JESSICA PAGE: The Nationals must capitalise on four years in the driver’s seat and hash out a deal with Libs

No longer the minnow of WA politics, the Nationals have arguably emerged stronger from what was a fight for political survival. But though they won their own battle, they did not win the election and the civil war within the Opposition “alliance” is not over until a peace deal is signed. This is just a temporary ceasefire. The country party was on the ropes, when Labor used its overwhelming numbers to pass electoral reforms merging six Legislative Council electorates into one. Shane Love was under pressure to hand over the title and perks of Opposition Leader to the Liberals, but the other side wouldn’t agree to a joint Upper House ticket in return, amid claims the Nats could be wiped out of the Lower House. Instead, its representation has doubled to six seats, with historic wins in Geraldton and Albany. The Liberal party’s downgraded status certainly hampered Libby Mettam’s campaign, and any chance of ousting the Cook Government, but the Nationals made the most of their extra resources and four years in the driver’s seat. On Monday, Shane Love conceded he won’t be Opposition Leader anymore but six seats versus the Liberals’ seven was close enough that he can demand Opposition arrangements don’t revert to past form. “We’re a party that appeals more broadly than people think,” he told reporters on Monday. “It is my view that we certainly should be respected as equal partners going forward.” Deputy leader Peter Rundle was the only politician who arguably beat the Premier, winning 75.2 per cent of the two-party preferred vote in his seat of Roe compared to Roger Cook’s 75.1 per cent. He put the result down to a tidal wave of anger over the Albanese Government’s ban on live sheep exports and the Cook Government’s South Coast marine park that sparked protests in Esperance. Retiring Labor MLC and farmer Darren West conceded the Government’s crackdown on guns was another factor. He stood by the reforms but said letters enforcing them were badly timed and “lit up” social media. Member-elect for Geraldton Kirrilee Warr put her own victory down to concern about crime. “That really hit home for people in our community, but it was just about being out there, bringing the energy and being that fresh face,” she said. “It’s heartland for me, it’s homeland.” Bullseye. That was the common thread that the Nationals campaign strategy was able to weave through all the policy issues that swayed votes in regional WA: youth crime, gun rights, farm and fishing viability. It became an “us versus them” chorus in the bush and it was effective. The National party was better able to seize the regional backlash, while the Firearms Act divided the Liberal party room down the middle. But the National party’s problems have not been solved and there is a real danger that its regional voice could again be drowned out when Parliament resumes in Perth. Because the attempt to encroach on metropolitan territory failed. Some candidates quit before polling day, one was forced to. The battle for attention in the city exposed the cracks in the fragile Opposition alliance but did not achieve its stated aim of boosting the Nationals’ representation in the Upper House. The Nats did win more votes — about 75,000 at last check versus 40,285 first preferences in 2021 and 59,776 in 2017 — but remain stalled on two seats, versus the Greens’ four and the Liberals’ 10. To matter in Parliament, up against 15 or 16 Labor MLCs, they need the Liberals and the Libs need them. The grudge goes back further than the last four years of tension over Opposition Leader status. The Liberal party has never gotten over Brendan Grylls’ brief dalliance with Labor, when he emerged as the “kingmaker” after the 2008 election. Both sides must forgive and forget now. There are positive signs, with Mr Love and new Liberal Leader Basil Zempilas holding informal discussions, though both need the party brass to agree to any deal. “My views around such matters will always be collaborative,” Mr Zempilas said last week. Mr Love has made a joint upper house ticket a possible condition, but repeatedly said his preference is for a formal agreement to form coalition in government — making the leader of the party with the most seats as Premier and the other becoming Deputy Premier. It would remove any doubt in voters’ minds and should be sorted sooner rather than later, before political egos get in the way again.