Read the complete write-up of Mark McGowan net worth, biography, age, salary, wife, daughter, update today as well as other other information you to need to know.
Introduction
Mark McGowan is an Australian Labor Party politician who has been Premier of Western Australia since 17 March 2017.
Early Life
| Name | Mark McGowan |
| Net Worth | $8 million |
| Profession | Politician |
| Height | 1.71m |
| Age | 54 years |
Mark McGowan was born on 13 July 1967 (age 54 years) in Newcastle, New South Wales, McGowan attended Casino Public School and Casino High School. McGowan then went to the University of Queensland and worked as a legal officer for the Royal Australian Navy, serving at naval base HMAS Stirling, south of Perth. Settl ing in Western Australia, McGowan was elected as a councillor for the City of Rockingham from 1994, and was later elected to the Western Australian Legislative Assembly at the 1996 election, representing the district of Rockingham. In 2001, he was made Parliamentary Secretary to Premier Geoff Gallop, and later served as a Cabinet Minister in both the Gallop and Carpenter Governments from 2005 to 2008.
Career
McGowan was elected as Leader of the Labor Party in Western Australia in January 2012, following the resignation of Eric Ripper, and became Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly. Although he led Labor to defeat at the 2013 election, he retained his position as leader, and embarked upon a “listening tour” of the state, pledging to restore Labor’s credibility with voters. McGowan subsequently grew in popularity, and went on to lead Labor to a landslide victory at the 2017 election, winning the largest majority government in the state’s history at the time. He was subsequently appointed the 30th Premier of Western Australia.
Throughout 2020, McGowan led the response of Western Australia to the COVID-19 pandemic, during which time he reached a record-breaking approval rating for an Australian Premier of 88%. At the 2021 election, McGowan led his party to an even larger majority, winning 53 out of 59 seats in the Legislative Assembly, the largest victory in terms of both vote share and proportion of lower house seats controlled in any Australian state or federal election since Federation.
Political career
In 1994, after settling with his family in Western Australia, McGowan was elected to the City of Rockingham Council, and in 1995 was appointed Deputy Mayor. He was subsequently pre-selected to run for the Western Australian Legislative Assembly in the seat of Rockingham at the 1996 election, following the retirement of long-serving MP Mike Barnett.
At the 2001 election, Labor defeated the Liberal–National Government; new Premier Geoff Gallop chose to appoint McGowan as his Parliamentary Secretary. McGowan was also responsible for chairing the state’s ANZAC Committee, the group managing the Western Australia’s 175th anniversary celebrations in 2004, and for chairing the Bali Memorial Steering Committee. In January 2005, following the retirement of federal Labor Leader Mark Latham from politics, McGowan was criticised in some quarters for taking unapproved leave to travel to Sydney to lobby for Kim Beazley’s return to the federal leadership; Gallop reprimanded McGowan and ordered him to return to Perth.
Following Labor’s win at the 2005 election, Gallop reshuffled his Ministry, and promoted McGowan to the role of Minister for Tourism, Racing and Gaming. Later that year, following Gallop’s retirement, McGowan was moved to the role of Minister for the Environment by new Premier Alan Carpenter. During his time in the Ministry, McGowan introduced major liquor reforms, including the introduction of small bars, created the Department of Environment and Conservation, and provided approval for the Gorgon Project.
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In December 2006, following the resignation of Ljiljanna Ravlich, Carpenter appointed McGowan to replace her as Minister for Education and Training. In this portfolio, McGowan oversaw the replacement of outcomes-based education with syllabus documents, re-established traditional forms of marking and reporting, and launched a renewed effort towards the attraction and retention of teachers.
In April 2008, McGowan was criticised by some for referring to ex-Labor MP John D’Orazio as “the worst ethnic branch stacker in the history of Labor in Western Australia”; both McGowan and Premier Carpenter apologised for the remarks. McGowan later apologised to anyone who took offence to the remark. The issue returned to the media spotlight when it was revealed that McGowan had had some dealings over fundraising with the controversial politician Brian Burke during the 2005 election.
After Labor’s defeat at the 2008 election, Alan Carpenter resigned as Leader of the Labor Party in Western Australia; McGowan was considered one of several contenders to replace him, but he chose not to run, instead supporting the eventual winner Eric Ripper, who was elected unopposed. McGowan did choose to contest the election for Deputy Leader, but lost to newcomer Roger Cook by 30 votes to 9. Ripper appointed McGowan to the Shadow Ministry as Shadow Minister for State Development, Trade, Planning, Housing and Works, and was also appointed as Manager of Opposition Business in the Legislative Assembly.
On 17 January 2012, following declining performances in opinion polls, Eric Ripper announced that he would resign as Leader of the Opposition. At a caucus meeting on 23 January, McGowan was elected unopposed as Ripper’s successor, becoming Leader of the Opposition. Despite an initial improvement in Labor’s standing in opinion polls, Labor ultimately suffered a 5.4 percent swing against it at the 2013 election, losing five seats. Despite this, McGowan was not blamed for the loss, and was unanimously confirmed as party leader by his colleagues.
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After Labor’s 2013 defeat, McGowan launched a “listening tour” of the state, pledging that he would enact policy reforms to address the reasons for Labor suffering two defeats in a row. Soon after this process, opinion polls began to show increasingly large swings of support away from the second-term Barnett Government. By 2015, McGowan had reached a comfortable lead in polls as preferred Premier of Western Australia, and retained this position until the following election.
At the 2017 election, McGowan led the Labor Party to one of its most comprehensive victories at either the state or territory level since Federation. Labor won 41 of the 59 seats available on 55.5 percent of the two-party vote and secured a 20-seat sw ing, unseating seven members of Barnett’s cabinet, including Nationals Leader Brendon Grylls. McGowan led WA Labor to its strongest performance ever, with the largest majority government in Western Australian history. His own margin in Rockingham increased from an already safe 13.2 percent to 23.4 percent.
Premier of Western Australia
Mark McGowan was sworn in by Governor Kerry Sanderson as the 30th Premier of Western Australia on 17 March 2017. Early in his premiership, McGowan moved to limit the number of pathways for foreign workers to enter the state and re-committed to terminating the controversial Perth Freight Link highway project, which had proved extremely unpopular in large parts of the state. McGowan also worked to expand Chinese investment in Western Australia, and criticised some politicians for calling attention to human rights in China.
Throughout 2020 and 2021, McGowan led Western Australia through its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. McGowan acted early to close the state’s borders to the rest of the country on 5 April. In July 2020, businessman Clive Palmer claimed that the closing of the borders was unconstitutional and launched a legal challenge in the Federal Court. The case was defeated, and in response McGowan labelled Palmer an “enemy of the state”. Shortly afterwards, McGowan’s popularity in opinion polls dramatically increased, reaching a record high for a Western Australian Premier.
In January 2021, McGowan criticised the New South Wales Government’s response and attitude towards the pandemic, contrasting it with that of his own Government’s response. In March 2021, McGowan suggested that some internal Australian border controls could be continued after the pandemic, on the grounds that they had helped to keep illegal drugs out of Western Australia, but clarified later that he meant to suggest only an increased police presence at border checkpoints, rather than completely sealing the border.
In the lead up to the 2021 election, opinion polls suggested that the McGowan Government would be re-elected by a record majority, so great was the lead among opinion polls, with Labor approaching 70% in the two-party preferred polls, and McGowan maintaining a personal approval rating of 88%. Opposition Leader Zak Kirkup took the unprecedented step of conceding the election more than a fortnight before it took place. On 13 March 2021, McGowan led WA Labor to the biggest victory ever achieved by a political party at state government level since Federation, with a landslide result of 53 out of 59 seats, including all but one in Perth. This margin beat the previous record set in 2017 for the biggest majority government in WA history. His own margin in Rockingham ballooned to 37.7 percent, making Rockingham the safest seat in the state.
Claiming victory, McGowan stated that the victory was “beyond humbling” and pledged that the Government would work to retain the support of the majority of Western Australians.
Wife
Mark McGowan is married to Sarah Miller since 1996, with whom he has three children. McGowan was born into a family of Irish descent in Newcastle, New South Wales, He joined the Australian Labor Party in 1984, stating that he was inspired by the leadership of Prime Minister Bob Hawke. In 1989, he joined the Royal Australian Navy and served at the naval base HMAS Stirling, reaching the rank of Lieutenant and was also employed by the Navy as a legal officer.
Mark McGowan net worth
How much is Mark McGowan worth? Mark McGowan net worth 2022 is estimated at around $8 million. His salary is $401,000. However, In 1996, he was awarded a Commendation for Brave Conduct, for actions he took on service in 1995 for rescuing an unconscious driver from a burning car. He is one of the richest and influential politicians in Australia.