Rhiannon Shine

Mar 20, 2025 | abc.net.au | Rhiannon Shine |Courtney Withers

Current WA Liberal leader Libby Mettam has announced she will not seek re-election as leader of the party, following widespread speculation she would step down. In a statement released on Thursday afternoon, Ms Mettam thanked her colleagues for their support. "I made a commitment to consult my colleagues before making a decision on my continued leadership," Ms Mettam said. "I thank my colleagues for their public support and their considered advice to me.

Mar 19, 2025 | abc.net.au | Rhiannon Shine

A radical shake-up of the WA government has left even the state's new health minister uncertain about where the buck stops. Premier Roger Cook took many by surprise on Tuesday when he revealed first-time minister Meredith Hammat would be handed the perennially complex and challenging health portfolio. He said his government would take a more team-like approach to health, with the creation of the new portfolios of health infrastructure, preventative health, and aged care.

Mar 14, 2025 | abc.net.au | Keane Bourke |Rhiannon Shine

WA Labor's Simone McGurk has claimed victory in seat of Fremantle, but her independent challenger Kate Hulett says it's too early to declare the race over. As of 6pm on Friday, Ms McGurk was 491 votes ahead of Ms Hulett on a two-party preferred basis. At about 6:20pm, WA Labor posted on social media declaring "it's official, Simone McGurk has been re-elected as the member for Fremantle". But Ms Hulett's team issued a statement shortly after, claiming the call was premature.

Mar 11, 2025 | abc.net.au | Rhiannon Shine |Courtney Withers

The WA Greens say strengthening the government’s climate change legislation will be a top priority after they seize the balance of power in the upper house. Before Saturday's election, that saw Labor emphatically returned to power albeit with a reduced majority, Roger Cook's government dominated both houses of parliament, giving it total control and unprecedented power to pass whatever laws it wanted to.

Mar 10, 2025 | abc.net.au | Rhiannon Shine |Nicolas Perpitch

The Liberals and Nationals need to look at the state election result like a drug addict hitting rock bottom and finally realising they need to change. That's the startling and brutally frank post-mortem assessment by Nationals Leader Shane Love in the wake of the conservatives' third successive election disaster at the hands of the state's dominant Labor party. "Yes it's rock bottom. It's like drug addict finally realising they have to change," Mr Love told the ABC.