Peter Watson (politician)

Peter Bruce Watson (born 30 May 1947) is an Australian politician. He was the Labor Party member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from February 2001 to March 2021, representing the electorate of Albany.^[1]

The Honourable Peter Watson
30th Speaker of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
In office 11 May 2017 – 29 April 2021
Preceded by	Michael Sutherland
Succeeded by	Michelle Roberts
Member of the Western Australian Parliament for Albany
In office 10 February 2001 – 29 January 2021
Preceded by	Kevin Prince
Succeeded by	Rebecca Stephens
Personal details
Born	Peter Bruce Watson (1947-05-30) 30 May 1947 (age 77) Reservoir, Victoria
Citizenship	Australian
Political party	Labor Party
Occupation	Postal worker
Website	web.archive.org/web/20201124001017/http://www.peterwatson.walabor.org.au/ (Archive)

Watson was born in the Melbourne suburb of Reservoir.^[1] After arriving in Western Australia in 1961, Watson attended Perth Modern School and took up athletics. He excelled at the 1500m event and won the Australian title in 1968 and again in 1973.^[2] Watson was the third West Australian after Herb Elliott and Keith Wheeler to break the four minute mile.^[3] He represented Australia at the 1968 Summer Olympics^[4] and the 1974 Commonwealth Games.^[5]

Employed at Australia Post, Watson held various positions, including postal manager, before entering politics. He was successful at the 2001 Western Australian state election, defeating the sitting member, Kevin Prince, and was re-elected in 2005.^[6]

At the 2008 election, electoral boundary changes resulting from the adoption of the one-vote one-value principle meant that substantial rural areas were included in the electorate, and it became notionally Liberal. Watson won the seat by 89 votes.^[3]

In both the 2008 and 2013 elections, Watson accomplished the feat of winning in the face of swings against the Australian Labor Party in the state as a whole.^[7][8]

Watson retained the seat again at the 2017 election with a swing toward him of 1.8%, winning the seat by 4.1% after preferences.^[3] Watson was appointed Speaker of the Legislative Assembly on 11 May 2017.^[9][10]

References

1. "Extract from the Western Australian Parliamentary Handbook". 2007. Retrieved 10 April 2008.
2. "Australian Open Track & Field Championships". 2007. Archived from the original on 31 July 2008. Retrieved 10 April 2008.
3. "WA Election 2017 Electorate: Albany". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 11 March 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
4. "WA's Olympic History 1912–2006" (PDF). 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 September 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2008.
5. "Australian Athletics – Historical results". 2008. Archived from the original on 20 October 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2008.
6. "Electorate Results – Albany". ABC Elections. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
7. "Electorate Results – Albany". ABC Elections. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
8. "Electorate Results – Albany". ABC Elections. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
9. "Hansard WA Parliament" (PDF). Parliament of Western Australia. 11 May 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 May 2017.
10. "WA premier grilled during question time". Sky News. 11 May 2017. Archived from the original on 24 May 2017. Earlier, as the longest-serving MP, former premier Colin Barnett briefly chaired the lower house for the unopposed election of Labor's Peter Watson as Speaker.

Western Australian Legislative Assembly
Preceded by Kevin Prince	Member for Albany 2001–2021	Succeeded by Rebecca Stephens
Preceded by Michael Sutherland	Speaker of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly 2017–2021	Succeeded by Michelle Roberts