Liz Constable - Minister in The Barnett Government

Minister in The Barnett Government

In November 2008, Constable was appointed Minister for Education, Tourism and Women's Interests in the Barnett Ministry, thereby becoming the first Independent to be appointed as a Minister of the Crown in Western Australia. She was removed from the tourism portfolio in December 2010, three months after she was the subject of a critical motion and three hour long debate in the Western Australian Parliament. The motion that read "That this house expresses its grave concern at the continued decline of the Western Australian tourism industry and condemns the Minister for Tourism for her lack of interest and demonstrated failures in this portfolio" focussed on the drop in tourism visitation to Western Australia, questions over the direction of the Department of Tourism and the loss of a major event worth millions to the state's tourism sector.

In early 2011, Constable was criticised in regard to a Government policy which left children with no air-conditioning for new buildings outside the "air cooling zone" established by the state Government and so regularly subject to internal temperatures of heat above 35 degrees in more than 300 schools. Despite the Commonwealth providing the funding for the air-conditioning, the WA State Government, and Constable's department, did not allow schools to install the funded air conditioning in new building. Constable had said if schools arranged for independent contractors to install air-conditioning within 12 months of construction, it would void the building warranty.

On 1 March 2011 when the problem became public, Constable said she would wait until a policy review was completed mid-year before deciding her position. However, on 2 March 2011, when it became know that Constable had been aware of the problem for over one year, she decided that Parents and Citizens' Association committees could install air-conditioners should they wish to purchase them themselves.