Marles warns WA Labor of hubris after election wins

Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles has warned Labor faithful their party’s two extraordinary election wins this year were “not a licence for hubris”.

Speaking at WA Labor’s state conference at the Esplanade Hotel in Fremantle on Saturday, Marles declared 2025 as WA Labor’s year and spoke at length about the state and federal election results, but said the party should not become complacent.

Deputy Premier Richard Marles at the Labor Party conference.Credit: Rachel Clifford

“In the re-election of the Albanese Labor government in May of this year, it’s actually the first time that a first-term government has increased its majority since Federation, but these two elections together are far and away the most historic of any in our lifetime,” he said.

“But what they are not is a license for hubris. They are no guarantee of any future election result, and they are absolutely no cause for complacency.

“They are a vindication of policies which have at their core the interests of the people that we represent, policies which are not about culture wars or winning likes or followers on social media.“

During his speech, Marles acknowledged his new federal colleagues, including Moore MP Tom French Bullwinkel MP Trish Cook and Senator Dorinda Cox, who sensationally defected from the Greens in June.

Protesters outside the Labor Party conference.Credit: Rachel Clifford

About 50 protestors gathered outside carrying placards with anti-fracking and anti-AUKUS messages as well as pro-Palestine supporters.

Protestors were nearly outnumbered by the significant police presence, which had lined up along the hotel entrance to prevent protestors from crowding the door.

Inside, Marles launched an emphatic defence of AUKUS.

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“In time, 4000 people will be directly employed at the Henderson defence precinct – union jobs – in any context, one of the biggest industrial facilities in our country and across the defence sector, there will be 10,000 jobs in Western Australia,” he said.

“This represents the biggest diversification of the Western Australian economy that we have seen in decades.“

Outside the conference, Marles offered a tribute to former Labor senator Graham “Richo” Richardson, who died aged 76 on Saturday morning.

“Graham’s passing is a really sad day for the Australian Labor Movement by any measure. He was a giant and a hero of the Labor movement, having devoted his entire life to the movement, and he will be deeply missed,” he said.

The Labor conference is where lay party members confirm the policy platform for the year ahead and various party factions attempt to steer the direction of elected MPs.

The morning session went off without much controversy but while discussing the party’s health platform United Workers Union delegate and paramedic Tom Sullivan had choice words about the state’s ambulance ramping crisis, which hit record levels in September.

“It’s really easy to dismiss ambulance ramping statistics as just numbers on a chart, but you have to consider that every hour of ambulance ramping is actually a human being,” he told the conference.

“They’re left on a stretcher somewhere, perhaps in pain, wondering if maybe they’ve actually just been forgotten about.

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