Amid words of praise for many, outgoing MLC Kyle McGinn slams two local government CEOs

WA Labor MLC Kyle McGinn has used his valedictory speech in WA Parliament to thank a wide range of people he worked with during his time in the Goldfields — and slam at least two of them.

Mr McGinn also revealed the toll the stresses of the job had on his own mental health.

In the wide-ranging address on Wednesday before the new Upper House entered Parliament on Thursday, the self-described “straight, white, blue-collar, bogan bloke with a mullet” said while he might be more sophisticated than when he first entered Parliament in 2017, he believed he had maintained his integrity and never lost sight of what motivated him to become a member of Parliament.

“That is, my commitment to improving the lives of West Australians, particularly those West Australians who lack institutional power, which is the majority of the working class,” he said.

Mr McGinn highlighted the delivery of an MRI machine to Kalgoorlie Health Campus as something that had made him “forever proud”.

“The launch of the MRI machine in Kalgoorlie–Boulder was one of the greatest commitments from the Labor government in 2017 and was delivered only by a Labor government,” he said.

“It was a political football that was used by the other side for many, many years.

“The lies that were spread were ridiculous, the games that were played were childish, but the proof is in the pudding.

“I will now be forever proud knowing that people who need better diagnostic outcomes will not have to travel to Perth anymore, and that is because of the first term of the McGowan Labor Government.”

However, Mr McGinn admitted his dealings during his time as the WA Labor member for the mining and pastoral region had “not always been sunshine and rainbows, and in a shock to precisely nobody, I have had a few run-ins around the electorate”.

“I have met and dealt with hundreds, maybe thousands, of workers and representatives in local government, including dozens of CEOs, mayors and shire presidents right across my region,” he said.

“Many of these people have held differing political views, visions and opinions, and it is fair to say that I have had many robust discussions, but, for the most part, the day-to-day work gets done and everyone maintains their professionalism.

“This is not the case for the former Kalgoorlie–Boulder CEO John Walker and current Norseman CEO Peter Fitchat.

“One of my first events was launching a children’s book at the Goldfields Arts Centre, attended by hundreds of children, and my first encounter with John was him steaming towards me, yelling and screaming and swearing at me and being super aggressive and in my face in front of schoolchildren.

“It was clear to me that this bloke was a bully and used aggressive behaviour to try to intimidate people.

“That was not going to happen with me; I fought back, and he has now fled across the Nullarbor with his tail between his legs.

“I want to put this on the record as a correction to what has been said out in the electorate about this former CEO in Kalgoorlie–Boulder.

“He was the worst CEO in the history of that region, and that will be his legacy.”

Mr McGinn said Mr Fitchat “is like if you were to order John Walker from Temu”.

“He is another person in a position of power who likes to be aggressive,” Mr McGinn said.

“He literally squared up to me in the council chambers one day, swearing, going red in the face and spitting at me.

“It was probably the closest I have got to a physical altercation in my eight years doing this job.

“Local government CEOs like Peter and John ought to be reminded that they are not elected officials.

“They are there at the behest of the elected council and the leaders, who were placed there through democracy by the local community.

“Unfortunately, the way that local governments should function is not how they actually function, particularly in regional WA.”

Mr McGinn then switched tack to speak about his mental health struggles.

“I was about a year and a half into my first term, and I was struggling,” he said.

“Things were not going well at home, and I was still on the steep learning curve of this job, and this job is tough. This job is very tough.

“I was in Karratha with Minister Paul Papalia.

“I got off a plane, and I had a sudden feeling that I was having a heart attack.

“It was hard to describe. I had heart palpitations, my vision was blurry and I felt like I was going to pass out.

“Fortunately, or unfortunately, it was not a heart attack but instead a panic attack.

“Shortly afterwards, I was diagnosed with severe anxiety, and I have been on Lexapro ever since.”

He said he found the strength to ask for help, even though it was incredibly difficult.

“Standing here today and talking about mental health struggles is still difficult,” he said.

“I do not normally shy away from talking about hard topics, so that is why I do not want to leave here without mentioning it.

“There is no shame in asking for help. Please, fellas in particular, trust me on this — ask for help.”

Mr McGinn also used his speech to thank a wide range of Goldfields people, and identified young Labor staffer Amy Astill — who has the nickname “Nugget”, and was elected as a City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder councillor in 2021 aged just 19 — as a future prime minister.

“I would love to take credit for who will eventually be the next Premier of WA and then Prime Minister of Australia, but let us face it, she would have got there on her own,” he said.

“You are destined for greatness, Nugget, and I look forward to watching the space as that grows.”