Hon John Carey BA MLA

For Hon John Carey BA MLA

Minister for Planning; Lands; Housing; Homelessness

John Carey has lived in the inner city for nearly 20 years.  He first became active in his local community when he established Western Australia’s first town team, the Beaufort Street Network. This organisation aimed to revitalise and transform the precinct. John also co-founded the highly successful Beaufort Street Festival.

John worked for five years as the Director of the Kimberley Conservation Project for the Pew Environment Group, where he successfully campaigned with a coalition of organisations for the creation of the Great Kimberley Marine Park.

John was elected to the City of Vincent Council in 2011, and he successfully ran for Mayor of City of Vincent in 2013 (re-elected 2015).

As Mayor, John drove a major program of reform achieving new transparency and accountability standards for local government including; the establishment of online travel and gift registers. John also drove a new focus on town centre renewal, cutting red tape for small business and major investment in greening programs and cycling infrastructure across local neighbourhoods.

Elected as the State Member for Perth in March 2017, John was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier, Mark McGowan, and later as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Transport and Planning, where he assisted in driving planning reform, with a particular focus on cutting red tape for small business and households.

In his first year as a Member of Parliament, John hosted the Perth City Summit with 350 attendees to develop strategies and projects to drive positive change in the city. He has worked hard to implement many of the Summit’s recommendations, including securing a new university campus in the city as part of the $1.6 billion Perth City Deal.

Following the return of the McGowan Labor Government in March 2021, John was appointed the Minister for Housing and Local Government. In December 2021, John was also appointed the Minister for Lands and became the State’s first Minister for Homelessness. In June 2023, John was appointed Minister for Planning; Lands; Housing; Homelessness.

John is currently overseeing record investment in social housing and homelessness measures across the State while delivering significant reforms in planning.