This was published 4 years ago
From the Archives, 1990: New Premier pledges to close WA Inc
30 years ago today, Western Australia's Dr Carmen Lawrence made history by becoming the country's first woman premier. She promised to tackle the corruption that had seen hundreds of millions of taxpayers' dollars squandered by the State Government.
By David Humphries
First published in The Sydney Morning Herald on February 13, 1990
NEW PREMIER PLEDGES TO CLOSE WA INC
PERTH: Western Australia's new Premier, Dr Carmen Lawrence, promised yesterday to end the Government's involvement with big business.
Dr Lawrence, referring to the messy entanglement of the Government and private enterprise in what has become known as WA Inc, said she would set new standards, new priorities and a "new direction" for government.
"I will be ensuring a different approach to the Government's relations with business, in which our role will be to create and maintain the economic environment in which business can prosper," she said.
Dr Lawrence was elected unopposed to replace Mr Peter Dowding, who resigned at the start of yesterday's two-hour State Labor Caucus meeting. She is Australia's first woman Premier.
The Minister for Police, Mr Ian Taylor, was elected unopposed as Deputy Premier.
The Minister for Economic Development and Trade, Mr Julian Grill, also resigned from Cabinet. The former Deputy Premier, Mr David Parker, retained a lesser job in the ministry, although many Caucus members thought he too should go to the back bench.
Mr Parker was a central player in the petrochemical plant fiasco - a failed and expensive bid in October 1988 by the WA Government and Bond Corporation to rescue the merchant bank Rothwells Ltd which is estimated to have lost the Government $175 million.
The WA Liberal Leader, Mr MacKinnon, said yesterday that his party would continue its bid to have Supply blocked in the Upper House, the Legislative Council, in May or June.
But the Nationals' Leader, Mr Cowan - whose party holds the balance of power in the Upper House - said blocking Supply would now be more difficult.
Dr Lawrence said she was not obliged to defend anyone's past performance. Mr Dowding, Mr Parker and Mr Grill had made "very hard decisions" consistent with the Westminster system of accountability.
Asked whether a royal commission into WA Inc was possible, she said she would delay a decision until the outcome of an investigation of the Rothwells collapse by the National Companies and Securities Commission. A report is due next month.
In an impressive display at the post-Caucus press conference, Dr Lawrence said her first priority was to restore "trust, openness and confidence in government".
"This will be a Labor Government; a Government which says people matter.
"That Government must reflect the human and social values of the people it represents."
Social and environmental policies would be emphasised.