Omodei leads small team

Critics of the Carpenter government fond of sporting analogies say that his ministerial team doesn’t bat very deep.

That comment applies even more to the opposition parties in Western Australia, which are very light on for talent.

The Liberals are bitterly divided, the Nationals and the Greens are sidelined from most issues and collectively they are likely to stay in opposition after the next election, in light of Labor’s contentious one-vote one-value reforms and the strength of the economy.

Given that, the opposition parties have very little influence in WA.

The man charged with trying to lead the Liberals out of their current problems is Paul Omodei, who has two former leaders in Colin Barnett and Matt Birney still sitting in parliament.

Mr Omodei is regarded as the steady hand on the tiller whose role is to bring some stability to the party after the factional feuding that characterised Mr Barnett’s term as leader and Mr Birney’s spectacular crash.

The person seen as the most likely future leader is the current deputy, Troy Buswell, who has enjoyed a meteoric rise. He entered parliament in February 2005 and nine months later was deputy leader.

Mr Buswell has acquitted himself well in his shadow portfolios, including small business and industrial relations, bringing some rigour to the opposition’s critique of government policy.

However, his judgement has been tested on other matters.

Most famously, in the Liberals leadership contest in March, he pledged support for Mr Birney, only to vote for Mr Omodei in the party room ballot.

Mr Busell has also copped a lot of party flak over the deal he negotiated with Electoral Affairs Minister Jim McGinty over public funding for political parties.

Former deputy leader Dan Sullivan has led the attack, claiming the youthful and inexperienced Mr Buswell has been hoodwinked by Mr McGinty.

Mr Omodei and the party’s state president, Danielle Blain, have stood firmly behind Mr Buswell on the funding issue, which was designed to extricate the Liberals from acute funding pressure.

The challenge for Messrs Omodei and Buswell is to build credibility and respect so that senior parliamentary colleagues such as Mr Sullivan, Sue Walker and Rob Johnson provide support.