The higher you climb, the further you have to fall, and Labor has always known it will lose ground this weekend.
Jessica Page
Honesty is not always the best policy, but the daily grind of an election campaign always, eventually, reveals a politician’s true self.
The knowledge that Libby Mettam is unlikely to win has dulled the voter impact of Labor’s best attacks and allowed the Liberal leader to shine.
The Leaders Debate on Seven on Monday night was proof there’s still life in this campaign, but a lot of viewers were frustrated by the lack of new answers. Welcome to my life.
Roger Cook and Libby Mettam, the two leaders in the race for the State’s top job, are both fighting shadows. But they’re engaged in vastly different battles.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. It’s up to voters to tell the difference if the Liberal party can’t.
An interest rate cut might boost borrowing prospects for some but also risks pushing median prices further beyond reach. Sacrificing a weekly $22 smashed avocado won’t bridge that gap.
Roger Cook’s defining challenge isn’t winning this election. It’s whether he can finally make a dent in the State-Commonwealth health stalemate before 2029.
A flurry of plans for future upgrades of Perth hospitals will not erase voters’ memories of the past eight years, when ambulance ramping exploded, wait times and wait lists blew out.
Roger Cook joked that the worst comment he ever received on a report card was ‘you have to sit that test again’. March 8 is his final exam.
Both are betting on a presidential-style election. Come what may, Roger Cook and Libby Mettam will wear the results of this one.
When it was time to walk the walk and establish an independent parliamentary budget office to assess election costings, Labor baulked.
Roger Cook embraced the tough love attitude too last week, as he fired the first series of shots in a law and order bidding war.
No leader wants to share the spotlight. The Prime Minister and Premier are ‘friends’ who have agreed to disagree, but are their teams campaign ready?
Every election promise has a catch. The Liberal party has to explain how they’ll pay for it, Labor has to explain why they’re only coming up with these solutions now.
As the State’s high school graduates celebrate or commiserate their ATAR results, WA’s politicians head into the holiday season wondering whether voters have them on the naughty or nice list.
A terse reception was perhaps always likely, but delaying the political pain only made it worse. And it derailed what should have been an easy photo opp in Perth.
One local artist described the cancellation as ‘like a funeral’ but the exact cause of death is hard to pinpoint.
Disunity is death in politics. For the sake of WA, the Liberal party must do better.
A leadership switch would be a gamble with high stakes. The prospect of going backwards means the risk of doing nothing is bigger.
Perth needs 5,000 houses/year to tackle its housing crisis, but solutions require more than just government cash. New ideas are crucial.
If Libby Mettam is merely the sacrificial lamb being offered up to avoid hobbling a future leader with a loss, then the Liberal party is treating voters like fools.
Roger Cook’s $7b Westport plan at Kwinana is a tough sell, especially since he admits he won’t be around for its completion.
Voters don’t appear to have the brickbats out for WA Labor yet, but industry is increasingly itching for a fight with Roger Cook’s comrades in Canberra and the Premier might have to make a choice.
