26-580: Albert Redvers George Hawke (3 December 1900 – 14 February 1986) was an Australian politician who was the premier of Western Australia from 23 February 1953 to 2 April 1959. He represented the Labor Party . Hawke was born in South Australia , and began his political career in that state, winning a seat in the House of Assembly at the 1924 state election . He was only 23 at the time, making him
52-500: A change of premier is the ruling party changing its leader. This can occur as a result of a resignation, death or leadership spill . In this case, the new premier is whoever the party elects as its new leader. Another cause for a change of premier is a loss of majority support in the Legislative Assembly . This commonly occurred in the first three decades of self-governance, but has not occurred since 1916. If this occurs,
78-525: A lawyer's office and joining the Labor Party at 15. At the age of 23 in the April 1924 elections he won the seat of Burra Burra in the South Australian House of Assembly , making him the youngest person to have won a seat in that parliament. After losing the seat by just 11 votes in the following 1927 election , he moved to Western Australia in 1928, becoming a country organizer for
104-400: A member of parliament and they retain their responsibility for representing their electoral district. As of 2023, there have been 31 premiers of Western Australia. Carmen Lawrence , who was appointed on 12 February 1990, is the first and only woman to be premier of Western Australia. She is also the first woman to be premier of an Australian state. By convention, the premier is a member of
130-611: A minister in the governments of John Willcock and Frank Wise , and was elected deputy leader of the Labor Party in July 1945. Hawke succeeded Wise as party leader in June 1951, and led Labor to victory at the 1953 state election . He retained government at the 1956 election , just a year after the 1955 party split , but was defeated in 1959 after just over six years in office. Hawke continued as Labor leader until December 1966, leading
156-465: Is Charles Court and his son Richard Court . George Leake , who died of pneumonia on 24 June 1902, is the only premier to have died in office. Moore, Philip Collier , John Willcock and Geoff Gallop are the only premiers to have resigned due to ill health. Forrest, Colebatch and Lawrence are the only premiers to have served in the Parliament of Australia as well. Forrest and Lawrence are
182-465: Is John Scaddan , who was 35 years, 2 months and 3 days old when he was sworn in in 1911. The oldest premier is John Tonkin , who was 69 years, 1 month and 1 day old when he was sworn in in 1971. Newton Moore became premier after two years in parliament, the least time aside from Forrest. Tonkin became premier after almost 38 years in parliament, the most time in parliament before becoming premier. The only father and son pair to have both been premier
208-415: Is Ray O'Connor , who was premier from 1982 to 1983 and died in 2013. Two former premiers have been sentenced to jail. In 1994, Brian Burke was sentenced to two years in jail for defrauding the state by $ 17,000 by making false claims on the parliamentary imprest account . He was released on parole after serving seven months. In 1995, O'Connor served six months in jail for stealing a $ 25,000 cheque from
234-461: Is the head of government of the state of Western Australia . The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive branch of the Government of Western Australia and is accountable to the Parliament of Western Australia . The premier is appointed by the governor of Western Australia . By convention,
260-455: Is the current premier, having been appointed to the position on 8 June 2023. The position of premier is not mentioned in the constitution of Western Australia . From 1890 to 1917, the premier was not an official position, rather, it was the title unofficially given, but widely used to refer, to the head of the government. When Western Australia became a self-governing colony in 1890, Governor William Robinson initially indicated he would use
286-453: The 23 February 1953 elections he led Labor to victory over the two-term Liberal - Country government of Sir Ross McLarty , becoming Premier as well as Treasurer and Minister for Child Welfare and Industrial Development. In June 1953, Hawke attended the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in London . In social policy, Hawke's governments enacted a series of progressive social reforms including
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#1732779715674312-601: The Bond Corporation during his time as premier. In 1997, Burke was sentenced to three years jail for stealing $ 122,585 in Labor Party campaign donations. He served six months before this conviction was quashed upon appeal. Chris Minns ( ALP ) David Crisafulli ( LNP ) Peter Malinauskas ( ALP ) Jeremy Rockliff ( Lib ) Jacinta Allan ( ALP ) Roger Cook ( ALP ) Andrew Barr ( ALP ) Lia Finocchiaro ( CLP ) National Party of Western Australia Too Many Requests If you report this error to
338-709: The March 1959 election to David Brand 's Liberals. Nevertheless Hawke stayed on as opposition leader until a year after the 1965 election . In 1968 he retired from parliament. Thereafter he lived in South Australia again, and died in Adelaide in 1986. In 1926, Hawke married Mabel Crafter, and they had a daughter. Hawke's brother, Clem Hawke , a Congregational minister, was the father of Bob Hawke , Prime Minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991. Premier of Western Australia The premier of Western Australia
364-529: The acts that they would administer. The premier leads the cabinet and chairs cabinet meetings. They communicate with the governor, the cabinet, the state government, other state and territory governments, the federal government, and overseas governments. The premier advises the governor on when state elections should be held. They oversee the Department of the Premier and Cabinet . While premier, they stay as
390-499: The orphanages and children's homes by inviting Richard Henry Hicks, head of the NSW Department of Child Welfare , to carry out an independent investigation. His report laid most of the blame on government financial niggardliness, but criticised some odd targets, all of which persuaded Hawke to remove all three copies before anyone other than himself, a handful of colleagues and a favoured journalist had seen it. Labor lost
416-547: The ALP. In 1933 he caused a major political upset by defeating the sitting Premier Sir James Mitchell by 460 votes in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly seat of Northam. Mitchell had held the seat for 28 years previously. Hawke held the seat himself for 35 years until the 1968 general elections for which he did not re-nominate. During his Western Australian parliamentary career he
442-553: The Legislative Assembly. However, the premier can be a member of either house of parliament. Hal Colebatch is the only premier to be a member of the Legislative Council ( upper house ). He served for 30 days in 1919, making him the shortest serving premier of Western Australia. David Brand is the longest serving premier, serving for 11 years and 335 days between 1959 and 1971. The youngest premier
468-490: The governor appoints as premier whoever has the support of the majority of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly , the lower house of the Parliament of Western Australia. In practice, this means that the premier is the leader of the political party or group of parties with a majority of seats in the Legislative Assembly. Since Western Australia achieved self-governance in 1890, there have been 31 premiers. Roger Cook
494-639: The gradual easing of some oppressive regulations on Aboriginals in WA, an accelerated construction of houses and schools, increases in workers' compensation payments, allowing women to sit on juries, the regulation of hire purchase transactions, and the raising of the school-leaving age to 15. One investigation of the Magdalene asylums (convent laundries) was undertaken - in 1953, in Western Australia. Hawke, responded to concerns of parliamentarians about
520-513: The only premiers to have been ministers in the Government of Australia as well. Moore is the only premier to have served in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom . The only premier to subsequently serve as governor is James Mitchell . George Leake , Frank Wilson , Phillip Collier and Mitchell are the only people to have been premier more than once. There are currently eight living former premiers. The most recent premier to die
546-491: The party to two more elections, and left parliament at the 1968 election . His nephew, Bob Hawke , served as the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991. Hawke was born to James Renfrey Hawke and Elizabeth Ann Blinman née Pascoe, both of Cornish descent, in Kapunda , South Australia . Leaving school at the age of 13, he took up an apprenticeship as a clock-maker and jeweller, before working in
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#1732779715674572-414: The position of premier was not listed, creating an ambiguity. It was not until 3 April 1947 that the premier became one of the executive offices of the government. The most common cause for a change of premier is an election. Since the 1990s, elections have occurred roughly every four years. Before then, elections were at most three years apart, except for during World War II . A less common cause for
598-477: The premier must either resign or be dismissed by the governor. The powers of the premier are set out by convention and by legislation. By convention, the premier advises the Monarch of Australia as to who to appoint as governor. The premier advises the governor as to who to appoint to cabinet and which portfolios should be given to each cabinet minister. The premier sets out the responsibilities of ministers and
624-423: The title prime minister to refer to the head of the government. However, after he appointed John Forrest , the title premier was used for consistency with the other Australian colonies. The position was first officially mentioned when the governor appointed Henry Lefroy as premier on 28 June 1917. However, when the governor designated and declared the six executive offices of the government on 2 July 1917,
650-430: The youngest MP in South Australia's history. Hawke lost his seat at the 1927 election , and moved to Western Australia the following year. At the 1933 state election in Western Australia, which saw a Labor landslide, he unexpectedly defeated the sitting Nationalist premier, Sir James Mitchell , in the seat of Northam . In May 1936, Hawke became a minister in the government of Philip Collier . He later also served as
676-541: Was appointed Minister for Employment and Labour in 1936 in the Collier and Willcock governments. He also held the positions of Minister for Labour and Industrial Development (1939), Minister for Works, Water Supplies and Industrial Development (1943). After Labor's defeat in the 1947 elections he held various shadow portfolios before becoming Leader of the Opposition on 3 July 1951 after Frank Wise resigned. In
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