Popular Mark McGowan plans reform push

Western Australian premier Mark McGowan will use his unprecedented public support to overhaul planning and building restrictions.

Mark McGowan on Rockingham Beach, south of Perth. Picture: Colin Murty

Western Australian premier Mark McGowan will use his unprecedented public support to overhaul planning and building restrictions as he attempts to catapult the state’s economic recovery.

McGowan has emerged as the most popular leader in Australia following his impressive performance through the coronavirus pandemic, and has started approaching business groups and stakeholders to consider a suite of reforms to boost the state.

While there are overtures for him to consider following in the steps of NSW by considering major reforms such as replacing stamp duty with land tax and lifting the GST, McGowan told The Australian his immediate focus was on unshackling the state’s construction industry and attracting investment.

“Some of the planning and building laws and restrictions need to change, and one of the things we will do earlier rather than later is serious reform in that regard,” he said.

“We’ve got to get people with money able to invest more quickly and create jobs and opportunities.”

With school attendance levels now the highest in the nation and the state’s big resources industry operating largely unscathed throughout the crisis, McGowan said WA was in the best position to lead the country’s economic recovery.

The virus has been the making of McGowan as a leader, with the man once derided by Attorney-General Christian Porter as a “junior, sweaty navy lawyer” drawing near-universal support for his deft handling of the crisis.

A Newspoll survey last week found a whopping 94 per cent of respondents approved of his response so far. His government now looks a near-certainty to retain power at next year’s March election, with the aftermath of coronavirus presenting a generational opportunity for reform.

McGowan’s local popularity primarily stems from his hard stance on several cruise ships that arrived on Perth’s doorstep in the wake of the Ruby Princess debacle in NSW and his decision to close WA’s border for the first time in history. Both moves won widespread support and have helped keep infection rates low.

It was the handling of the cruise ships that he said presented the toughest challenge, as he tried to juggle the competing needs of Western Australians with the needs of the mostly foreign passengers and crew.

“That’s the one that really caused me sleepless nights,” he said.

“It was hard to deal with because they were people, but at the same time we had a health system that had the potential to be overwhelmed and for Western Australians to die. We had to make difficult and tough calls and we did. We were suitably humane, while at the same time protecting Western Australians.”

Both WA and McGowan have benefited from the parochialism of Western Australians.

A secessionist streak always bubbles just beneath the surface in WA, and his decision to close the state’s border was both politically popular and helped the state use its isolation to its advantage in containing the virus.

McGowan, who was born and raised in NSW (his elderly parents still live there) and who studied at the University of Queensland, said the stronger sense of state pride in WA and its lack of reliance on other states had helped in the state’s successful response to the virus.

“I understand the eastern states better than many here and I understand how little they know about us and how little they care. The eastern states do not appreciate us and in fact many resent what we do for them,” he said.

“Whenever you point out how much income we send their way, they get bristly, they don’t like it. ‘Anyone can dig up rocks’. I say show a bit of appreciation for what’s gone into all this and all the people who do the work, show a bit of understanding and respect for it.”

Despite his own parochialism, McGowan has become a vocal advocate for the National Cabinet formed by Prime Minister Scott Morrison in the early days of the outbreak.

While maintaining the National Cabinet’s unity will become a more challenging task as the virus fades – the outburst by Federal education minister Dan Tehan towards Victorian premier Dan Andrews yesterday was a sign of that – McGowan firmly believes the system should endure.

“The national cabinet process has been a revelation. I give credit to the Prime Minister, I’ve embraced it and I want it to continue after this because it’s much better than COAG,” he said.

The success of the structure, he said, stood in stark contrast to the current experience of the United States.

“Their federation is broken, their states and their federal government can’t work together, and look at the consequence: tens of thousands of people dying and armed thugs storming parliaments. It’s broken and crazy.

“Our federation on the other hand has been a shining light to the world as to how a state-based commonwealth can work together with reasonable people making good decisions. That should continue.”

The crisis has also brought forward a sense of humour in a man previously better known for his focus and rigour rather than his charm. His giggling fit when asked about a NSW decision to fine a jogger for buying a kebab, a cute video of him granting an ‘eggs-emption’ for the Easter bunny to visit WA, and his response to a mid-press conference interruption by a passing motorist screaming “f. king love you, buddy” provided much-needed brevity at a stressful time and only enhanced his broader appeal.

While the past few months have been McGowan’s finest as a leader, he says the crisis has also helped him reconnect with his wife and children.

“The great thing out of it is the functions aren’t happening, so each night I’m having dinner with my wife and kids. I haven’t done that in 20 years,” he said.

“That’s been the nicest thing out of all this.”