KARL LANGDON, HOST: A name is being proposed for the new electorate to be located in Western Australia by a Labor MP. That Labor MP's name is Patrick Gorman, and he joins us this morning. Patrick good morning.
PATRICK GORMAN, ASSISTANT MINISTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER AND ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE: Good morning. Good morning to your listeners.
LANGDON: Why Polly Farmer mate?
GORMAN: Well, it's very exciting that Western Australia will get an additional seat and therefore more representation in the federal Parliament. And if you look at what the Electoral Commission have been looking to do, that is recognise Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage in the naming of our seats, this was just the obvious choice. I still have memories of the warm speeches that were given at his state funeral in 2019. I challenge any of your listeners to come up with a better suggestion.
MICHAEL GENOVESE, HOST: Well, some would say though, Patrick, that Graham's got his name up in lights with the Polly Farmer freeway, isn't that enough?
GORMAN: We've got the Polly pipe and that's important recognition in my electorate of Perth, for this great Australian footballer. But if you want to get some recognition on the national stage, which I think is appropriate, given he was captain of Geelong, one of their greats, he was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame, he played for many years in WA. I think it's appropriate that there is national recognition, and this is a great opportunity to have an electorate named Farmer in his honour.
LANGDON: So we had the electorate of Stirling in Perth's northern suburbs abolished in 2022 in the ballot. WA will regain its 16th seat thanks to population shifts during the COVID-19 pandemic. So this is the one you're talking about naming, right?
GORMAN: That's correct. We don't know where the seat will be located. It could be literally anywhere in Western Australia, that is up to the Electoral Commission through their independent processes. So it won't be just popping in, like a jigsaw puzzle, the old piece back in, it'll be a new seat. We don't know where it'll be. But again, I think someone who has that broad respect of not just Western Australians, but Australians, in Graham Polly Farmer, kind of fits the bill.
LANGDON: Well we'll float it out there for you this morning and we'll see what feedback we get. Thanks for your time Member for Perth Patrick Gorman.
GORMAN: Thanks for having me on the programme.