Author In-Conversation: Colin Barnett

In his book Out West: Big State, Small Town, the longest serving Premier of WA’s modern era, Hon Colin Barnett AC, reflects on leadership, power and economic development in Australia’s big state, small town.

Join Colin in discussion with The West Australian’s Chief Reporter Ben Harvey as they dive into politics, place and the pages of Out West.

This event is brought to you in partnership with Dymocks Booksellers.

About the book:

Vast in scale and physically isolated, Western Australia has evolved into an export powerhouse with a distinct identity defined by courageous thinking and small-town roots.

In Out West: Big State, Small Town, Colin Barnett AC traces the modern story of Western Australia through the lens of his life and career in politics and beyond.

Born and educated in Western Australia, Barnett’s political career began in 1990, a time of critical economic change. In Out West, Barnett reflects on the forces that have shaped the state’s development, growing from an agricultural base into an economy responsible for around half of the nation’s exports. A key player in this transformation, he held portfolios including Treasury, Education and Tourism.

Serving as Premier from 2008 to 2017, he writes candidly about leadership at the state and national level, the relationships he sustained with Japan and developed with China, his dealings with four Australian Prime Ministers, and his role in international trade and investment, from London to Houston. Barnett’s legacy also includes the environmental protection of the Kimberley, the settlement of native title claims, and landmark infrastructure projects that reshaped Perth.

Out West is grounded in a deep sense of place, a story of a vast state with small-town roots, and the challenges and responsibilities that come with governing at the edge of the nation.

About the author: Hon Colin Barnett AC was the longest-serving Western Australian Premier in over 50 years, serving from 2008 to 2017.

Born and educated in Western Australia, Colin was elected in 1990 as the Member for Cottesloe in the Western Australian Parliament and served as Leader or Deputy Leader of the Parliamentary Liberal Party for every election from 1993 to 2017. As a minister in the 1990s, he handled the deregulation and privatisation of the energy sector. He was involved in major new projects including the Goldfields Gas Pipeline, and, in the education portfolio, he introduced a universal kindergarten and pre-primary year for all children.

As Premier, Colin further developed the relationship with China which saw a doubling of iron-ore production and trebling of liquefied natural gas (LNG) production. Other landmark events include the settlement of native title over Perth and the southwest and the creation of major land and marine parks in the remote Kimberley. Major projects under his leadership included Elizabeth Quay, Perth Stadium, the sinking of the rail line, Yagan Square and the Perth Children’s Hospital, all of which transformed the city of Perth.

He is currently an Adjunct Professor in the Business School at the University of Western Australia. Out West is his first book.

About Ben Harvey:

Ben Harvey has worked as a journalist since 1999. His early career at The West Australian included stretches of crime reporting and political journalism. He worked in London for regional and national titles before returning to WA in 2006. Since then he has held the positions of The West Australian's news editor, chief of staff, state political editor and group business editor. In his current role as Chief Reporter he is focusing on crime reporting but will often write about finance and politics.

Praise for Out West

‘I hope this book is widely read, as a lovely account of working for the betterment of Western Australia. It is clear, concise and honest. It should encourage more people into public life. As a Minister and as Premier, Colin Barnett focussed on getting things done, such as changing state schools to also be independent public schools. He always had the right kind of ambition, less for himself and more for his state and country. This book is a fragrant reminder that it's possible to succeed in both politics and policy.’

HON TONY ABBOTT AC, 28th Prime Minister of Australia

‘Out West is a fascinating account of events in Western Australia over recent decades.’

HON KERRY SANDERSON AC, 32nd Governor of Western Australia

‘Out West is a sharply observed account of power, policy and personality from a leader who wasn’t in politics to posture. It is frank about success and failure, and powerful when explaining how Western Australia’s fortunes are shaped as much by Asia and natural resources as by whatever happens in Canberra. This is a compelling insider's view of a state that thinks and acts big.’

DR PETER VAN ONSELEN, Australian academic, author and commentator

‘During Colin’s time as Premier of Western Australia, Aboriginal affairs assumed an increasingly visible place in public policy. The government he led worked constructively on closing the gap in health, education and employment. The Noongar land agreement over Perth and the south-west of the state, is a defining moment in Australian history.’

HON KEN WYATT AM JP, Federal Minister for Indigenous Australians (2019-2022)

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