Eric Ripper, Western Australia’s Leader of the Opposition, has announced his resignation.
The W.A. Labor caucus will meet next Monday and is expected to endorse Mark McGowan as its new leader.
- Listen to Ripper’s press conference (32m)
Ripper, 60, has been Leader of the Opposition since September 23, 2008. He was elected in the aftermath of former Premier Alan Carpenter’s election defeat.
Ripper was first elected to Parliament in 1988. He served as a minister under Carmen Lawrence in the early 1990s and was a minister throughout the term of the Labor government elected in 2001 under the leadership of Geoff Gallop. He was Deputy Premier and Treasurer in the Carpenter government.
At his press conference, Ripper endorsed Mark McGowan as the next leader of the ALP. McGowan, 44, has been the member for Rockingham since 1996. He held a number of ministerial positions in the previous government, including Education and Training. He is currently Manager of Opposition Business, Shadow Minister for State Development, Regional Development, Housing and Works, and Trade.
McGowan studied law and was a naval legal officer before entering parliament.
