Patrick Gorman (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Western Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If you're like me and my three-year-old son, you watch lots of PAW Patrol and you would know that the first lesson in civics education that you get is that there is a good mayor and there is a bad mayor. There is the bad mayor, Mayor Humdinger, and there is the good mayor, Mayor Goodway. This week we have mayors from all over Australia here for the Australian Local Government Association conference. I'd like to give a shout-out some mayors that follow in the footsteps of Mayor Goodway. They are good mayors. They include City of Bassendean Mayor Renee McLennan and Deputy Mayor Kathryn Hamilton; City of Bayswater Mayor Dan Bull, whom I met with the Leader of the Opposition earlier today, and his deputy, Filomena Piffaretti; City of Joondalup Mayor Albert Jacob and Deputy Mayor Russ Fishwick; City of Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas and Deputy Lord Mayor Sandy Anghie; City of Stirling Mayor Mark Irwin and Deputy Mayor Bianca Sandri; City of Swan Mayor Kevin Bailey and Deputy Mayor David Lucas; City of Vincent Mayor Emma Cole and Deputy Mayor Susan Gontaszewski; and City of Wanneroo Mayor Tracey Roberts and Deputy Mayor Frank Cvitan.

As the member for Perth I have the privilege of representing some of these local councils and some of the many local councils from Western Australia. There are 563 local governments across Australia. Twenty-four per cent of them are based in the great state of Western Australia, many in the member for Curtin's electorate! We always do more than our fair share in Western Australia and we know that local government are an important part of our democracy. That's why only Labor is committed to giving local government a seat at the national cabinet table.