Paul Murray was educated at Guildford Grammer School. From 1990 to 2000 he was editor of the West Australian and then for six years presented a morning radio breakfast show on station 6PR. He then returned to writing opinion articles for the West Australian.

Perhaps the best thing that can be said about Dr Geoff Gallop’s administration is that it was far superior to the one that survived him after he resigned.

That aside, the Gallop Government underachieved in a time of unprecedented economic bounty.

Its major political achievements were environmental, but remain contested. Old-growth forests continue to be logged and tourist development proceeds on Ningaloo reef.

But its major failure was on the biggest promise: 'Labor understands health and we’ll fix it.' The health system got worse.

Even the crowning glory, the Perth-Mandurah railway, was a Court Government project which was adapted to a new, shorter, but much more expensive route.

The southern suburbs that missed out were among those to turn on Labor and eject the successor Carpenter Government.

Paul Murray.
Photograph courtesy Paul Murray.