2025-05-13
Greens holding balance of power in both the state and federal upper houses
By Hon Brad Pettitt, MLC
Historic State Election Result
First of all, I want to thank all of the amazing volunteers and supporters from right across Western Australia who voted Green at the state election and helped us to run such a fantastic and successful campaign.
I also want to take this opportunity to say how excited I am to be working with Sophie McNeill, Tim Clifford and Jess Beckerling in the 42nd Parliament of Western Australia.
It was an historic election result for the Greens; we’ve kept the Liberals out for a record third term but also sent a strong message to Labor that they have to act on the housing, cost of living and climate crises.
WA Labor have squandered their opportunity to implement lasting change over the last four years with a majority in both houses of Parliament as we’ve seen rents go through the roof, housing waitlists grow, and more West Australians than ever before struggling to make ends meet.
Meanwhile, WA’s emissions continue to rise, and our precious natural environment is under threat because this Labor government failed to take science seriously and act on climate and biodiversity.
With a strong result in the Legislative Council that has delivered three new Greens MLCs, the clear take away from this election is that hundreds of thousands of West Australians have voted for progressive change.
Roger Cook’s Labor government will have a choice of either working constructively with the Greens in the Upper House or siding with the Liberals and other far-right parties to further alienate the WA community. The Greens look forward to using this mandate in the Upper House to be strong voice for the community on these vital issues and to push the Cook Labor government to act.
Federal election thoughts
Beyond the obvious and powerful electoral repudiation of the Dutton-led opposition and their climate action-delaying, renewables-constraining, gas-extending, pro-nuclear policy madness, this election result has the potential to produce good outcomes for climate and the environment.
For a start, WA’s national influence is on the decline. In 2025 Anthony Albanese didn’t need WA to win the election. But he did in 2022, and he’s been repaying that debt since, killing off nature reforms at the behest of the WA Premier while failing to call out WA as the climate change capital of Australia.
Secondly, Albanese’s emphatic win should give him and his government the confidence to be bolder in government, including on climate action.
We’ve seen a tentative willingness to make policy decisions that will reduce emissions from the federal government, such as new vehicle emissions standards. Now with a reduced WA influence, there is an opportunity for the Albanese government to respond boldly to the biodiversity and climate crises that Australia faces. Nature-positive laws and a federal EPA must surely be firmly back on their agenda.
The third reason to be hopeful is the Greens. Whilst much has been said about the Greens losses in the lower house, our strong showing in the Senate means our federal team will now have the sole balance of power with the ALP.
This, like in the WA Parliament, is only if the ALP wants to use this new straight-forward balance of power relationship with the Greens. Just like in WA, they also have the option of passing legislation with the right-wing opposition instead.
But you would hope and expect that this new simpler balance of power path could mean a powerful and productive partnership with strong outcomes for climate change and the environment.
Header photo: State Election after party Photo Credit: Cason Ho, ABC Perth