazio
John Biase D'Orazio (5 September 1955 – 11 April 2011) was an Australian politician who served as the member for Ballajura in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 10 February 2001 to 6 September 2008. He was a minister in the go ...
as "the worst ethnic
branch stacker in the history of Labor in Western Australia"; both McGowan and Premier Carpenter apologised for the remarks. McGowan later apologised to anyone who took offence to the remark. The issue returned to the media spotlight when it was revealed that McGowan had had some dealings over fundraising with the controversial politician
Brian Burke during the
2005 election.
Leader of the Opposition
After Labor's defeat at the
2008 election
This electoral calendar 2008 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2008 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, even though they are not elections. By-elections are ...
, Alan Carpenter resigned as Leader of the Labor Party in Western Australia; McGowan was considered one of several contenders to replace him, but he chose not to run, instead supporting the eventual winner
Eric Ripper, who was elected unopposed. McGowan did choose to contest the election for Deputy Leader, but lost to newcomer
Roger Cook by 30 votes to 9. Ripper appointed McGowan to the Shadow Ministry as Shadow Minister for State Development, Trade, Planning, Housing and Works, and was also appointed as Manager of Opposition Business in the Legislative Assembly.
On 17 January 2012, following declining performances in opinion polls, Eric Ripper announced that he would resign as Leader of the Opposition. At a caucus meeting on 23 January, McGowan was elected unopposed as Ripper's successor, becoming Leader of the Opposition. Despite an initial improvement in Labor's standing in opinion polls, Labor ultimately suffered a 5.4 percent swing against it at the
2013 election, losing five seats. Despite this, McGowan was not blamed for the loss, and was unanimously confirmed as party leader by his colleagues.
After Labor's 2013 defeat, McGowan launched a "listening tour" of the state, pledging that he would enact policy reforms to address the reasons for Labor suffering two defeats in a row. Soon after this process, opinion polls began to show increasingly large swings of support away from the second-term
Barnett Government. By 2015, McGowan had reached a comfortable lead in polls as preferred Premier of Western Australia, and retained this position until the following election.
Premier of Western Australia
At the
2017 election, McGowan led the Labor Party to one of its most comprehensive victories at either the state or territory level since Federation. Labor won 41 of the 59 seats available on 55.5 percent of the two-party vote, the largest majority government in Western Australian history. Labor also took 20 seats off the incumbent Liberal-
WA National government on a swing of 12.8 percent, the worst defeat of a sitting government in Western Australian history. Seven members of Barnett's cabinet were defeated, including Nationals Leader
Brendon Grylls
Brendon John Grylls (born 5 June 1973) is an Australian politician who was a National Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 2001 to 2017. Grylls became leader of the National Party in Western Australia from 2005 to ...
.
His own margin in Rockingham swelled from an already comfortably safe 13.2 percent to 23.4 percent.
McGowan's win was built primarily on the strength of a dominating performance in Perth. Labor picked up a swing of 13.6 percent in Perth and took all but nine of the capital's 43 seats, accounting for almost all of its majority. According to
Antony Green of
ABC News
ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast '' ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include morning news-talk show '' Good Morning America'', '' ...
, the 10-point swing Labor theoretically needed to win was not as daunting as it seemed on paper. Besides the
one vote one value
In Australia, one vote, one value is a democratic principle, applied in electoral laws governing redistributions of electoral divisions of the House of Representatives. The principle calls for all electoral divisions to have the same number of e ...
reforms in 2008 that allowed Perth to elect over 70 percent of the legislature, much of the Liberals' 2013 margin was built on inflated margins in Perth's outer suburbs.
McGowan was sworn in by
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Kerry Sanderson
Kerry Gaye Sanderson, (née Smith; born 21 December 1950) is a retired Australian public servant and business director, who served as the 32nd Governor of Western Australia, in office from 20 October 2014 to 1 May 2018. She is the first woman t ...
as the 30th
Premier of Western Australia
The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive bra ...
on 17 March 2017.
Early in his premiership, McGowan moved to limit the number of pathways for foreign workers to enter the state, re-committed to terminating the controversial
Perth Freight Link
The Perth Freight Link was a proposed $1.9 billion project in Perth, Western Australia to improve the road freight link between Kewdale and Fremantle Harbour. The project was announced by the state government in May 2014, but was cancelled f ...
highway project, which had proved extremely unpopular in large parts of the state, and he restructured various government departments. McGowan also introduced unlimited fines and life imprisonment for people deemed to be trafficking methamphetamine, and worked to expand Chinese investment in Western Australia.
On 1 May 2018, Kim Beazley was sworn in to a four-year term as governor upon the recommendation of McGowan. He was the first ex-politician to become governor since
Sir James Mitchell
Sir James Mitchell, (27 April 1866 – 26 July 1951) was an Australian politician. He served as premier of Western Australia from 1919 to 1924 and from 1930 to 1933, as leader of the Nationalist Party. He then held viceregal office from 1933 ...
in 1948. His appointment was generally well received, although some people had reservations that a
republican had become the Queen's representative and that Beazley was close friends with McGowan.
COVID-19 pandemic
Throughout 2020 and 2021, McGowan led
Western Australia's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He acted early to close the state's borders to the rest of the country on 5 April. In July 2020, businessman
Clive Palmer claimed that the closing of the borders was
unconstitutional and launched
a legal challenge in the
Federal Court. The case was defeated, and in response McGowan labelled Palmer an "
enemy of the state". Shortly afterwards, McGowan's popularity in opinion polls dramatically increased, reaching 91% approval in September 2020, a record for any Australian premier.
In January 2021, McGowan criticised the New South Wales Government's response and attitude towards the pandemic, contrasting it with that of his own Government's response. In March 2021, he suggested that some internal Australian border controls could be continued after the pandemic, on the grounds that they had helped to keep illegal drugs out of Western Australia, but clarified later that he meant to suggest only an increased police presence at border checkpoints, rather than completely sealing the border.
2021 election
In the lead up to the
2021 election, WA Labor raced out to a large lead in opinion polls, leading to speculation that the McGowan Government would be reelected with another record majority. Labor approached 70% in the two-party preferred polls, with McGowan maintaining a personal approval rating of 88%. Opposition Leader
Zak Kirkup
Zak Richard Francis Kirkup (born 23 February 1987) is an Australian former politician. He was a member of the Western Australian Liberal Party, and served as a member for the Western Australian Legislative Assembly for the electoral district of ...
took the unprecedented step of conceding the election more than a fortnight before election day. On 13 March 2021, WA Labor won the most comprehensive victory, in terms of vote share and percentage of seats controlled, at any level in Australia since Federation. Labor took 69.7 percent of the two-party vote and picked up a 13-seat swing, ultimately winning 53 out of 59 seats, including all but one in Perth. Labor even managed to defeat Kirkup in his own seat.
[ McGowan's own margin in Rockingham increased to 37.7 percent, making Rockingham the safest seat in the state.
Claiming victory, McGowan stated that the victory was "beyond humbling" and pledged that the Government would work to retain the support of the majority of Western Australians.][
]
Second term
McGowan announced his new cabinet on 18 March 2021. Among various changes, he opted to serve as his own treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance.
Government
The treasury ...
, after Ben Wyatt, the previous treasurer, retired at the 2021 election. The two other ministers viewed as possible candidates, Roger Cook and Rita Saffioti
Rita Saffioti (born 26 May 1972) is an Australian politician. Representing the Australian Labor Party, she has been the member for the electoral district of West Swan in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, the lower house of the Parlia ...
, had existing important roles that McGowan wanted them to continue with. Cook was health minister and thus had an important role in the state's COVID-19 response, and Saffioti was transport and planning minister, overseeing the government's Metronet project. Prior to 2001, WA premiers generally served as their own treasurers, but since then, the only premier to hold that position before McGowan was Colin Barnett briefly in 2010, 2012 and 2014.
McGowan announced the formation of a panel to examine potential reform of the Western Australian Legislative Council
The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, a state of Australia. It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Legislative Assembly, the lower house. The two Houses ...
voting system soon after the 2021 election, after denying he would implement reforms to the Legislative Council voting system several times during the election. The panel was led by former Governor of Western Australia Malcolm McCusker
Malcolm James McCusker (born 6 August 1938) is an Australian barrister and philanthropist who was the 31st Governor of Western Australia, serving from July 2011 to June 2014.
Born in Perth, McCusker was educated at Hobart High School (in Hob ...
, and consisted of four electoral and constitutional law experts. McGowan and Electoral Affairs Minister John Quigley said the election of Wilson Tucker was a key reason for their change of mind. In September 2021, McGowan announced the changes to be made to the voting system, including abolishing regions in the Legislative Council, and removing group voting ticket A group voting ticket (GVT) is a shortcut for voters in a preferential voting system, where a voter can indicate support for a list of candidates instead of marking preferences for individual candidates. For multi-member electoral divisions with s ...
s. Also that month, he handed down the Western Australian state budget, which recorded a sizeable surplus of $5.6 billion.
On 13 December 2021, McGowan announced that Western Australia would fully open its borders to COVID-19 vaccinated people from interstate and overseas on 5 February 2022. On 20 January 2022, McGowan reversed his decision on the plan for Western Australia to fully open its borders, saying that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 was more contagious than previous variants of the virus and that the state's vaccination booster levels were not high enough to safely reopen to the world. A February opinion poll showed that his approval rating had decreased to 64%, the lowest during the pandemic, but still comparatively high to premiers in other states. On 18 February, McGowan announced the border would reopen on 3 March for people from outside Australia and triple vaccinated people from interstate.
When Beazley's term as governor finished in 2022, McGowan recommended WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson as his replacement. Dawson was sworn in on 15 July 2022.
Political views
McGowan has described his political strategy as "centrist", saying "you have got to appeal to everyone". He credited that strategy as one of the reasons for his 2021 landslide election.
, McGowan is one of six Labor MPs in the state parliament who are not factionally aligned.
Personal life
Since 1996, McGowan has been married to Sarah Miller, with whom he has three children.
References
External links
Official Western Australia Cabinet site
Parliament of Western Australia site
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGowan, Mark
1967 births
Living people
Australian people of Irish descent
Leaders of the Opposition in Western Australia
Politicians from Perth, Western Australia
People from Newcastle, New South Wales
Premiers of Western Australia
Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
Royal Australian Navy officers
University of Queensland alumni
Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia
20th-century Australian lawyers
21st-century Australian politicians
Western Australian local councillors
Deputy mayors of places in Australia
Treasurers of Western Australia