National and Liberals

“In the Sunday Times last week Mia Davies was asked as the Leader of the Opposition whether that role should stay with the National Party or be passed to the Liberal Party.

In response she indicated that “nothing’s off the table”, including this shift.

As the Sunday Times rightly pointed out, the National Party cannot be the senior party in Government, and for we the Opposition even to become competitive requires the Liberal Party to step up and win the majority of seats.

For this reason, I believe that it is time to look to have the Leader of the Liberal Party in this state also become the Leader of the Opposition in the lead up to the next election.

The people of this great State need an Opposition that is firing, and effectively holding the McGowan Government to account. Whether you think the Premier has done a good job or not, it is in nobody’s interest for politics in WA to remain as one sided as it is.

To achieve this, we need to present as an Opposition team that the community could trust in power after the 2025 state election, and after that election only the Liberal leader has any chance of becoming a Premier.

It would be unprecedented in WA to have a Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly who is not from the non-government party with the most seats. But it is not unprecedented in the Parliament.

For the last two years I have been the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council despite being a Liberal. This was done through a formal agreement between the National and Liberal parties and forms part of our Alliance arrangements.

Having created that precedent, I think the same could apply in the Lower House through formal agreement, paving the way for the Liberal leader to lead the Alliance there.

I have sought advice on the possibility, and I am advised that it should be achievable through a formal alliance or coalition type agreement between our parties.

It would not be easy – it would be a long and complex negotiation, especially dealing with staffing issues and resources. It would require enormous good will on all sides, and a significant updating of our alliance accord.   

However, as Mia Davies said in the paper last week “we just need to make sure that we set personal egos aside because otherwise we could be sitting in Opposition for a very long time.”

I could not agree more. It is time to present a credible opposition going forward, especially in the lead up to the 2025 election.

Western Australia desperately needs us to do so.”