Rita Saffioti (born 26 May 1972) is an Australian politician. Representing the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

, she has been the member for the

electoral district of West Swan West Swan is an Electoral districts of Western Australia, electoral district of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Western Australia. It is located in the north-eastern suburbs of Perth. ...

in the

Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House, Perth, Parliament House in the Western Australian capi ...

, the

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

of the

Parliament of Western Australia The Parliament of Western Australia is the bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia, which constitutes the legislative branch of the state's political system. The parl ...

, since 6 September 2008. Since June 2023, she has been the

deputy premier of Western Australia The deputy premier of Western Australia is a role in the Government of Western Australia assigned to a Individual ministerial responsibility, responsible Minister in the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. ...

, the

treasurer of Western Australia Treasurer of Western Australia is the title held by the Cabinet minister who is responsible for the management of Western Australia's public sector finances, and for preparing and delivering the annual state budget. With only rare exceptions ...

, the

minister for transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

, and the minister for tourism. From March 2017 to June 2023, she was the minister for transport and minister for planning. From March 2021 to June 2023, she was also the minister for ports. From March 2017 to December 2018, she was also the minister for lands.

Early life and career

Saffioti was born on 26 May 1972 in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Western Australia, to Nicodemo Saffioti, an orchardist, and Guiseppina Ienco, a cook's assistant. Saffioti's parents were post-war immigrants from the Italian region of

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

. She grew up on an orchard in Roleystone in the

Perth Hills Perth Hills is a term used primarily for marketing purposes to identify the part of the Darling Scarp and hinterland east of the scarp that lies within the Shire of Mundaring, City of Swan, and the City of Kalamunda and as part of the constit ...

with an older sister, and attended Roleystone Primary School, Roleystone District High School, and

Kelmscott Senior High School Kelmscott Senior High School is a public co-educational high day school, located on Camillo Road in Kelmscott, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Overview The school was established in 1973 and caters for students in Year 7 to Year 12. T ...

, at which she became

dux ''Dux'' (, : ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, ''dux'' coul ...

. She graduated with a Bachelor of Business degree with distinction from

Curtin University Curtin University (previously Curtin University of Technology and Western Australian Institute of Technology) is an Australian public university, public research university based in Bentley, Western Australia, Bentley, Perth, Western Australia. ...

, majoring in economics. She then worked in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

and Perth for the Department of Finance and then in Perth for the Department of Treasury. She joined the Australian Labor Party in 1996, and from 1997, she worked as an economics adviser for

Geoff Gallop Geoffrey Ian Gallop (born 27 September 1951) is an Australian academic and former politician who served as the 27th premier of Western Australia from 2001 to 2006. He is currently a professor and director of the Graduate School of Government at ...

, the

leader of the opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

until 2001 and

Premier of Western Australia The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive br ...

following 2001. From February 2003 to February 2005, Saffioti was the director of the economics policy unit of the Department of the Premier and Cabinet. From February 2005 to January 2006, she was a strategic management advisor for the Office of the Premier. In January 2006,

Alan Carpenter Alan John Carpenter (born 4 January 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th Premier of Western Australia, from 2006 to 2008. From Albany, Carpenter graduated from the University of Western Australia, and worked as a journ ...

replaced Gallop as the premier. From January 2006 to April 2008, Saffioti was the chief of staff for the Office of the Premier. Following her

preselection Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presel ...

for the

, she worked as a strategic consultant for the

Fremantle Football Club The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed the Dockers or colloquially Freo, is a professional Australian rules football club competing in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The team was founded in 1994 to represen ...

from April to July 2008.

Parliament

Saffioti unsuccessfully stood for election at the

2005 Western Australian state election Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 26 February 2005 to elect all 57 members to the Legislative Assembly and all 34 members to the Legislative Council. The Labor government, led by Premier Geoff Gallop, won a second term in ...

. She was sixth place on the Labor Party's

ticket Ticket or tickets may refer to: Slips of paper * Lottery ticket * Parking ticket, a ticket confirming that the parking fee was paid (and the time of the parking start) * Toll ticket, a slip of paper used to indicate where vehicles entered a to ...

for the

East Metropolitan Region The East Metropolitan Region was a multi-member electoral region of the Western Australian Western Australian Legislative Council, Legislative Council, located in the eastern and south-eastern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, Perth. It was c ...

in the

Western Australian Legislative Council The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, a state of Australia. It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, Legislative A ...

(

upper house An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

). She won preselection for West Swan in April 2008, with Carpenter controversially hand-picking her over

Swan Hills Swan Hills is a town in northern Alberta, Canada. It is in the eponymous Swan Hills (Alberta), Swan Hills, approximately north of Whitecourt and northwest of Fort Assiniboine. The town is at the junction of Alberta Highway 32, Highway 32 and Alb ...

Jaye Radisich Jaye Amber Radisich (29 March 1976 – 17 March 2012) was an Australian politician. She was a Labor Party member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 2001 to 2008, representing the electorate of Swan Hills. Radisich was the ...

and the

Labor Right The Labor Right (LR), also known as Labor Forum, Labor Unity or simply Unity, is one of the two major political factions within the Australian Labor Party (ALP). It is nationally characterised by social democratic to Third Way economic policies ...

's Belinda Coniglio. At the

2008 Western Australian state election The 2008 Western Australian state election was held on Saturday 6 September 2008 to elect 59 members to the Legislative Assembly and 36 members to the Legislative Council. The incumbent centre-left Labor Party government, in power since the ...

on 6 September, Saffioti was elected to the newly created

in the

, the

of the

. She was re-elected at the elections in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

and

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

. Over its existence, West Swan has covered the north-eastern Perth suburbs of Ballajura, Caversham, Ellenbrook, Landsdale and parts of the Swan Valley. From 9 April 2013 to 26 June 2015, Saffioti was the shadow minister for planning, finance, government accountability and women's interests. From 26 June 2015 to 11 March 2017, she was the shadow minister for planning, finance, transport and infrastructure. On 17 March 2017, following the election of the

McGowan McGowan is an Irish and Scottish surname. It is an anglicisation of the Irish ''Mac Gabhann'' and Scottish ''Mac Gobhann'', both of which mean 'son of (the) smith'. Belonging to the Uí Echach Cobo, located in modern-day western County Down ...

government on 11 March 2017, Saffioti was appointed as the

, minister for planning, and minister for lands. She stopped being minister for lands on 13 December 2018, with Premier Mark McGowan saying it would enable Saffioti to focus more on

Metronet Metronet may refer to: * Metronet (British infrastructure company), who maintained London Underground infrastructure between 2003 and 2008. *Metronet (Western Australia) Metronet (styled METRONET) is a multi-government agency in Western Austral ...

, the government's expansion program for Perth's rail network. Ben Wyatt succeeded her as minister for lands. Following the 2021 election, on 19 March 2021, Saffioti became the minister for ports, as well as keeping her existing ministries. Agencies under the responsibility of the minister for transport are the

Department of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

Main Roads Western Australia Main Roads Western Australia (formerly the Main Roads Department) is a statutory authority of the Government of Western Australia that is responsible for implementing the state's policies on road access and main roads. It operates under the ''M ...

and the Public Transport Authority. Agencies under the responsibility of the minister for planning are the

Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage The Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage is the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for planning and managing all land use and heritage considerations within the state. The Department was formed on 28 April 2017 as ...

and the

Western Australian Planning Commission The Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC) is an independent statutory authority of the Government of Western Australia that exists to coordinate strategic and statutory planning for future urban, rural, and regional land use. The WAPC f ...

. Agencies under the responsibility of the minister for ports are the Department of Transport, the

Fremantle Port Authority Fremantle Port Authority, also known by its registered business name Fremantle Ports, is the responsible authority created under the Western Australian Port Authorities Act 1999. Harbour administration In August 1829 the Fremantle Harbour Master ...

, the Kimberley Ports Authority, the Mid West Ports Authority, the Pilbara Ports Authority and the Southern Ports Authority. Upon becoming minister for transport, Saffioti cancelled the controversial Roe 8 highway project, which would have extended

Roe Highway Roe Highway is a limited-access highway and partial freeway in Perth, Western Australia, linking Kewdale with the city's north-eastern and south-western suburbs. The northern terminus is at Reid Highway and Great Northern Highway in Midd ...

through the

Beeliar Wetlands The Beeliar Wetlands is a wetland located in the southwest portion of Western Australia. It is made up of two chains of lakes and wetlands that run parallel to the west coast of Australia. They are situated on the Swan Coastal Plain between t ...

. The cancellation fulfiulled an election promise made by Labor. The contract for the project was renegotiated to instead construct three different road projects: duplication of

Wanneroo Road Wanneroo Road is a arterial highway in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia linking Joondanna and Yokine in the south with Wanneroo and Yanchep in the north. As part of State Route 60, it begins from Charles Street in the inner ...

between

Joondalup Drive Joondalup Drive is a major distributor road in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. The road travels through the City of Joondalup's central business district and extends for a few kilometres east through neighbouring residential ...

and Flynn Drive, connection between Murdoch Drive and Roe Highway, and duplication of Armadale Road between Tapper Road and Anstey Road. $46.9 million of taxpayer funds was written off by the decision to cancel Roe 8. As the minister for transport and minister for planning, Saffioti has control over Metronet. Under Metronet, construction started on the Morley–Ellenbrook line (now known as the

Ellenbrook line The Ellenbrook line, known as the Morley–Ellenbrook line during construction, is a suburban railway line in Perth, Western Australia, which is operated by the Public Transport Authority (Western Australia), Public Transport Authority as part ...

, an extension of the Joondalup line (now known as the

Yanchep line The Yanchep line, formerly the Joondalup line, is a suburban railway line and service in Perth, Western Australia, linking the city's central business district (CBD) with its northern suburbs. Operated by the Public Transport Authority as pa ...

) to

Yanchep Yanchep is a coastal town north of Perth, Western Australia, north of the Perth CBD. It is a part of the City of Wanneroo local government area. Originally a small crayfishing settlement, it was developed by entrepreneur Alan Bond in the 19 ...

, an extension of the

Armadale line The Armadale line is a partially-closed suburban railway service in Perth, Western Australia, operated by the Public Transport Authority as part of the Transperth system. The Armadale line is long, and starts at Perth station, heading south ...

to Byford, an extension of the Thornlie line to

Cockburn Central Cockburn Central ( ) is a suburb of Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, and is south of Perth's central business district (CBD) along the Kwinana Freeway. Its local government area is the City of Cockburn, and it is intended by the ...

on the

Mandurah line The Mandurah line, also known as the Southern Suburbs Railway, is a suburban railway line and service in Western Australia, linking Perth's central business district (CBD) with Mandurah to the south. Operated by the Public Transport Authority ( ...

, a new station at Lakelands on the Mandurah line, a rebuild of Bayswater station, Claremont station and Midland station, and the removal of several level crossings along the Armadale/Thornlie lines and Midland line. Railcar manufacturing was also brought back into Western Australia for the first time since the 1990s, with the

Transperth C-series train The Transperth C-series trains are a class of electric multiple units part of Alstom's X'Trapolis family of trains for Transperth that are being delivered as part of Metronet (Western Australia), Metronet. The trains are operating on Railways i ...

s being manufactured in

Bellevue, Western Australia Bellevue is an eastern suburb of Perth, Western Australia in the local government areas of the City of Swan and the Shire of Mundaring. It is at the foot of the slopes of Greenmount, a landmark on the Darling Scarp that is noted in the earli ...

. Redevelopment areas were established around Bayswater station and High Wycombe station in 2019. During the 2017 election campaign, Saffioti promised that all Metronet stage 1 projects would be finished within eight years. Following Mark McGowan's announcement on 29 May 2023 of his imminent resignation as premier and Labor leader, Saffioti entered the ensuing leadership ballot as one of three candidates. As the left faction has a strong position within the Labor Party's caucus, the position was likely to go to a left-aligned candidate such as Roger Cook or

Amber-Jade Sanderson Amber-Jade Sanderson (born 25 October 1976) is an Australian Labor Party politician who is the member for Morley in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of Western Australia. Since 21 December 2021, s ...

rather than the unaligned Saffioti. Polling conducted in January 2023 by Painted Dog Research for ''

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...

'' showed that Saffioti was favoured by 13 percent of voters to succeed McGowan if he were to retire, behind Cook at 15 percent but above Sanderson at 6 percent. On 30 May, the

Australian Manufacturing Workers Union The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), officially registered as the Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing, and Kindred Industries Union, is an Australian trade union. The AMWU represents a broad range of workers in the manu ...

chose Cook as its preferred candidate for leader and Saffioti as its preferred candidate for deputy leader. Following that, Saffioti withdrew from leadership contention and backed Cook to be leader and herself as deputy. The Labor Party formally elected her as deputy leader on 6 June 2023. The Cook ministry was sworn in on 8 June 2023. Saffioti was installed as the

treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

, and minister for tourism, while staying on as transport minister and relinquishing the roles of minister for planning and minister for ports. Some people, including deputy Liberal Party leader Steve Thomas expressed concern about the high workload placed on Saffioti, although ministers have previously had similar portfolios, most recently when

Troy Buswell Troy Raymond Buswell (born 19 March 1966) was an Australian politician who was a Liberal member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 2005 to 2014, representing the seat of Vasse. He was Treasurer of Western Australia in the Bar ...

was treasurer, minister for transport, minister for housing, and minister for emergency services in the

Barnett ministry The Barnett Ministry was the 35th Ministry of the Government of Western Australia. It included 13 members of the Liberal Party, three members of the National Party and an independent. It was led by the Premier of Western Australia, Colin Barnett ...

. In the

2025 Western Australian state election The 2025 Western Australian state election was held on 8 March 2025 to elect members to the Parliament of Western Australia, where all 59 seats in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly and all 37 seats in the Western ...

, she was re-elected.

Political views

Saffioti is one of four Labor MPs in state parliament that is not factionally aligned as of 2025. In 2010, she spoke out against parliament rules which prohibited her from taking her baby into the chamber. Government MPs Rob Johnson,

Joe Francis Joseph R. Francis (born April 1, 1973) is an American soft core porn film producer and the founder and creator of the ''Girls Gone Wild'' entertainment brand. Francis worked as a production assistant on the syndicated program '' Real TV'' (19 ...

and Vince Catania threatened to kick her out of the chamber under rules that meant strangers were not allowed in the chamber. Saffioti has also voiced support for a family room in

Parliament House Parliament House may refer to: Meeting places of parliament Australia * Parliament House, Canberra, Parliament of Australia * Parliament House, Adelaide, Parliament of South Australia * Parliament House, Brisbane, Parliament of Queensland * P ...

Personal life

Saffioti married Timothy Fraser on 21 October 2006 at the

Perth Town Hall The Perth Town Hall, situated on the corner of Hay and Barrack streets in Perth, Western Australia, is the only town hall built by convicts in Australia. Upon completion it was the tallest structure in Perth. History Designed by Richard R ...

. They have two daughters and one son born via

IVF In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation in which an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating the ovulatory process, then removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) from t ...

. She was the first member of parliament to give birth in over 10 years, with the previous time being

Michelle Roberts Michelle Hopkins Roberts (née Thomas; born 29 February 1960) is an Australian politician who served as Speaker of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 2021 to 2025. She was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly from 19 ...

in 1999. Saffioti is Catholic. She supports the Fremantle Football Club.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saffioti, Rita Living people Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly 1972 births Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Women members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Australian politicians of Italian descent Australian people of Calabrian descent Politicians from Perth, Western Australia Treasurers of Western Australia Deputy premiers of Western Australia

Early life and career

Parliament

Political views

Personal life

See also

References