Time is ticking for WA Liberals after another catastrophic defeat

If the WA Liberals had a doomsday clock it would now be showing one minute to midnight.

The party has learnt nothing from its supposed rebuild after its 2021 wipeout and its future in this state is not guaranteed.

Liberal leader Libby Mettam delivering her concession speech on Saturday night.Credit: Colin Murty

Federal Member for Canning Andrew Hastie told Nine News Perth last night that he saw green shoots in some outer suburban seats where the margin was higher than in the city.

But these were the seats with Labor’s biggest margins, they were not seats the Liberals needed to win if they were to mount any effective attack on Labor in four years time. They needed emphatic victories in seats like South Perth and Bateman.

The fact that Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas faced such a tight fight in Churchlands should be sobering for anyone in conservative politics.

Labor winning an expected 45 seats in their third term of government – their second-best result ever – should send cold shivers down the spines of Liberals everywhere.

Colin Barnett told Nine News Perth last night that his former party may need to consider a merger with the Nationals to maintain relevance in Western Australia.

Extraordinary stuff for one of the Liberals’ most revered leaders in modern political history.

Mettam wasn’t adaptable enough. She had her talking points and rarely deviated away from them – housing, cost of living, crime, health.

Her constant question “are you better off under Roger Cook?” could be answered in the affirmative by a huge portion of the public.

There are people struggling under WA’s two-speed economy, but there are also lots of Sandgropers living a very comfortable life.

Why would they want to disrupt the status quo?

Mettam’s small target strategy meant she shied away from a bold vision for the state.

She ignored economic diversification, which was driven home by Roger Cook and Labor daily as a good thing for the state. To him, a race track on the Swan meant more tourism dollars – and the public bought it.

Candidate controversies continued to plague the party throughout the campaign, which drowned out Mettam’s message and she didn’t have enough power in the party to nix these because factions still run rampant.

Roger Cook and wife Carly lane at Medina Hall after being re-elected as WA Premier.Credit: Trevor Collens

Zempilas was in limbo for much of the campaign which was damaging for him and Mettam.

He is polarising but capable of winning much of the public over with clear and consistent messaging. Instead he was used ad hoc and often left to his own devices to the detriment of himself and the party.

However in the regions it was a different story, and this is where WA Labor did very poorly. They may lose Albany, Warren-Blackwood and Murray-Wellington.

In metro seats however, much of this swing did not go toward the Liberals – it went toward teal-style independents or the Greens – a sign of growing discontent for the major parties.

That also suggests that climate change and environmental issues were a much bigger vote winner in this election than expected. Mettam and the Liberals virtually ignored it.

For many Labor faithful this victory may be more satisfying than its record 2021 win.

Cook has proven his popularity in his own right, without COVID or McGowan popularity to hang the success on – and the win can be explained by a smart campaign, understanding of the electorate and woeful competitors.

The Liberals are faced with yet another existential crisis and this time they had better learn from their mistakes.

Time’s ticking.