Liberals fail to make inroads into Roger Cook’s lead at WA election

The latest Newspoll shows the Liberals are tipped to barely reach their internal pass mark of emerging with 10 lower-house seats in Western Australia’s state election this weekend.

WA Premier Roger Cook arrives with his wife Carly Lane at the WA Labor’s state election campaign launch in Perth on February 23. Picture: Paul Garvey

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Western Australia’s Liberals have failed to make inroads into Labor’s dominant hold on the state, with Premier Roger Cook firmly on track for an emphatic election win on Saturday.

The latest Newspoll, taken exclusively for The Australian, shows that Labor has improved its position slightly since the start of the campaign a month ago, a result that will dampen Liberal expectations of an election-night result that could surprise on the upside.

Labor holds a commanding 57.5 to 42.5 two-party-preferred lead over the Liberals, up from 56-44 one month ago.

The latest figure points to a 12.2 per cent swing against Labor from the record 2021 election win that famously reduced the Liberals to just two lower-house seats – a result that was accurately predicted by Newspoll.

Such a swing across the state would see the Liberals and ­Nationals gaining 11 seats in what would be their second-worst election defeat in history.

It would have the Liberals barely reaching their internal pass mark of emerging with 10 lower-house seats.

The WA Liberals’ campaign launch in Perth on February 23 appears to have had little effect on voters. Picture: Facebook

There had been growing hopes among Liberal insiders that a recognition among voters of the need for a viable opposition may have helped the Liberals and Nationals secure a result in the high teens.

The Liberals have been campaigning hard on Labor’s record after eight years in power, highlighting issues in the state’s health system and accusing the government of squandering the biggest boom in WA history. They have also attacked Labor’s election promise to build a $217m street racing circuit on prime ­riverfront land between Optus Stadium and Crown Perth and Mr Cook’s pursuit of a Perth-based rugby league franchise as out of touch with community expectations amid ongoing cost-of-living pressures.

While Labor’s emphatic 2021 win effectively meant this election contest was over before it began, Liberal leader Libby Mettam has consistently maintained her party is running to win and has refused to be drawn on what a good result would look like on Saturday. She said on Thursday there was a mood for change among voters.

WA Liberal leader Libby Mettam in Perth. Picture: Colin Murty

“What Western Australians are talking to me about is that they want a government that is listening to them,” Ms Mettam said.

“They want a team that is focused on their priorities, and the WA Liberals are focused on fixing the mess that’s been created over the last eight years of the Cook Labor government.

“We are certainly getting out and about. We are hearing an engaged community, and our candidates are certainly working very hard. What we are feeling on the ground is that, after eight years, many Western Australians are wondering why they’re not feeling the benefits of the boom.”

Mr Cook said his nerves were high ahead of the weekend.

Rather than thinking about how many seats Labor would retain, he said he was focused on ­winning.

“Any government would be happy with 50 per cent plus one,” he said. “Look, we’re not counting seats. That’s the Liberal Party.”

While the ultimate outcome has been clear from a long way out, Mr Cook has insisted throughout that he and his team were not assuming anything about this election.

Despite the expectation of a lopsided result, the results will be watched carefully for any indications for the upcoming federal election.

Labor needs to hold on to the four West Australian seats it gained in 2022 if it wants ­Anthony Albanese to hold on to power.