WA Election 2021: Liberals humiliated after second straight historic loss, set to lose opposition status to Nationals

It will take more than four years for the WA Liberals to recover from their second straight historic loss to Labor, after their worst election nightmares came true.

The West Australian Liberals’ historic election bloodbath has exiled the party to the political wilderness, a result so confounding it left seasoned commentators gasping.

Labor’s epic 2017 landslide victory gave the party its biggest lower house majority ever, but was bettered on Saturday night in another massive landslide win that left the Liberals with the worst predicted outcomes.

Polls had pointed to a dire result for the conservatives, the worst tipping its lower house seats could be smashed from 13 to just two, an outcome that appeared to eventuate as counting rapidly progressed.

“There’s, I don’t know, maybe three people left in parliament,” retiring Liberal MP and former party leader Mike Nahan told the ABC election night panel.

Not only were the Liberals evicted from many of their traditionally held blue-ribbon seats with astounding swings across the metropolitan area, new leader Zak Kirkup also lost his seat of Dawesville, which he won in 2017 with a margin of only 0.8 per cent.

Zak Kirkup said he took full responsibility for the wipe-out, despite only being the leader since November. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tony McDonough

He’s now called the end of his political career, leaving the party without a leader, after shocking everyone by conceding weeks before election day his party was bound for defeat.

The Liberals also look set to lose opposition status, with the Nationals holding more seats in early counting.

Mr Kirkup had warned Labor sought “total control” and political guru Antony Green said the party indeed looked set to gain the upper house majority too.

So what went wrong?

Dr Nahan threw his successor — and Mr Kirkup’s predecessor Liza Harvey — squarely under the bus, saying the “mistake was made” when she called to open WA’s borders as the COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing.

“The public remember that,” Dr Nahan said.

“Zak came on, and also the real problem was ... there was inadequate policy development outside COVID-19 for Zak to build on.

Liza Harvey was doing a live cross on television with an unfortunate background. Picture: The Bell Tower Times

“That’s a statement of failure by the Liberal Party.

“Zak tried. The energy policy was a debacle. And I think in the end you will see his statement that ‘we have lost’, that we had no chance of winning, just was not right.

“You don’t give up! You never give up.”

Mr Kirkup’s energy policy included closing down publicly owned coal-fired power stations by 2025, a net zero emissions target for the electricity system by 2030 and producing hydrogen energy export.

It blindsided members of his own party.

Zak Kirkup’s concession speech was a sombre affair. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tony McDonough

Federal Liberal backbencher Andrew Hastie, who unlike Prime Minister Scott Morrison appeared with the 34-year-old on the campaign trail on Saturday, labelled the cornerstone election promise a “lemon”.

On top of policy and campaign blunders was the colossal task of tackling the massive popularity of Premier Mark McGowan, arguably Australia’s most popular leader since Bob Hawke.

There’s plenty of talk of him being destined for federal politics, with the “Mark McGowan for Prime Minister” Facebook group having almost 34,000 members.

Taking on such a wildly popular leader was always going to be a tough task. Picture: Will Russell/Getty Images

“That’s very kind”, Mr McGowan replied when told by a reporter he was being called WA’s most popular ever leader as he went to make his victory speech.

Dr Nahan said the Liberals would have to form coalition again with the Nationals, who were “very prickly” so it was a “difficult ask”.

Mr Kirkup said in his concession speech the next four years would be “the most difficult” the WA Liberals had ever experienced as they sought to rebuild.

“We must not shy away from the task ahead of us because the people of Western Australia depend on it,” he said.

“They depend on us to make sure that we do all we can to hold Labor to account in a very small team and that team needs you now more than ever.

Mike Nahan has levelled a lot of the blame at Liza Harvey and urged Zak Kirkup not to quit politics. Picture: Will Russell/Getty

“The future of our state depends on a strong Liberal Party in Opposition or in government, and I want to make sure we do all we can to support those members that remain over the next four years because they are gonna need us.”

Asked about a requirement to have five seats to hold minor party status and the possibility of the Liberals coming “cap in hand” to the McGowan government for resources so it could employ people, Police Minister Michelle Roberts said that would be considered “I expect, fairly by the Premier”.

Dr Nahan gave some advice to Mr Kirkup, who was the youngest ever WA Liberal leader to front a party notorious for its long history of being dominated by mature men.

“Don’t give up and go — keep your bat in your hand,” he said.

“Go out and bat for the Liberal Party again. He has talent, he’s just got to get some experience.”

Originally published as WA Election 2021: Liberals humiliated after second straight historic loss, set to lose opposition status to Nationals