Destructive WA pair Nalder and Simpson proved gutless

Premier Colin Barnett addresses the resignations of his ministers.

The deliberate destruction Dean Nalder and Tony Simpson engaged in by resigning from Colin Barnett’s ministry is outranked only by the gutless way they did so.

Both were ministers of the crown, in Nalder’s case holding a senior portfolio. Their task was to force a leadership showdown and damage Barnett’s authority. There is nothing new in that — welcome to politics.

But neither man had the intestinal fortitude to deliver their resignations face-to-face. In Nalder’s case he left a voice message and sent a text, doing so only after leaking his resignation to TheSunday Times. It appeared in the first edition before Barnett had even heard from Nalder.

What disgraceful cowards, Nalder especially.

Cowardice isn’t the sort of quality one tends to look for in a premier, yet Nalder sees himself as Barnett’s successor. Never mind the number of scrapes and controversies he has got himself into as a minister, alongside the fact that he is in only his first parliamentary term.

Let’s add self-delusion to cowardice when assessing Nalder’s suitability to lead.

Not that Nalder is a serious contender to replace Barnett anyway — not in the minds of his colleagues, nor the electorate, according to a poll at the weekend revealing he has single-digit support among voters. If Barnett stands aside, Deputy Premier Liza Harvey will replace him, not Nalder, whose political career should now be consigned to the dustbin.

As for Simpson, he was a very good local baker before entering parliament, thereafter becoming a not particularly impressive junior minister. Simpson should wake up every day thanking Barnett for a ministerial opportunity he didn’t deserve nor had the skills set to perform. His resignation can only strengthen Barnett’s frontbench.

Winning a third term was always going to be difficult for the Liberals, with or without Barnett. The WA Nationals have gone rogue, embracing a new mining tax Liberals abhor, and Labor Opposition Leader Mark McGowan is a competent alternative premier.

The most viable successor to Barnett, Christian Porter, shifted into federal politics.

But the weekend poll that highlighted just how unpopular Nalder is also confirmed a mini-comeback for the West Australian government — such that it trailed Labor only 49-51 per cent on the two-party vote.

That is a result Barnett could have used to build momentum, but not now that Nalder and Simpson have combined cowardice with rank stupidity to destroy a government in which they were lucky to be ministers.

The two may have put the final nail in the coffin of the government they claim to serve.

Peter van Onselen is a professor of politics at the University of Western Australia.