Roger Cook
WA quietly shuts door on more exports of onshore gas
The WA government has quietly announced that no onshore gas fields will receive the economic advantage of access to international markets that the Waitsia field owned by Japan’s Mitsui and Kerry Stokes-backed Beach Energy gained in 2020.
- by Peter Milne
Latest
Updated
Perth
WA seeks bigger voice in Canberra with new ‘embassy’
The office would work like the state’s overseas trade missions and would provide a permanent base for government officials and advocacy groups on “team WA” to “disrupt the thinking in Canberra that holds us back”.
- by Hamish Hastie
Analysis
ALP
Cook opts to burn laws rather than political capital in Aboriginal heritage backflip
Reading between the lines, Roger Cook was forced to cut his losses because he did not have enough political capital with the public to die on any hill at the moment.
- by Hamish Hastie
Updated
Indigenous
‘I’m sorry’: Roger Cook scraps WA Aboriginal cultural heritage laws
Western Australia’s 2021 Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act spent six years in development but just 39 days in operation.
- by Hamish Hastie
Analysis
Political leadership
Which state in Australia has the most political power?
NSW and Victoria have long competed to be Australia’s most consequential state. But economic and population changes, along with the pandemic’s influence on state power, have shaken things up.
- by James Massola
Opinion
WA Parliament
Labor reaps what it sowed with monumental Aboriginal heritage act failure
After six years, thousands of people consulted and substantial resources expended on the process, the government has created little more than 279 pages of fire starter to get them through this cold winter.
- by Hamish Hastie
WA government says heritage law decision imminent
The WA government says a final decision about changes to its controversial cultural heritage laws will be made soon, amid reports it plans to dump the month-old legislation.
- by Aaron Bunch
Minister refuses to confirm scrapping of controversial WA Aboriginal heritage laws
Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson said he was not denying the controversial Act would be scrapped, amid reports that Premier Roger Cook would be making the announcement early next week.
- by Rebecca Peppiatt
Updated
Protests
WA premier demands answers from ABC bosses over protest at Woodside CEO’s home
But the public broadcaster said the Four Corners investigations team had received a tip-off to head to the address, and when they arrived police were already there “in numbers”.
- by Hamish Hastie
A million WA households use gas. Could their days be numbered?
West Australian Premier Roger Cook thinks his Victorian counterparts may come to regret their decision to ban gas connections in all new homes from 2024. But experts say the tide must turn – and soon.
- by Sarah Brookes
Analysis
Alcoa investigation
Alcoa wants to mine WA’s jarrah forests for another 21 years. But the hurdles are mounting
Premier Roger Cook may choose not to stop Alcoa extending its lease to 2045, but the US miner has numerous environmental obstacles to continue extracting bauxite from south-west WA.
- by Peter Milne