Premier Roger Cook has dodged a yes or no question on whether he intends to lead his party to the 2029 election at a Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA lunch in Perth on Thursday.
When taking part in a rapid-fire question round with moderator, 9 News Perth’s Connor McGoverne, and asked whether Sussan Ley would lead the Coalition in the next federal election Cook said: “that’s a question for the blue team”.
Premier Roger Cook and 9 News Perth’s Connor McGoverne at the Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA lunch.
McGoverne immediately followed up with the question: “Will Roger Cook lead WA Labor to the 2029 election?” to which he declined to provide a yes or no answer.
“That’s a question for a range of people…my caucus will make some decisions about these things, as will the people of Western Australia,” he said.
“Can I say I lead an incredible team and I lead an amazing state? It’s a humbling experience and it’s one that I value very greatly.”
McGoverne then asked whether Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti would be his successor, to which Cook replied incredulously.
“You can’t say that’s a yes or no, that’s just not even playing fair. Look, that’s a decision for the caucus, not a decision for the retiring, resigning, or, you know, sacked-in-disgrace premier, or whatever the circumstances may be,” he joked.
Cook was also asked whether he regretted sitting in a race car when announcing the Burswood racetrack election commitment, to which he replied: “no”.
When asked whether his office had a “dirt file” on Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas ahead of the next election, he said: “not in my office”. The room erupted into laughter.
‘Lean in’ to renewables
At the lunch Cook also issued a plea to the resources sector to “lean in” and lock in electricity contracts with proposed renewable projects to shore up the struggling sector, as the mining and gas lobby warns high power prices in WA are stifling new investment in the state.
Cook said big energy users like those in the resources sector had a role to play in making renewable projects less risky ventures.
“Big energy users can and should help shore up the viability of these renewable energy projects, after all, they need customers, you need energy,” he said.
“We need you to enter into offtake agreements early to help them reach final investment decision.
“As a government, we are looking at what we can do on both the South West and North West grids, but if we are to become a renewable energy powerhouse in a net zero by 2050 world and secure all the opportunities that this represents, such as green iron.
“We need you to act, to lean in. You lean in, and we will assist you in any way that we can.”
Cook’s comments came after the chamber raised concerns that customers on the South West electricity grid were paying more than double the prices they were paying five years ago, which was eroding investment potential in the state.
CMEWA director policy and advocacy Anita Logiudice said power costs were on an unsustainable trajectory and targeted intervention was necessary to safeguard operations until prices stabilise.
“As cheap long-term energy contracts expire in the coming years, many large industrial operations will struggle to survive,” she said.
“Households have been shielded from soaring power costs by WA Government subsidies and credits but businesses have been left exposed.
“Rising power prices risk slamming the brakes on new industries like critical minerals processing and green iron and are a key barrier to capitalising on the recent US-Australia critical minerals deal and the State Government’s ambitions to expand WA’s manufacturing base.”
Greens leader Brad Pettitt said Cook’s request showed his government was lazy.
“It’s the role of government to set renewable energy targets, reaching out to the corporate sector to do that work for them, frankly, is lazy and actually shows that government has vacated the space,” he said.
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