After a nerve-wracking wait following the close of polls, I have been re-elected! I am delighted that I am able to send you this Robin’s Roundup as the returning Member for Mining and Pastoral.
The new Western Australian Parliament will open on April 11 with a joint sitting of the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council.
Regular sittings of the Legislative Assembly (Lower House) will start from April 16, with 20 sitting weeks scheduled for this year.
Newly elected members of the Legislative Assembly will take their seats from April 11, the new members of the Legislative Council (Upper House) will not do so until May 22.
Due to our hard work over many years and the efforts of hundreds of volunteers during the election campaign, two Greens Members of Parliament have been re-elected – myself and Lynn MacLaren, in the South Metropolitan Region.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many people across the vast Mining and Pastoral Region who turned out to help during the election period.
There are so many individuals who deserve my personal thanks but I must single out the support and commitment of the five lower house candidates in the region; Chris Maher (Kimberley) so close, Julie Matheson (Pilbara), Des Pike (North West), Tim Hall (Kalgoorlie) and Giorgia Johnson (Eyre).
The Greens Team 2013
I would also like to thank my campaign manager Kim Dravnieks and our dedicated campaign team who worked so hard making sure that our campaign strategy was fully realised.
I would also like to thank my staff; Melanie Bainbridge, Maria Mann and David Jones who although not permitted to participate in the election process kept the office running in my absence.
While I am, of course, happy with my own result, I reflect on the loss of our colleagues Giz Watson and Alison Xamon from the Upper House, which I feel will leave a huge hole in the parliamentary process in this state. Their tireless work over the past four years, and many more besides, has ‘grown’ the Greens WA in an inspiring way and I sincerely hope we can carry on their legacy.
I’d also like to acknowledge aspiring candidate Cameron Poustie, who ran an incredible campaign for the North Metro and although he didn’t win his seat, I know he would have made a singularly focused and impressive politician and hope he will run again in the future.
For those who enjoy the stats, and to give you a little insight into the how M&P was won, below are the figures comparing the 2008 to 2013 election results:
In 2008 the Legislative Council (Upper House) Green 1st preference vote was 8.95%; in 2013 the Legislative Council Green 1st preference vote was 8.81%. This puts the vote down just 0.1% this year.
The Green Legislative Assembly (Lower House) vote for the 5 regionals seats went from 8.20% (2008) to 8.68% (2013) – with the strong Kimberley vote accounting for much of the increase.
The vote was close, and we take nothing for granted going into this new Parliament. While we will obviously have to make some new determinations on how the portfolios are dealt with as a result of having only two offices to spread those portfolios across, we will develop a strategy which enables us to continue to build the Greens WA brand, while dealing with the rigors of political process and our key statewide issues.
We will obviously continue to champion those initiatives on which we have worked so solidly over the last four years and will work with the Greens to forge a path forward which most reflects the aims and concerns of the Greens membership and the community. And we will, of course, be putting all our support behind the upcoming Federal Campaign and in particular our WA Senator, Scott Ludlam.
As an example of some of the work I will continue to drive forward, the renewable energy campaign that we started before the election, Solar Goldfields, will continue to be a priority, as will James Price Point and the Kimberley, uranium mining, gas fracking, climate change and biodiversity. Protecting our wilderness places, our Aboriginal Heritage and keeping our air and water pollution free will always be priorities of the Greens WA. With so many vital campaigns already in our cache, keeping up the momentum has never been so important, and we will need our supporters more than ever.
So, while we will no doubt have a little period of adjustment as we settle in to the next phase of the Greens in Parliament, and we ask you, our supporters to be aware that things will need to change in this office, we will keep you informed as to how those changes will occur, and how you might support us to do our job as your political representatives in the most effective and strategic manner.
I am now taking a short break before recommencing my role as your representative in the maelstrom of State Politics.
I thank you all sincerely for your support through my campaign! The HAT is Back!
Robin Chapple, MLC
Member for the Mining and Pastoral Region
