Does anyone remember the time when no one knew who the premier of another state was? No one could pronounce the name “Palaszczuk” (Not like anyone still can though let’s be real), the Chief Health Officer, who for a while was the 2nd most important person in the state, was an unheard term. Pre-March 2020 feels like not that long ago, but so much happened in between. 

The premier of Western Australia, Mark McGowan took a back seat when it came to social media popularity. As far as the population was concerned, the premier happened to be just another politician. Until the daily Covid press conference came along. 

Gone were the days when Sunrise and the Morning Show were filled with promotions of healthy smoothie blenders, face concealers, and transformer ladder systems. Oh and don’t forget, be one of the first 50 callers, and get a free book filled with 64 delicious smoothie recipes to fill you up for the morning.

Nope, all we wanted to see now was how many Covid cases were in each state. We started with Victoria at 8:00 am with Mark McGowan’s long lost cousin, Dan Andrews providing the news that they’d be going into their 32nd lockdown, 2 days after entering the 31st, before our premier went on air at 10:00 am in front of his Rockingham office, to a cheer of the lovely Rocko locals. Coronavirus crisis: Premier Mark McGowan heckled by fan during Rockingham press conference | PerthNow

Surprise, surprise, it was another day with no community spread, but that wasn’t what we were watching for, we only tuned in to see how late Mark would be for the presser. I’m proud to personally say myself that I won the work “how late will Mark be” tipping comp. 

It’s fair to say our premier, for those Covid years at least, certainly had the heart of the WA public. Just take a look at this website, no words are needed. Mark Mcgowan T-Shirts for Sale | Redbubble

We’re all vaccinated now, Covid is no longer a pandemic, and occasionally we forget these years happen, and with Mark McGowan resigning, new premier Roger Cook has a big part to play. Whilst tasks like Metronet, the health system, and easing the Cost of Living should be a breeze, crucial tasks such as being a TikTok sensation, and giving us something to actually look forward to at 10:00 am on a Tuesday will be very difficult. 

Putting away political allegiances, I wish Mark McGowan well in his next endeavours. Whether that be the new West Coast Eagles coach, Kebab store owner, David Koch's replacement on Sunrise, or something else.