Portfolio — 19 May 2026

Assistant Minister Patrick Gorman joined Prime Minister Albanese in Perth on 19 May to announce a raft of supply-side housing, fuel security, and agricultural measures framed around Western Australia's share of federal investment. The centrepiece was the Pier Street development — 219 new apartments including 66 social homes, 44 affordable homes, 109 market-rental apartments, and 10 specialist disability accommodation units — backed by $88.6 million in federal loans and grants [TA-260519-pmc-bb42ba916eb8].

The government linked the project to its $47 billion Homes for Australia Plan and cited the Housing Australia Future Fund, the Shared Equity Scheme, and 5 percent home-deposit assistance as having collectively helped 250,000 Australians, including more than 19,000 in Western Australia, into first home ownership [TA-260519-pmc-bb42ba916eb8]. The 2026 Budget's $2 billion for infrastructure and $500 million for planning were cited as accelerants for both housing and resource projects [TA-260519-pmc-bb42ba916eb8].

The most structurally significant housing announcement was a change to negative gearing: future concessions will apply only to new-build properties, a reform the government presented as redirecting investment incentives toward supply growth [TA-260519-pmc-bb42ba916eb8].

Beyond housing, the Prime Minister used the Perth visit to signal action on two supply-chain vulnerabilities. On fuel, the government announced three cargoes of jet fuel from China totalling more than 600,000 barrels due in late May, supplementing 100,000 barrels already secured through the Fuel and Fertiliser Security Facility, while also disclosing that 20 percent of strategic fuel reserves had been released and the fuel excise halved [TA-260519-pmc-bb42ba916eb8].

On agriculture, the government announced procurement of 38,500 tonnes of agricultural-grade urea for direct delivery to Western Australian farmers [TA-260519-pmc-bb42ba916eb8]. The Prime Minister also reaffirmed Western Australia's entitlement to its GST share — a standing federal-state tension that touches Treasury portfolio settings — presenting continuity on that commitment as part of the broader WA investment pitch [TA-260519-pmc-bb42ba916eb8].

Gorman's role in the release was as a co-announcer for the housing component, consistent with his Assistant Minister responsibilities. The comms material bundles housing supply, fuel security, fertiliser procurement, and GST equity into a single Western Australia-focused package, suggesting a deliberate effort to consolidate multiple policy threads into a regional-investment narrative ahead of any legislative or budgetary follow-through on the negative gearing change.