Carmen Mary Lawrence is an Australian academic and former politician who was the premier of Western Australia from 1990 to 1993, the first woman to become the premier of an Australian state. To date she is the only female premier of Western Australia. A member of the Labor Party, she later entered federal politics as a member of the House of Representatives from 1994 to 2007, and served as a minister in the Keating government.
Sir David Brand KCMG was an Australian politician. He was the longest-serving premier of Western Australia, in office from 1959 to 1971, and was state leader of the Liberal Party from 1957 to 1972.
The Division of Curtin is an Australian electoral division in Western Australia.
The Division of Pearce is an Australian electoral division in the state of Western Australia. It was created at the 1989 redistribution and named after George Pearce, the longest serving member of the Australian Senate, serving from 1901 to 1938. For most of its existence, Pearce was a hybrid urban-rural seat that covered Perth's outer northern suburbs before fanning inland from the Indian Ocean to take in portions of the Wheatbelt southeast, east and northeast of the capital. However, as of the 2021 redistribution, Pearce is largely coterminous with the City of Wanneroo in Perth's northern suburbs. It has had four members: Fred Chaney, Judi Moylan, Christian Porter, and Tracey Roberts. The first three were members of the Liberal Party, whereas Roberts, a former mayor of Wanneroo, is a member of the Labor Party.
Susan Christine Knowles is an Australian former politician who served as a Senator for Western Australia from 1984 to 2005, representing the Liberal Party. She briefly served as a shadow minister under John Hewson from 1993 to 1994.
Frederick Michael Chaney, AO is an Australian former politician who was deputy leader of the Liberal Party from 1989 to 1990 and served as a minister in the Fraser government. He was a Senator for Western Australia from 1974 to 1990, and then served a single term in the House of Representatives from 1990 to 1993.
Kimberley Maurice "Kim" Chance was an Australian farmer and politician who served as a Labor Party member of the Legislative Council of Western Australia from 1992 to 2009, representing Agricultural Region. He served as a minister in the governments of Geoff Gallop and Alan Carpenter between 2001 and 2008.
Joseph Max Berinson was an Australian politician who represented the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in the Australian House of Representatives and the Western Australian Legislative Council. He was Minister for the Environment in the Whitlam government for several months in 1975, later serving a decade as Attorney-General of Western Australia.
Stephen James Irons is an Australian politician. He was the Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives representing the electoral Division of Swan in Western Australia from the 2007 federal election to his retirement at the 2022 federal election.
The Easton affair was the name which came to be used to describe a Western Australian political scandal. A member of the Labor Party, then in government, tabled a document on 5 November 1992 in the Western Australian Legislative Council claiming that confidential information was improperly released by the Liberal Opposition Leader, Richard Court, to one side of a divorce case before the Family Court of Western Australia. The information was released to a woman named Penny Easton and related to the financial arrangements of her former husband. The claim, which attracted significant public interest, was followed four days later by Ms Easton's suicide. The government, and in particular the Premier, Carmen Lawrence, denied any prior knowledge of the petition. Following the defeat of Labor at the 1993 election, Court, who had succeeded Lawrence as Premier, requested a Royal Commission to be held. In November 1995, the Commission found that Lawrence had misled the Western Australian parliament. She was charged with three counts of perjury but acquitted on 23 May 1999 following a trial by a jury.
Melville Harold "Mel" Bungey is a former Australian politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1974 to 1983, representing the seat of Canning for the Liberal Party.
Donald William Maisey was an Australian wheat farmer and politician. He was a member of the Country Party and served in the House of Representatives from 1963 to 1974, representing the Western Australian seat of Moore.
Charles Harry Webb was an Australian politician and trade unionist. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and served in the House of Representatives from 1954 to 1958 and from 1961 to 1972, representing Western Australian seats. He later served as administrator of Christmas Island from 1974 to 1975.
William Leonard Grayden is an Australian former politician. He was a member of parliament across six decades, serving in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly and the Australian House of Representatives (1949–1954). A World War II veteran, he served as a Liberal with the exception of a brief period as an independent. Grayden was a backbencher in federal parliament, but later held ministerial office in the state government of Charles Court. His brother David and grandfather Nat Harper were also members of parliament.
Dean Anthony Smith is an Australian politician and Liberal Party member of the Australian Senate since 2012, representing Western Australia.
Barry John MacKinnon is a former Australian politician who was a Liberal Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1977 to 1993. He was the state leader of the Liberal Party from 1986 to 1992, although he led the party at only one election. MacKinnon had earlier served as a minister in the governments of Sir Charles Court and Ray O'Connor. He worked as an accountant before entering politics, and since leaving parliament has involved himself in various community organisations.
Sir Robert Ross McDonald QC was an Australian politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1933 to 1950, representing the seat of West Perth. He served as leader of the Nationalist Party from 1938 to 1945, and of the Liberal Party from 1945 to 1946, during the period when those parties were the junior partners in the coalition with the Country Party.
Matthew Anthony O'Sullivan is an Australian politician. He has been a Liberal Party of Australia member of the Australian Senate since 2019.
Katherine Ella Chaney is an Australian independent politician, who was elected to the Australian House of Representatives at the 2022 Australian federal election, succeeding Liberal Party MP Celia Hammond in the division of Curtin.
A leadership spill of the Western Australian Labor Party occurred on 12 February 1990. It resulted in the replacement of premier and party leader Peter Dowding with Carmen Lawrence, making her the first female state premier in Australia. It also resulted in the replacement of deputy premier and deputy party leader David Parker with Ian Taylor. The leadership spill occurred as a result of the government's increasing unpopularity as a result of the WA Inc scandal.
