Old hands support changing guard in state Opposition

There have been minimal changes on the Labor side of politics since the Government won re-election at last February’s state poll, but there have been enormous changes on the Opposition side.

Former Opposition leader Colin Barnett, who had dominated strategy and policy development, stepped down after the election loss.

The bright young star, 36-year-old Matt Birney, was elected leader unopposed, after just four years in parliament as Kalgoorlie MLA.

He has had a baptism of fire over issues as diverse as his stance on electoral reform, his decision to travel overseas with his girlfriend and the famous drink driving episode.

The Government is targeting Mr Birney’s inexperience and lack of judgement, and so far they have the runs on the board.

The challenge for Mr Birney – a WA Business News 40under40 winner in 2003, based mainly on the success of his business ventures in Kalgoorlie – is to avoid the seemingly constant brushfires and start to build some authority with the public.

The Liberal’s former deputy leader, Dan Sullivan, had wanted to continue in that role after the election loss but was defeated by Paul Omodei.

Ironically, Mr Sullivan is now considered more influential than he ever was under Mr Barnett’s leadership.

He is considered close to Mr Birney, who had endorsed Mr Sullivan for the deputy leadership.

Mr Sullivan is manager of Opposition business in the Legislative Assembly, which is a key role for managing parliamentary tactics, and has a major shadow portfolio in energy.

Conversely, Mr Omodei is not considered to be a major player in the Opposition leadership team despite the formal role he holds.

Another MP with a key role is the veteran Norman Moore, who is Opposition leader in the upper house and has the shadow portfolios of mines and resources plus electoral affairs.

More importantly, he is considered to be sometimes close to Mr Birney, who recognises he has limited parliamentary and political experience and is open to advice from an older campaigner such as Mr Moore.

Another veteran MP, George Cash, who has traditionally been aligned with Mr Moore, is also considered to have an influence on Mr Birney.

With a thin leadership team, there is plenty of opportunity for other Liberal MPs to emerge from the pack.

Some of the people who could step up include former Court government minister Kim Hames, former Bunbury mayor John Castrilli, and small business spokesman Troy Buswell.

Mr Barnett continues as a backbencher and is understood to have more interest in his hobby farm than in policy debates, but in the longer term a return to the leadership cannot be entirely ruled out.

The Liberal Party’s former coalition partner, the Nationals, have been through a tumultuous week following the shock resignation of party leader Max Trenorden and the election of 32-year-old Brendon Grylls as the new leader.

The period since Mr Trenorden’s resignation has been characterised by claim and counter-claim, leaving the Nationals with a lot of catching up to do.

Mr Trenorden had always been expected to step aside before the next election, due in four years, but has indicated that others in the party were keen for a quicker change.

He has also claimed that Mr Grylls wants to pursue a merger with the Liberal Party, a claim Mr Grylls denies.

As an independent party, the Nationals face a real test of survival at the next election. They start with only six MPs in the state parliament (and none from WA in the federal parliament) and the passage of the one-vote one-value legislation, which reduces the number of rural seats by six is likely to reduce their representation.

A likely winner from the one-vote one-value reforms is the Greens (WA), who currently have just two MPs – veteran Giz Watson and the newly elected Paul Lewellyn.

However, with the balance of power in the upper house, the Greens influence is disproportionate to their electoral representation.

The Gallop Government’s desire to stay onside with the ‘greenie’ lobby adds further to the influence of the Greens.

POLITICIANS

• Matt Birney

  
  Opposition leader, Treasury spokesperson. 
  

• Norman Moore 
  Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council.
  Spokesperson for Mines and Resources, Electoral Affairs.
  

• Dan Sullivan
  Spokesperson for Energy, Finance.
  

• Brendon Grylls
  Nationals leader.
  

• Giz Watson
  Greens (WA) member.