Today in WA: Bon voyage Barnett: Newspoll reader flags Cottesloe pylon

A quick Newspoll reader nailed a message for the Premier on the famous Cottesloe pylon, in his own electorate, this morning.

The Cottesloe pylon this morning.

A Newspoll reader had a message for West Australian Premier Colin Barnett in his beachside electorate of Cottesloe this morning, just a few hours after findings published in The Australian showing Labor on track for victory on March 11.

The flag nailed to the famous Cottesloe pylon — it reads “Bon Voyage Barnett” — became a talking point for the procession of early-morning walkers and ocean swimmers in front of the historic Indiana teahouse.

Mr Barnett has been the member for Cottesloe for more than 26 years. It is deep in Liberal heartland in Perth’s western suburbs, and is in the federal electorate of Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who has the safest seat in the state with a margin of 18.2 per cent.

But Newspoll shows WA voters are turned off the Liberal Premier, and they are poised to oust the Liberal-National state government that has been in office since September 2008.

Taken exclusively for The Australian, Newspoll shows Labor head 54-46 on a two-party preferred basis. It is a slightly improved position for Mark McGowan’s state opposition, which was ahead 52-48 in the Newspoll published in November.

Labor needs to win 10 seats to take government. Newspoll shows that if an election was held today, Labor would win 14 more seats.

Newspoll also showed that support for Pauline Hanson’s One Nation is soaring across the state; a ­dramatic shift that could deliver it lower house seats and help the Labor Party win government.

The Newspoll survey also asked One Nation voters about how they intended to allocate their preferences.

The flow of preferences was split roughly 50-50 between Labor and the Liberal-Nationals, which would boost Labor’s chances in several conservative-held seats that it aims to win.

Today is officially the second day of campaigning for Mr Barnett and Mr McGowan, after writs were issued for the March 11 state election on Wednesday.

So far, both parties have focused on school funding. Today in Perth Mr McGowan is due to make another education announcement — an increased commitment to the teaching of science and coding in schools — and has already announced that Labor would mandate life sentences for meth traffickers.