Anthony Albanese and Federal ministers set to make history on WA visit holding Cabinet meeting in Port Hedland

Federal Cabinet ministers will descend on Port Hedland next week for meetings that include hearing from community representatives. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has planned a two-day trip to Western Australia next week with stops in Kalgoorlie and Perth and a day in Port Hedland. This time he is bringing two planeloads of ministers with him for a cabinet meeting — the first in a regional WA town. Premier Mark McGowan has been trying for years to get Federal cabinet to the port town where the bulk of Australia’s iron ore exports pass through on their way to overseas markets. Initial plans were derailed when the pandemic struck and borders closed. After last year’s Federal election, the Albanese cabinet was all ready to head to the Pilbara, only to have the planned September meeting postponed due to Queen Elizabeth II dying. They will finally make it there on Tuesday. “I’ve always said Western Australia is more than Perth and I’m pleased the Federal cabinet will be meeting in Port Hedland next week,” Mr Albanese said. “Port Hedland is one of the engine rooms of the Western Australian economy so it’s fitting we hold our first regional Western Australian cabinet here.” Mr McGowan on Wednesday told WA Parliament the meeting would be held in the Port Hedland Port control tower. “(The cabinet visit) is fantastic,” Mr McGowan said. “I mean honestly, fantastic. That the full cabinet of the Commonwealth of Australia is going to hold a meeting in the shipping tower at Hedland, the control tower at Hedland. “Think about it — they’ll be able to watch ships coming in and out, they’ll actually be able to experience it. “Never done before. Never done before in the history of Australia that a Cabinet has done that.” His comments came in response to a question from North West Central MP Merome Beard, who quizzed the Premier on whether he would advocate for the Albanese Government to replicate its $250 million commitment to addressing social issues and crime in the Northern Territory in WA. Mr McGowan will address the Cabinet meeting and hopes to reinforce what can be achieved if the State and Commonwealth work together to deliver for West Australians. He anticipated he and Mr Albanese would “have things to say” during the visit to Port Hedland and flagged he would also travel to other communities across the State. On the way from the east coast on Monday, the Prime Minister will stop in Kalgoorlie. The mining town is part of the Goldfields region where people are coming off the cashless debit card after Labor abolished it last year. Earlier this week, Laverton Shire president Patrick Hill told The West he wanted the Prime Minister to spend a night with first responders in his town, which is on the other end of the former Goldfields CDC area, and see the alcohol-fuelled unrest. Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said linking violence and alcohol use in towns like Laverton and Leonora to the end of the cashless debit card was “disingenuous and wrong”. Mr Albanese also has events planned in Perth. He has pledged to visit WA 10 times each year. This trip is his third for 2023, after visiting the flood zones in the Kimberley and making a sweep across several electorates in Perth in January.