The WA elections will be held on Saturday, March 8, 2025. Picture: stock
West Australian Governor Chris Dawson has adjourned parliament with elections scheduled for March 8, 2025.
Premier Roger Cook said current Bills that have not passed through either house of parliament must now be introduced in the next session after the elections.
Parliamentary committees will also be suspended.
“The Legislative Assembly will be formally dissolved in late January, at which point the 41st parliament will cease to exist and a new parliament will be sworn in after the election,” he says.
Under WA parliamentary law, writs for the election will be issued on Wednesday, February 5, 2025. A caretaker period begins from then.
“I thank all members of the 41st Parliament for their contribution over the past four years,” Cook says.
The premier say more than 140 Bills passed through parliament and highlighted what he sees as his government’s achievements such as new firearm laws to get guns off the streets; more protection for victim-survivors of family violence; overhauling the planning system to speed up housing builds; reforming residential tenancy laws; reforming environmental approval laws to fast-track projects and the decriminalisation of abortion.
WA ELECTORAL COMMISSION
The WA Electoral Commission has begun advertising for workers to man polling sites across the state for the March election.
In a statement released in July, the commission highlighted changes to the state’s electoral rules.
There is now a cap on campaign spending, not just for political parties and candidates but for third parties. This limits the amount spent on advertising, billboards, mailouts, polling and the like during election periods.
Electoral Commissioner Robert Kennedy said the changes allow voters to have greater understanding about who is funding elections and how much they are spending.
“It’s about encouraging more people to vote more easily, with greater transparency and accountability of donations to political parties and candidates to ensure public confidence in WA’s election process.”
Members of the public can find out each day during a state election campaign who has donated to which party or candidate, and how much they have donated.
Among the other changes, teenagers can now start the enrolment process at age 16 onwards.
Changes also apply to postal votes, early polling and there is a new code of conduct for election campaign workers on polling days.
There will be no foreign or anonymous donations permitted.
Political parties are banned from processing postal vote applications and cannot distribute them unless approved by the commission.
