WA news LIVE: Perth man who murdered mother to learn his fate; Major changes to public sector

Premier Roger Cook has unveiled an overhaul of the public sector, with the creation of an additional department and two major agencies tasked with delivering transport, health and housing infrastructure.

The premier unveiled a raft of changes to the state government’s structure on Monday, which will see the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation become the Department of Energy and Economic Diversification.

The department will continue to have carriage of state agreements, major resource developments and WA’s investment and trade offices.

Exploration will be rolled into the existing Department of Mines and Petroleum, while responsibilities for defence — including AUKUS — will be consolidated into a new office of defence industries within the Department of Premier and Cabinet.

The DPC will house a new office of Early Childhood and take the lead on Aboriginal Affairs, while tourism will become the responsibility of the Department of Creative Industries, Tourism and Sport.

Oversight of local government, commerce, industry regulation and safety will fall to one agency.
But the most significant of the changes is to facilitate the government’s mega infrastructure pipeline — with building capacity from across government being consolidated into the newly-formed Office of Major Infrastructure Delivery.

Under the plan, the new office will oversee the delivery of major transport, health and port infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the Department of Housing and Works will govern the delivery of construction, management and maintenance of the state’s social housing, police stations and schools – stripping the Department of Finance of that role.

Cook rejected assertions the move – which is expected to impact almost one-third of the government’s 25 departments – constituted a winding back of his predecessor Mark McGowan’s machinery of government changes, which saw the number of departments shrink from 41 to 25.

He told the press pack the overhaul and creation of an additional office was appropriate in a post-COVID world and at a time of geopolitical instability, and rising construction costs.

“We need all levels of government pulling in the same direction… if we are to face the challenges ahead of us and seize the opportunities,” Cook said.

The premier maintained the move would not have an impact on the budget.

The transition is expected to begin on July 1, 2025 and be finalised by the year’s end.