Newly appointed Governor of Western Australia, Malcolm McCusker, hopes to use his position to extend his charity work when he takes over from Ken Michael on July 1.
Newly appointed Governor of Western Australia, Malcolm McCusker, hopes to use his position to extend his charity work when he takes over from Ken Michael on July 1.
As a first step, the 72 year old said he intended to donate his $422,678 salary to charities, including the Lions Eye Institute and Salvation Army.
Mr McCusker is one of the state’s most prominent barristers and philanthropists, a Queen’s Counsel and two-time recipient of the WA Citizen of the Year award.
He has represented high-profile clients in controversial and successful appeal cases, most notably those of Andrew Mallard, Ray Mickelberg and Salvatore Fazzari.
He also worked as the Parliamentary Inspector of the Corruption and Crime Commission and has been a long-serving chairman of the Legal Aid Commission.
While stepping down from legal practice to take on the role, he said he still hoped to be a mentor to students.
Mr McCusker will continue as chairman of the family’s McCusker Charitable Foundation, which supports about 80 charities and donates about $5 million a year.
The family’s wealth stems in large part from Town & Country Building Society, which Mr McCusker formed with his father Sir James McCusker (knighted for services to the finance and building industries) in 1964 with capital of £100,000.
Town & Country grew to be one of WA’s major financial institutions, with 31 branches, 103 agencies and 650 staff. ANZ bought the building society in 1990 for $145 million, with the McCusker family, which had a 26 per cent shareholding, being one of the main beneficiaries.
Mr McCusker said the role of governor was to lead by example, with strong connections to the community through charity work. Over the past two decades his family foundation has donated more than $20 million to projects such as Alzheimer’s research, education and the arts.
A graduate of Perth Modern School and the University of Western Australia law school, Mr McCusker has three adult children from his first marriage, one child with wife, Tonya, and is stepfather to her two children.
He said he hoped his working-class upbringing in 1940s North Perth, with a father who left school at age 15, and a grandfather who was a miner, would help him connect more easily with the community.
Premier Colin Barnett said he was confident Mr McCusker would perform well in the role.
“He is widely respected and has an extensive knowledge of Western Australia and its people,” he said.
“Malcolm has led a distinguished legal career and has been very active in supporting community causes.”
One of Mr McCusker’s first roles may be to host the Queen, who is expected to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth in October.
Chief Justice Wayne Martin will perform the duties of governor in a caretaker role until Mr McCusker takes up his appointment.
