Portfolio — 13 May 2026

Assistant Minister Patrick Gorman used six media releases on 13 May to communicate a dense portfolio of 2026–27 Budget measures directed at Western Australia, with fuel security as the centrepiece. The Budget establishes a $7.5 billion fuel and fertiliser security facility, raises the national diesel reserve to 50 days, and funds aviation fuel supply for the Pilbara [TA-260513-dewr-60c8257da1f2][TA-260513-pmc-fb06fae24d2e].

A further $1.1 billion supports domestic production of low-carbon liquid fuels, and the fuel excise is halved while the heavy-user road charge is set to zero for three months — a package that spans both security and immediate cost-of-living relief for transport-dependent industries.

On housing, a $2 billion land-release fund will help local governments open more land for development, with one quarter of the allocation reserved for regional communities [TA-260513-dewr-cf37319a9929][TA-260513-pmc-a4236a8a0566]. Water and transport infrastructure feature prominently: the National Water Grid Fund allocates $1.3 billion over five years, with $106 million directed to Western Australia [TA-260513-dewr-cf37319a9929], and a $1.2 billion rail investment will support the Australian Rail Track Corporation's east–west line in the state [TA-260513-dewr-cf37319a9929].

Infrastructure Minister Catherine King will be consulted on the rail investment details, and the Minister for Water will announce final National Water Grid Fund recipients — signalling that Gorman's releases are framing a cross-portfolio Budget story rather than claiming sole delivery responsibility.

On cost of living, the Working Australians Tax Offset provides a $250 payment to more than 13 million workers, and a $1,000 instant tax deduction takes effect from the next financial year [TA-260513-dewr-60c8257da1f2][TA-260513-pmc-fb06fae24d2e]. Sixteen additional Medicare bulk-billing practices have opened in the Durack electorate, removing out-of-pocket fees for GP visits.

Total Budget funding to the Western Australian Government for 2026–27 is $20.8 billion.

The emergency management portfolio features directly through AusAlert, a national disaster-alert system scheduled for rollout from October 2026. Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain and Assistant Minister Josh Wilson are leading testing and rollout with states and territories — an explicit cross-portfolio reference that ties Gorman's messaging to the broader ministerial team.

Both DEWR and PM&C releases on 13 May carry identical thematic clusters — fuel security, AusAlert, housing affordability, and tax offsets — indicating a coordinated single-day communications strategy [TA-260513-dewr-60c8257da1f2]. This continues the pattern established on 12 May, when releases across DEWR and PM&C first anchored the budget-of-reform narrative.

Today's statements extend and localise that narrative for a Western Australian regional audience, framing the Budget as a resilience package across fuel, housing, water, and cost-of-living domains.