Kalamunda residents turn up for meeting with Premier

The special meeting was arranged in the lead-up to the State Election in March.

Mr Day introduced the Premier and invited questions on issues of concern for local residents for the politicians and Premier to answer.

Mr Day said Mr Barnett has provided strong and effective leadership for the past eight years in office and a strong sense of direction for the state.

Mr Barnett spoke briefly about the Esther Foundation’s move to the old St Emilie’s Convent on Kalamunda Road and about how the charity was one close to his heart and that of his wife’s.

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The couple have been actively involved with the foundation since 2001, he said.

Mr Barnett said the process of governing was becoming more and more difficult, that government itself was changing and had undergone significant change in eight years.

Referring to the recent Brexit result in the UK and the election of Donald Trump in the United States, he said these results showed voters everywhere were becoming more uncertain and apprehensive.

Mr Barnett said WA was a highly productive and specialised state producing 45 per cent of the nation’s farming, mining and petroleum exports.

“We are tied to other nations more than the other states in terms of trade and we have just been through one of the most exceptional growth periods in our lifetime with the rise of China,” he said.

“However, like all periods of growth there are also periods of slower economic cycles and this is one of them.”

Mr Barnett outlined the government’s achievements since gaining office in the areas of health care, transport, education and the environment.

Mr Barnett added that there was a long way to go with social policy but they had been involved in mental health and tried to address youth suicide and drug addiction.