Colin Barnett

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Colin Barnett (2008)

Colin James Barnett (born on 15. July 1950 in Nedlands ) is a former Australian politician of the Liberal Party . He was Prime Minister of the State of Western Australia from September 2008 to March 2017 .

Life

Barnett grew up in Dalkeith, a district of Nedlands, west of Perth . He began studying geology at the University of Western Australia , but soon switched to economics and graduated with a master's degree . From 1975 to 1982 Barnett taught at the Western Australian Institute of Technology at Curtin University , first as a tutor , then as a lecturer . He then moved to the Association of Western Australian Industry before being appointed Managing Director of the Western Australian Chamber of Commerce in 1985 .

politics

In August 1990, Barnett ran successfully in the Cottesloe constituency for the seat in the Legislative Assembly , the lower house of Western Australia , which had become vacant through the resignation of Bill Hassell . He was able to defend this mandate in the subsequent seven elections, most recently in 2017.

After the parliamentary elections in February 1993, which led to the replacement of the Labor government under Carmen Lawrence , the new Prime Minister Richard Court appointed him Minister for the Development of Natural Resources and Energy . Barnett was to hold this post until the Liberals were voted out of office in February 2001; he was also responsible for tourism between August 1993 and January 1994 and, from December 1995, for education .

After a new Labor government under Geoff Gallop in the election in early February 2001 , Court was ready to withdraw from the head of the party, but wanted to prevent his Vice Barnett, who belonged to a different faction , in any case. Therefore, he initially announced that he would retain the leadership of the opposition in the future . At the same time, he tried to lure Federal MP Julie Bishop into state politics in back-room discussions. He offered her his own mandate as well as the leadership of the party and faction. At the same time Barnett should be offered the takeover of a mandate in Canberra . The plan was blown after Bishop realized that he would probably not have received a majority in the Western Australian MPs. Court was therefore forced to step down on February 26, 2001, and Barnett was elected to succeed him three days later.

In the subsequent election in late February 2006, the Liberals had little to counter Prime Minister Gallop's as the economy was booming. An idea of ​​the infrastructure company Tenix, taken up shortly before the appointment by Barnett, to build a 3,700-kilometer canal from the Fitzroy River in the Kimberley to Perth for AU $ 2 billion to remedy the chronic water shortage in the city, turned out to be problematic : there was no feasibility study and experts rated the expected costs as significantly higher. Immediately after the defeat, Barnett resigned from office. In November 2007 he announced that he would not run again and that he would withdraw from active politics at the end of the legislative period. But after party leader Troy Buswell , the third since 2005 in this post after Matt Birney and Paul Omodei , announced his resignation in August 2008, Barnett returned to the top of the Liberal Parliament.

After the election on September 6, 2008, Barnett succeeded in forming a minority government with the National and the independent Elizabeth Constable , replacing Alan Carpenter of Labor as Prime Minister. In March 2013, the Liberals were able to make further gains and could even have formed a sole government , but nevertheless continued the coalition with the Nationalists, taking into account the majority in the House of Lords .

In the March 2017 election, the Liberals suffered a loss of almost 16 percent; Mark McGowan of Labor became the new Prime Minister . Decisive for the election were, among other things, a significantly worsened economic situation in Western Australia and plans to privatize the state energy supplier Western Power. The already disturbed relationship between liberals and nationalists collapsed completely after the former announced a collaboration with Pauline Hanson's One Nation instead of their long-term coalition partner. On March 21, 2017, the leadership of the opposition was transferred to the previous energy minister and head of the treasury , Michael Nahan . On February 5, 2018, Barnett also gave up his parliamentary mandate, and in the by-election that became necessary on March 17, 2018, his party colleague David Honey prevailed.

Barnett's record as head of government is mixed. Several major projects with which he tried to further develop Perth , which was considered sleepy ( Dullsville ), into a modern metropolis, are seen as positive . However, he failed to cut government spending in good time when tax revenue fell. He left his successor with a record deficit and national debt at levels that forced the new government into a massive austerity program. A program for the targeted killing of sharks on lively beaches in Western Australia and the intention to dismantle around 150 remote Aboriginal settlements are also rated as negative .

Private

Barnett has been married for the second time since 1989. From this marriage he has a son, from the first three more. He is a member of the Uniting Church .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Behind the names on the ballot sheet. ABC , August 29, 2008, accessed March 11, 2019
  2. ^ New WA Liberals leader takes on divided party. ( Memento of March 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) ABC, February 26, 2001. (English)
  3. ^ Mick O'Donnell: WA super canal to cost more than $ 2 billion. ( Memento of May 13, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) ABC, February 3, 2005, accessed on March 14, 2019 (English)
  4. ↑ David Weber: Colin Barnett resigns as opposition leader. ABC, February 28, 2005, accessed March 14, 2019
  5. ↑ Barnett to quit politics. ABC, November 27, 2007, accessed March 14, 2019
  6. ^ Buswell announces resignation. ABC, August 4, 2008, accessed March 16, 2019. (English)
  7. ↑ Barnett to demand loyalty as leader. ABC, August 6, 2008, accessed March 16, 2019. (English)
  8. ↑ Election results from September 2008 in the UWA election results database , accessed on March 16, 2019.
  9. ↑ Election results from March 9, 2013 in the UWA election results database, accessed on March 16, 2019. (English)
  10. ↑ Election results from March 11, 2017 in the UWA election results database, accessed on March 16, 2019. (English)
  11. ^ Jacob Kagi: WA election: Mark McGowan's Labor Party sweeps Colin Barnett's Liberal-National Government out of office. ABC, March 11, 2017, accessed March 16, 2019. (English)
  12. ^ Jacob Kagi, Antony Green: WA election: How Mark McGowan won, Colin Barnett lost, and Pauline Hanson flopped. ABC, March 12, 2017, accessed March 16, 2019. (English)
  13. ↑ Natalie Mast: Labor wins WA in a landslide as One Nation fails to land a blow. The Conversation, March 12, 2017, accessed March 16, 2019. (English)
  14. ↑ Michael Nahan in the Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia accessed on March 16, 2019. (English)
  15. ^ David Weber: Cottesloe by-election sees WA Liberal David Honey take seat of former premier. ABC, March 18, 2018, accessed March 16, 2019. (English)
  16. ↑ Eliza Laschon: Colin Barnett is farewelling politics - and the ex-WA premier is leaving behind a complex legacy. ABC, December 16, 2017, accessed March 16, 2019. (English)
personal data
SURNAME Barnett, Colin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Barnett, Colin James (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Australian politician
DATE OF BIRTH July 15, 1950
PLACE OF BIRTH Nedlands City