Colin Barnett wins re-election as blame turns on Gillard government

[lightningdance]

Colin Barnett wins re-election as blame turns on Gillard government

Liberal leader Colin Barnett claims victory in the West Australian election. Picture: Daniel Wilkins Source: The Sunday Times

COLIN Barnett has been swept back to power in Western Australia, as Labor figures blamed the unpopularity of the Gillard government for a slump in ALP support.

Labor leader Mark McGowan conceded defeat after a thumping swing to the Liberals and Nationals of up to 7 per cent sealed a second term for Mr Barnett and his coalition partners.

The result could give the Liberal-Nationals as many as 40 seats in WA's lower house, up from 29. Labor looks set to lose a third of its seats.

While Mr McGowan didn't say so, other Labor figures pointed the finger of blame for defeat at federal Labor, and former state Labor minister Alannah MacTiernan called for Julia Gillard to be dumped.

Claiming a "resounding victory", Mr Barnett congratulated Mr McGowan on his "energetic" campaign, despite the Liberal-Nationals achieving “what seems to be a comfortable result”.

 “We retained all of our seats won at the last election. We've also won a further seven seats with a few still up for grabs,” he told Liberal supporters at a Cottesloe golf club, to chants of "four more years".

Mr Barnett said it was clear that the unpopularity of federal Labor had helped his party.

“I think certainly Labor was on the nose to a lot of people - that was a factor,” he said.

[poddster]

I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Julia.
She has, singlehandedly,  by her management style and attached cronies, halted the rapid advance of the  cancer which is the Labor/Union malady that has threatened to bring this country  to its knees. To every cloud there is a silver lining, the country has suffered  in the short term but if you look at the big picture, the cancer has been dealt  a heavy blow from which it will take at least 25 years to gather momentum for  another onslaught. Like all cancers it can be contained but unfortunately it is  very hard to eradicate completely.

[lakeland27]

25years ? the electorate doesn't have that kind of attention span . if he doesn't increase household incomes and perform the miracles he pretends to be able to do ,he'll be out in a term. heres a word for today 'cycle' 😉

[poddster]

ever heard of the DLP LL?

B-)

[lakeland27]

ever heard of the DLP LL?

B-)

the catholics conservatives are now liberals. the liberals are the DLP. the newer DLP party is just another fringe group of little or no consequence.

[*new2vintage]

There is nothing special about Barnett and his idiotic mate Troy Buswell.

[lightningdance]

The penny has also dropped for the Greens, anybody see the desperate Milne on TV today?.

I said they had peaked at the last election & looks like I was right. It will be a great day for democracy when the Greens are banished from the political scene or reduced to a meaningless blot.

[lightningdance]

the catholics conservatives are now liberals. the liberals are the DLP. the newer DLP party is just another fringe group of little or no consequence.

.

Just like the direction the Labor party is heading, a fringe party of trade unions only.

Gillard has said they are the party of the union movement but I think this is just another misstep from her as the unions have 10% of the workforce. 10% is about what the Greens have.

[not_an_eloi]

oi, poddo, how's your cut and paste in post 21, of your cut and paste, from elsewhere.

final line read   'By the way, Dazza, I did enjoy your tongue-in-cheek" effort yesterday, well done, I laughed my self silly.  🙂 '

to which commenter Hmmmm replied  Nahh, Poddster - I suspect you started out 'silly' ! 

errr ..  yeh,  mate,  we knew that already     :^O

Read more: http://www.watoday.com.au/opinion/political-news/i-called-labor-to-win--and-i-was-wrong-20130310-2ft...

[nero_bolt]

The SKY news video report on the below page story is rather good  as well... unless you are a rusted on labor luvie

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/prime-minister-julia-gillard-fumes-over-stephen-smiths-comments-about-federal-labors-effect-on-wa/story-fncvk70o-1226594305189

National Prime Minister Julia Gillard fumes over Stephen Smith's comments about federal Labor's effe...

IN a stunning rebuke of a senior minister, the Prime Minister's office yesterday warned Stephen Smith to tone down his comments after he said federal Labor had been a "drag on" the WA branch.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard was reported to be furious about the Defence Minister's comment in the wake of the WA wipeout, which follows worse Labor floggings in Queensland and NSW.

MPs believe the state disasters point to an expected massacre at a federal level in September, when a 7 per cent swing would potentially wipe 30 seats from Labor.

Labor lost at least seven seats in the weekend state election, as West Australian premier Colin Barnett celebrated the Liberals' performance in winning enough seats to govern on its own.

The WA Liberals and the Nationals will form a coalition with a predicted 40 seats of 59, while Labor could slide from 27 to 19.

Mr Barnett said federal issues were background to the win, although he noted WA Labor leader Mark McGowan's call for Ms Gillard not to visit during the campaign was a mistake.

In saying Labor had plenty to work on before the federal poll, Mr Smith said: "There's no doubt we have been a drag on Mark (McGowan) and there's no doubt we haven't been helpful."

One Gillard supporter said "Smith's comments were not helpful at all," noting Kevin Rudd supporters had seized on the comments.

"It's that sort of thing that could ignite the whole thing," the MP said. Another Labor MP said the call to Mr Smith, who would have to fight to hold his seat if the Perth swing was replicated federally, was "not a good look".

In a later interview with ABC radio, Mr Smith was less strident about federal Labor.

Immigration Minister Brendan O'Connor said he also believed state issues resulted in Labor's flop in WA, and added support to Mr Smith's claims, saying: "I understand why Stephen Smith said those things."

In a sign of how desperate caucus has become, one MP said a senior NSW minister was "telling people they think there will be a challenge in the next two weeks", with Ms Gillard entering a potentially dangerous parliamentary sitting period. "Her camp has to be more than half expecting it," the MP said.

Labor figures tore into the party's problems with former WA premier Geoff Gallop telling Sky: "The public are looking in and they don't like what they see. Tthey don't like the Labor Party." Former federal leader Mark Latham called for reform because "the ship is going down".

[lightningdance]

The WA election loss is catastrophic for Labor. They lost 7 seats so far looking like they will fall from 27 seats to 19. Stephen Smith may well lose his seat at the Sept election so he's panicking. Imagine the defence Minister in a blue funk about his future whilst we have troops overseas??.

The fight on TV yesterday between Gallop (what a blowhard) & Latham, was just a tiny chink of light to what's going on behind closed doors.

The stonking misstep of Gillard saying Labor is a party of the unions? hello? they are 10% of the workforce so you are aligning yourself with a minority? taking your party to a minority level? What about the Rest Of Australia Miss Gillard?

Every day there's another disaster this Labor party lurches into, another misstep, another "announcement" spending billions we don't have, the governing for the few & the ignoring of the rest of Australians.

There is no touching bottom in the litany of failures, mistakes, scandals & on & on & on for this govt.

As all the pundits are saying "The Rooty Hill Sleepover was a total fail, a slap in the face of Westies, only served to galvanise them even further against Gillard & Labor".

The Galaxy poll taken for just this Gillard exercise has her at an all time low for Western Sydney Gillard 32% Abbott 41%  preferred the rest uncommitted or Green.

The latest Galaxy poll Labor 45% Lib/Nat 55% 2pp.

I can hear the swords being drawn, the knives being sharpened or will she go for the good of the party?? I want her to stay, I want her to be done & done slowly.