On top of two WA federal ministers retiring hurt,the state election was an extinction-level event.
The indicative two-party preferred vote for the blue ribbon seat of Churchlands has only 63 votes separating the Liberal and Labor candidates as Warren-Blackwood,North West Central,and Nedlands remain in play.
Labor’s 60 per cent first preference vote will elevate several unsuspecting candidates to office including Ayor Makur Chuot,31,a West Australian whose family fled Sudan because of civil war.
In a short statement released Tuesday morning,three days after the WA election,Crown said it would immediately stop all political donations.
Political parties in WA receive reimbursements for electoral expenditure with Labor’s huge first preference on Saturday on track to net them close to $3.5m.
As Premier Mark McGowan holds discussions to choose his cabinet he will need to balance the expectations of dominant factions within Labor against his own captain’s choices.
Enforcing scrutiny and compromise in the legislative process provides a level of accountability and transparency that is not possible with only a handful of MPs sitting opposite the government.
Nationals leader and likely new head of the West Australian opposition Mia Davies will hold all the cards when the Liberals come to her asking for a coalition.
The Liberal Party has blamed the popularity of Premier Mark McGowan for their historic election loss,but one upper house MP has conceded his party had “squandered” the past four years.
West Australian Labor hero Mark McGowan is committed to seeing out his second term as Premier but says it’s too early to know if he’ll run a third time despite taking the party to its biggest win in state history on Saturday.
Liberal strongholds have fallen,pushing the party into the political abyss,while several Labor seats have blown pollster predictions apart in what was the party’s best result in Australian history.