Alan Carpenter facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Honourable Alan Carpenter
Carpenter delivering a speech at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Baton Relay, Kings Park
28th Premier of Western Australia
In office 25 January 2006 – 23 September 2008
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor	Ken Michael
Deputy	Eric Ripper
Preceded by	Geoff Gallop
Succeeded by	Colin Barnett
Leader of the Western Australian Labor Party
In office 24 January 2006 – 16 September 2008
Preceded by	Geoff Gallop
Succeeded by	Eric Ripper
Minister for Energy and State Development
In office 10 March 2005 – 13 December 2006
Preceded by	Eric Ripper
Succeeded by	Fran Logan
Minister for Education and Training
In office 16 February 2001 – 26 February 2005
Preceded by	Colin Barnett
Succeeded by	Ljiljanna Ravlich
Member of the Western Australian Parliament for Willagee
In office 14 December 1996 – 2 October 2009
Preceded by	Constituency created
Succeeded by	Peter Tinley
Personal details
Born	Alan John Carpenter (1957-01-04) 4 January 1957 (age 68) Albany, Western Australia
Political party	Labor Party
Profession	Journalist

Alan John Carpenter (born 4 January 1957) is a former Australian politician. He served as the 28th Premier of Western Australia from 2006 to 2008. A Premier is like the leader of the state government.

Carpenter grew up in Albany, Western Australia. He studied at the University of Western Australia and worked as a journalist before becoming a politician. He was a member of the Labor Party.

He was first elected to the Western Australian Legislative Assembly (the state parliament) in 1996. This was for the area called Willagee. In the government led by Geoff Gallop, Carpenter was the Minister for Education. He also held other important roles.

In January 2006, he became Premier after Geoff Gallop resigned. However, the Labor Party lost power after the 2008 election. Colin Barnett became Premier, leading a government with the Liberal Party. Carpenter left parliament in 2009. After politics, he worked in a senior role for a large company called Wesfarmers until 2018.

Learning and Early Life

Alan Carpenter was born in Albany, Western Australia. He went to Mount Lockyer Primary School and then Albany Senior High School. After finishing high school in 1974, he traveled around Australia. He worked at different jobs during this time.

In 1977, he returned to study political science at the University of Western Australia. He finished his degree in 1980.

Career in Media

Carpenter started his career as a journalist for the Albany Advertiser newspaper. In 1982, he traveled overseas. He spent 11 months in Asia and then lived in Europe for three years, working various jobs.

He came back to Australia in 1986. He began working for the Perth television station TVW-7. There, he reported on state politics. In 1990, Carpenter moved to the ABC. He continued his role as a state political reporter.

He moved up in his career at the ABC. In 1992, he became the Western Australian presenter for The 7.30 Report. Later, in 1996, he was the first presenter of a show called Stateline.

Political Journey

In 1996, Carpenter left the ABC to start his political career. The Labor Party chose him to run for the new seat of Willagee. He won this election and became a member of parliament.

During his time in parliament, he held many important roles. When his party was not in power, he was a "shadow minister." This means he was the main spokesperson for his party on certain topics. He was a shadow minister for things like education and sport. When his party was in government, he became a real minister. He was the Minister for Education, Sport, and Energy in the government led by Geoff Gallop.

Becoming Premier

In January 2006, Geoff Gallop resigned as Premier due to illness. Alan Carpenter quickly became the top choice to take over. He received important support from a big union. Other possible leaders decided not to run against him. So, on 24 January, he was chosen by the Labor Party members without anyone opposing him.

Dealing with Challenges

After November 2006, Carpenter made some tough decisions. He removed three ministers from his team. This was because of issues that came up during an investigation by the Corruption and Crime Commission. Carpenter's strong approach to these problems was popular with the public. In early 2007, about 60% of people approved of his work. This made him one of the most popular state leaders in Australia.

By late 2007, public satisfaction with Carpenter began to drop. In the 2007 federal election, Western Australia was the only state where the Labor Party lost seats. This was a sign of trouble for Carpenter's government. However, the leader of the Liberal Party at the time, Paul Omodei, was also not very popular.

The 2008 Election

Carpenter decided to call a state election earlier than planned. This happened the day after the opposition leader, Troy Buswell, stepped aside. Colin Barnett, who had been an opposition leader before, took his place. The election was set for 6 September 2008.

During the election campaign, Carpenter made a big promise. He said that if his party won, they would ban uranium mining in Western Australia. This was a change from the Labor Party's earlier policy.

The election results showed a big shift in votes. Many people voted for the Liberal and Greens parties instead of Labor. This led to a "hung parliament." This means no single party won enough seats to form a government on its own. The Labor Party had the most seats, but they were two seats short of a majority.

Carpenter tried to form a government with the National Party. However, the Nationals decided to support the Liberals instead. Because of this, Alan Carpenter was replaced by Colin Barnett as Premier. Carpenter then stepped down as the Labor leader, and his deputy, Eric Ripper, took over.

On 25 September 2009, Alan Carpenter announced he would retire from politics. His last day in parliament was 2 October 2009.

Years later, in 2022, his decisions about gas prices for Western Australia were remembered. The low prices he helped set were compared to much higher prices in other parts of Australia.

Life After Politics

In late 2009, Carpenter joined Wesfarmers. This is one of Australia's largest private companies. He worked as an executive general manager for corporate affairs. He retired from this role in 2018.

Personal Life

Alan Carpenter is married and has four daughters. He is an atheist.

See also

In Spanish: Alan Carpenter para niños

• Carpenter Ministry