Voters badly served when the opposition fails to fire

Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan appears electorally unassailable. Picture: Getty

Good government needs a strong opposition, so it is discomforting to witness the mismatch being played out between an emboldened Labor government and a moribund Liberal-Nationals Coalition in Western Australia. As Paul Garvey reports on Saturday, with three weeks to go to election day, first-term parliamentarian and WA Liberal leader Zak Kirkup effectively has given up hope of displacing popular ALP Premier Mark McGowan. The results of a Newspoll demonstrate the gulf that must be crossed for the Coalition to have any chance of winning back government in the West.

On a two-party-preferred basis, Labor is ahead 68 points to 32 and Mr McGowan has an 88 per cent satisfaction rating compared with Mr Kirkup’s rating of 29 per cent. WA Labor is polling above 50 per cent on primary votes in every age group.

The WA Liberal Party, which can boast a proud history under figures such as Sir Charles Court, who drove development of WA’s rich resource assets, risks being reduced to a rump with fewer MPs than its Nationals Coalition partner. Concerns are that, left unchecked, the state ALP — best remembered nationally for the turbulent years of WA Inc under Brian Burke, when government became too close to business figures such as Alan Bond and Laurie Connell to the great cost of citizens — risks falling into old bad habits. As we report in Inquirer, Mr McGowan has cultivated strong ties with the WA business community and has done deals that have been seized on by some critics as echoing Burke’s WA Inc era. Given the small size of WA’s business community, it is natural that local billionaires such as Kerry Stokes, Andrew Forrest and Chris Ellison will be deeply involved with government. Equally, it is a fact of political life that a healthy opposition and diversity in media are needed to help keep things on track.

Mr McGowan’s tough pandemic response of border closures and outspoken parochial tub thumping has boosted his popularity. He has been helped by a surge in iron ore prices that is pumping billions of dollars into Treasury coffers, allowing the Premier to announce budget surpluses while his interstate colleagues and the commonwealth have been plunged deeply into the red by the pandemic. As polling day looms, the Liberal Party appears to have decided it cannot win and will campaign to save the furniture. The scare campaign is that Labor is set to win both houses of parliament, an unlikely possibility given the increased weighting given to rural votes for upper house seats. Labor holds 13 of the 36 seats in the Legislative Council and has needed to rely on support from crossbench parties including the Greens, the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers, One Nation and the Liberal Democrats to pass legislation. After the election, there is a strong likelihood that Labor will need only the support of the Greens to control the upper house.

Unless things can be turned around, the WA Liberal Party will be left with a huge task ahead to rebuild. The fact Mr Kirkup was thrust into the leadership position so early in his career reflects poorly on the party. The election strategy to outflank the ALP with progressive policies including shutting down coalmining in the state, rejected by Mr McGowan, has simply allowed the government to appear rational and in control. Big-spending, uncosted promises from the Liberals on hydrogen energy and city infrastructure have allowed Mr McGowan to paint Labor as the fiscal conservatives. Attack ads stolen from the federal Liberal campaign against Mark Latham that paint Mr Kirkup as an “L-plate” politician obviously have had a ring of truth with voters. The departure of former Liberal premier Colin Barnett has left a vacuum that has yet to be filled. Come election time, voters are entitled to expect a contest of policies and ideas. The West Australian Liberal Party has let them down badly.