Mark McGowan's new WA Labor cabinet includes former shadow ministers
Updated
Premier-elect Mark McGowan has revealed his 17-member ministry, with many former shadow ministers being rewarded with portfolios, including Roger Cook, who gets health, and Ben Wyatt as treasurer.
Mr McGowan said his new cabinet was "brimming with talent" and was "made up of people who are serious about government, serious about creating jobs and fixing the health system".
Here's a guide to some of the key players in the new ministry.
Ben Wyatt: treasurer
A graduate of the London School of Economics, the former lawyer and army officer led Labor's attacks on the Barnett government economic and financial management which delivered record debt and deficits, and lost the state's AAA credit rating.
As treasurer, he has responsibility for leading the McGowan government's budget repair effort.
With commodity prices still volatile and WA's GST share seemingly permanently depressed, Mr Wyatt faces a delicate balancing act as he tries to bankroll Labor's big ticket promises like Metronet while trying to bring the state budget back into surplus.
John Quigley: attorney-general
A former high-profile lawyer for the police union, Mr Quigley has been one of Labor's key figures in opposition as shadow attorney-general, hammering the government over mandatory sentencing and campaigning for Labor policy initiatives like "no body, no parole" and the harshest penalties in Australia for methamphetamene traffickers.
As attorney-general, Mr Quigley will now have the task of implementing those policies.
Rita Saffioti: planning and transport
Ms Saffioti leveraged her experience as a public servant in the WA Treasury to scrutinise the deteriorating finances of the Barnett government.
A staffer under former premier Alan Carpenter, she entered Parliament in 2008 and has spent eight long years grinding away at the Barnett government from opposition.
She now has carriage of the critical portfolios of transport and planning, where she will have responsibility for delivering Labor's centrepiece infrastructure project, Metronet.
She will also have to oversee and keep on time and on budget the $2 billion Forrestfield Airport Link rail line.
Roger Cook: health
As opposition health spokesman Roger Cook was relentless in his pursuit of the government over health issues from ambulance ramping to commissioning problems at Fiona Stanley Hospital and construction problems at the new $1.2 billion Perth Children's Hospital.
As health minister, Mr Cook will now have responsibility for the problems he spent so much time targeting.
The first major challenge in his portfolio will be getting the Perth Children's Hospital opened, with the commissioning delayed by continuing problems with lead in the hospital's water supply.
Paul Papalia: tourism
The former Navy clearance diver and SAS soldier has focused on the government's management of prisons as corrective services spokesman.
He was highly criticial of the government's privatisation of prison services, arguing the cost-justification was never properly assessed.
He has also been tourism spokesman, repeatedly highlighting WA's relatively poor performance across a range of visitor measures.
As tourism minister, he'll now have the task of delivering on the McGowan government's promise of boosting tourism to help diversify the WA economy.
Michelle Roberts: police
Ms Roberts was a former cabinet minister in the Gallop and Carpenter governments and will bring her experience as police minister when she returns to the portfolio under premier Mark McGowan.
As opposition police spokeswoman, Ms Roberts has been highly critical of the Liberal's policing strategy and her opponent Liza Harvey.
She spent much of the past two years highlighting rising crime levels and problems with police commissioner Karl O'Callaghan's Frontline 2020 policing strategy.
But like the Liberals, Labor refused to agree to the police union's demand for another 1,000 officers.
Topics: elections, state-parliament, alp, wa, perth-6000
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