Ben Harvey: Beazley-McGowan bromance has run its course... these are the names who could replace the Governor

Kim Beazley’s term as Governor expires in May. The word is Bomber is open to a two-year extension (the one-time high-profile republican quite enjoys being HRH’s representative in WA) but Mark McGowan has said no. It’s surprising because Mark’s love for Kim is well documented. Kim had him at “hello” and the Premier’s infatuation was one of the reasons he earned his nickname “Sneakers”. It was all you could see of him because he was so far up Kim’s bum. It’s been a long and fiercely loyal friendship. Mark was Kim’s campaign manager at the 2004 Federal election and a year later Sneakers secretly flew to Sydney to help Bomber oust Mark Latham during the great unpleasantness of Federal Labor’s mid-noughties infighting. That dash over east earned a rebuke from then-premier Geoff Gallop (the owner of another arse that Sneakers liked to crawl into). “I realise Mark McGowan is a good friend and supporter of Kim Beazley but I had no idea he had taken leave and was helping Mr Beazley’s campaign for the Federal ALP leadership,” a thoroughly annoyed Gallop said at the time. Gallop rightly pointed out there was the small matter of the WA election about to be called so maybe the Member for Rockingham had more important things to do than act as Beazley’s driver, personal assistant and media secretary — all while working out of the Federal MP’s Commonwealth parliamentary office in Perth. In 2012, when he was Australia’s ambassador to the US, Beazley backed his buddy’s ascent to top ALP dog in WA during the great unpleasantness of State Labor’s post-2008 election loss infighting. “If any man is criticised for devotion to me, then I’ll defend him until hell freezes over,” was Bomber’s theatrical defence of his mate. Kim was among the first to shake Mark’s hand when he won the 2017 election and a year later his protege repaid years of favours by making him Governor. They’ve been through a hell of a lot but it seems Mark has moved on. He’s had the talk with Kim — “it’s not you, it’s me” — and made it clear he wants new blood as the local representative of the Crown. The Government is tight-lipped about what’s happening after May but four names keep popping up. Child health legend Fiona Stanley, tough-as-nails former magistrate Sue Gordon, WA Police chief Chris Dawson and academic Colleen Hayward. It’s a pretty strong field. If you want to feel inadequate about your achievements in life, have a look at their LinkedIn profiles. Each candidate has devoted their life to public service and would bring unique qualities to the role. Stanley is loved across the political divide, which would be a plus after the bare-faced, political incestuousness of Beazley’s appointment. Dawson’s stewardship of the State during the pandemic speaks for itself and doesn’t require a rehash here. Gordon and Hayward’s on-the-ground public policy experience would qualify them as fine Governors regardless of their race but it would be absurd to ignore the poignancy of having an Aboriginal woman as the Head of State. Sportsbet will probably run a book on this so watch the odds as we get closer to May. If one of those four do end up getting the gig, then you heard it here first and the $3 you forked out for this paper was money well spent. If I’m way off, well, that just shows Mark didn’t make the right decision!

Ben Harvey: Beazley-McGowan bromance has run its course... these are the names who could replace the Governor

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