Texts uncover close ties between Mark McGowan and Kerry Stokes

Texts between Mark McGowan and Kerry Stokes — revealed last week at a Federal Court defamation hearing — indicate close ties between the pair.

Seven Group executive chairman Kerry Stokes in Sydney. A company spokesman said Mr Stokes had no involvement in any of the West Australian newspaper’s content. Picture: Hollie Adams / The Australian

A series of text messages between Mark McGowan and media magnate Kerry Stokes – revealed last week at a Federal Court defamation hearing between the WA Premier and Queensland billionaire Clive Palmer – have prompted calls for greater clarity from the state’s leader about the nature of his relationship with the Seven West chairman.

A series of private congratulatory text messages sent between Mr McGowan and Mr Stokes just days before the WA government gave a lucrative export exemption to a project backed by the media mogul have shed new light on the close ties between two of Perth’s most influential figures.

It has also reinforced the delicate balance that any WA premier must strike when dealing with the figures that dominate the comparatively small business and media landscape of Perth.

Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan arriving at the Federal Court. Picture: NCA NewsWire / James Gourley

The exchange of messages showed how Mr McGowan alerted Mr Stokes to the government’s plans to legislate away a $30bn arbitration claim against the state from Mr Palmer just before the legislation was introduced into parliament in August 2020.

“Obviously (Palmer) won’t be happy. Will call you to discuss,” Mr McGowan wrote to Mr Stokes.

The West Australian newspaper, owned by Mr Stokes’ Seven West Media, then published a series of front page stories variously depicting Mr Palmer as movie villain Dr Evil, a cockroach and a cane toad.

When the legislation was passed, Mr Stokes wrote to Mr McGowan congratulating him on the speed with which it had progressed through parliament.

In his reply, Mr McGowan thanked Mr Stokes for The West Australian’s “marvellous” front pages. “I appreciate the support enormously,” he said.

The man Mr McGowan replaced as Premier, Colin Barnett, told The Australian that the messages were not typical of the correspondence between a premier and a prominent business and media figure, and said he always took extra care to ensure all his correspondence and meetings with figures such as Mr Stokes were conducted formally and with third party involvement if possible.

He said while private conversations between politicians and business leaders did occur from time to time, political leaders needed to take additional precautions in those communications.

“If I was talking to a senior business person I would make sure my chief of staff was in the room, just to make sure someone kept a record of what was said,” Mr Barnett said.

“People expect political leaders to behave in a proper way or a formal way, and that’s been part of the problem in the federal parliament too with all the events that have gone on in the last couple of years.”

A spokesman for Mr Stokes stressed the billionaire had no involvement in any of the newspaper’s content.

“Mr Stokes does not get involved in any editorial decisions,” he said.

Given the parties involved in the dispute – a wildly popular Premier defending his state from a massive legal claim from a loathed Queensland billionaire – it is in many ways unsurprising that The West sided with the government on the story.

But it is surprising that Mr McGowan felt the need to contact Mr Stokes directly on the matter, given his lack of editorial involvement, the scale of the Premier’s own media relations team, and the fact the extensive business dealings between his companies and the state could be called into question if the correspondence ever became public.