Introduction by Croakey: In a state where the major political parties and mainstream media are captured by the fossil fuels industry, and where yet another climate-destroying project has just been approved, what hope is there for public health concerns to be prioritised at the upcoming Western Australian election?
Public health leaders recently organised a pre-election forum that provided an opportunity for the sector to put its priorities to the Labor Government, Opposition and the WA Greens, report Ainslie Sartori and Matthew Govorko, who are respectively President and Vice President of the Public Health Association of Australia WA branch.
The WA election, set for 8 March, will be closely watched, especially given the looming federal election.
Ainslie Sartori and Matthew Govorko write:
The 2025 election cycle kicked off in Western Australia last week with a public health pre-election forum, convened by the Public Health Association (WA Branch), the Australian Health Promotion Association (WA Branch), the Public Health Advocacy Institute and Injury Matters.
More than 160 people attended in person at the Bendat Centre in Floreat or online.
PHAA (WA) took the opportunity of the forum to launch its 2025 election platform – Striving towards a healthier Western Australia: 2025 and beyond.
The three speakers – Minister for Health and Mental Health Amber-Jade Sanderson, Opposition Leader and Shadow Minister for Health Libby Mettam, and Dr Brad Pettitt from the WA Greens – had been sent an advance copy of the PHAA election platform. They were invited to address its six key asks and put forward their party’s position.
The PHAA WA’s State Election Platform included the following six action areas:
- Increase investment in prevention and health promotion for a sustainable health system
- Address alcohol’s contribution to gender-based violence
- Protect children from the influence of harmful industries
- Raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility to age 14
- Maintain electronic gaming machine restrictions
- Act boldly on climate change: Set a net zero emissions by 2035 target.
Political priorities
Dr Brad Pettitt kicked things off by systematically commenting on each of PHAA’s asks, starting from what he described as easiest through to most difficult to achieve.
Maintaining the restriction on electronic gaming machines in WA was something Pettitt thought would have tripartisan support, which it did.
He agreed that the advertising of unhealthy food and alcohol should be restricted on government owned property but went further by saying this restriction should apply to fossil fuels also. Pettitt noted how WA is lagging behind other jurisdictions when it comes to action on climate change.
Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson discussed the success of public health campaigns such as LiveLighter® and Make Smoking History delivered through Cancer Council Western Australia.
Minister Sanderson then discussed the high cost of healthcare and the need to invest in prevention, as highlighted in the Sustainable Health Review. But she emphasised that prevention is a long-term strategy.
Opposition leader Libby Mettam used the forum to announce her party will spend an extra $80 million for mental health and suicide prevention if it wins the next State election. She said suicides among Indigenous Australians in the Kimberley occurred as frequently as twice a month.
Mettam also stated that there is no reason that the restriction of unhealthy advertising on government property cannot be done in WA, but fell short of committing to such a policy should her party win the next election.
At the conclusion of the prepared speeches, PHAA CEO Adjunct Professor Terry Slevin, who was acting as moderator, asked each speaker if they would commit to investing five percent of the health budget on preventive health, including transparency by way of annual reporting on progress.
Libby Mettam and Brad Pettitt both said they would, while Minister Sanderson said that this is a long-term reform, noting that the Government is already spending $50 billion on health and mental health. The absolute value of five per cent is increasing.
She said preventing hospital admissions should be counted as preventative health, and the Government is already spending a lot on this.
Election odds
The Labor Party triumphed at the last election held in 2021, following popular Premier Mark McGowan’s tough border stance on COVID-19, which kept Western Australians relatively unaffected by the pandemic.
The Labor Party secured 53 lower house seats at that election, including some seats which had been in Liberal hands for generations.
The Liberal Party was left with just three lower house seats. There has been a change of Premier since then, with McGowan stepping down in 2023 and being replaced with former Health Minister Roger Cook.
Although Premier Cook has not proved as popular as McGowan, the chances of the Liberal Party succeeding in forming government seem slim at best, given the swing required. What seems more likely is that they will be able to form a more effective opposition.
News reports in recent weeks pointed to possible negotiations between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Premier Roger Cook regarding the WA election date. Though WA’s election date is set for 8 March, the Federal election has not been called yet. If the PM chooses 8 March for the federal election, then the state election will have to be moved.
The Public Health Association of Australia WA Branch is encouraging all Western Australians to get behind their election platform and #VoteForPublicHealth this WA election.
A scorecard will be published closer to election day rating the three major parties on their response to the election asks.
See Croakey’s coverage of fossil fuels and health
