Roger Cook’s new cabinet is a branding exercise tied to his economic dreams

Roger Cook’s first cabinet reshuffle as the state’s democratically elected leader is one of the brashest in decades but, at its core, it is a branding exercise aimed at drawing public attention to his intended legacy as premier – genuinely diversifying the economy away from mining.

Cook has rebranded the Jobs and Trade portfolio to “Trade and Investment” while obliterating Federal-State Relations and Public Sector Management, replacing them with “Economic Diversification”.

WA Premier Roger Cook’s new cabinet is a reflection of the legacy he wants to leave.Credit: Trevor Collens

Since coming to the top job in May 2023, Cook has stated several times he wants to grow other industries so WA is not as reliant on the resources sector. But it is a difficult prospect – in the eight years since Labor came to power, that reliance has only grown.

One-quarter of WA’s $45 billion in revenue came from resource royalties in 2023-24, and the mining industry accounted for 44 per cent of WA’s investment in the same year – up from 21 per cent in 1999-2000.

By etching out economic diversification as its own portfolio, Cook will be the puppet master of the various industries he hopes to grow: defence, manufacturing, space, international education and agriculture.

“It won’t surprise you to hear that, as the CEO and as the minister for economic diversification, I’ll be bringing all those ministers together on a regular basis to say, ‘Right, what are you doing to improve your sector, to grow your sector?’,” Cook said on Tuesday.

“How are you going to grow the jobs? What do we need to do as a government to continue this diversification pathway?”

Amber-Jade Sanderson is the great beneficiary of this change in focus.

By taking Health from her and giving the portfolio to newcomer Meredith Hammat, Sanderson will now take on Energy and Decarbonisation, Manufacturing and Training.

This puts her in charge of key planks of Labor’s “Made in WA” promise, including building transmission towers in WA and the household batteries rebate.

She will also be in charge of the state’s exit from coal power and creation of new renewable energy projects – responsibilities that will be judged harshly by punters who won’t take kindly to their fridges failing because of a lack of power.

And with Sanderson taking on economic portfolios, there is also a hint of succession planning in the works, making her and Treasurer Rita Saffioti obvious replacements for Cook when he eventually steps down.

One of the biggest shocks of the reshuffle is removing police responsibilities from Labor tough man Paul Papalia, just as his gun laws start taking effect.

He was given Emergency Services which, on the face of it, looks like a demotion.

However, Cook said it was about giving Papalia more space to focus on defence industries, which will become more important as the AUKUS pact progresses and WA prepares to become a nuclear submarine maintenance hub.

In an unusual move for a premier with an affable “nice guy” persona, Cook issued a warning to cabinet ministers not pulling their weight when asked whether the party’s heavy back bench should be motivation to work hard.

“You won’t be surprised to hear that I’m not going to reveal my locker room chats, but, yeah, they have to perform,” he said.

That message extended to the bureaucrats tasked with implementing Cook’s vision.

“The message to any director general or to any public servant is the same as it always is; please help us implement our policies, and please help us deliver on the plan which we have a mandate for the people of Western Australia,” he said.

The government and Director General of the Department of Premier and Cabinet Emily Roper announced her mutual early departure from that important role last week.

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