The election is over, and the results are clear: the Liberal Party under-performed – badly. Because of that, Western Australia now faces the most left-wing Parliament in its history. The Greens will hold the balance of power in the Legislative Council, and Labor’s agenda will be enacted or derailed by Brad Pettit.

The question is: what must the political right do next?

First, the good news. Unlike the last term of government, the WA Parliament will have more genuine conservatives over the next four years. One Nation and Australian Christians have secured between two and three seats, marking a significant improvement.

There are also signs of hope within the Liberal Party. The influence of woke moderates has been decimated, leaving them with as few as three seats in the Liberal Party room. While just over half of the remaining Liberals will likely continue to operate as centre-right corporatists – focused more on economic policy than cultural battles – they won’t be overtly hostile to our conservative values. The remaining Liberals have the potential to be solid right-wing fighters – if their party lets them.

Now, the bad news. The Liberals’ disastrous performance means Labor’s control over Parliament remains mostly unchanged. With Labor and the Greens in lockstep on most issues, Labor’s totalitarian control of WA is far from over.

To make matters worse, any objective observer would have noticed that the Liberals and Nationals failed to lay a glove on the Labor government in four years. Cook was wrong when he called them lazy because most elected Liberals work pretty hard. Unfortunately, they were working hard and achieving nothing.

So, what can the political right do over the next four years?

First, stop the infighting. The Liberals and Nationals have spent years undermining each other. Enough. You’ve both drawn blood, but it’s time to move on. The only ones benefiting from your ego-driven divisions are Labor and the Greens. Also, don’t be cowards and work with the crossbench. The fear of associating with right-wing third parties is doing you no favours.

Secondly, focus. The Opposition’s messaging has been predictable and uninspired for the last four years. Their only recurring themes were ambulance ramping, public housing, and, for the Nationals, gun rights. Beyond that, they’ve largely allowed Labor and the media to dictate the agenda. That needs to change.

Don’t be listless vessels waiting for Labor’s latest initiative or The West Australian’s latest headline. Set the terms of the debate. Push the issues that hurt Labor the most and benefit the right. Just because the government cops a lousy headline in The West Australian doesn’t mean the Opposition should spend a week harping on it. Build sustained, strategic attacks.

This brings us to the third point: relentlessness. When Labor exposes itself, don’t just ask a few questions in Parliament, make a Facebook post, and move on. Hammer them. Keep the pressure on until they’re desperate to change the subject.

Look at last year’s CFMEU scandal – an open goal for the Opposition. What was the response? In a word: pathetic. A few questions without notice, a strongly worded press release, and some social media grumbling. Then, within a week, they were back to ambulance ramping. Considering Labor Ministers defended the CFMEU when the scandal first broke, you’d think the Opposition would have taken more advantage. But nope, pretty soon, they were yelling at each other from across the chamber in exchanges seen by no one outside that building.

Here’s how that scandal should have been handled: dedicate an entire sitting week to nothing but the CFMEU scandal. Every question, every speech, and every press conference should have revolved around it. No distractions. No letting up. Every interview should have looped back to that issue. Even if a journalist asked a question on an entirely separate issue, it should have been brought back to the CFMEU. Every opposition MP should have spent at least $500 a week for a month flooding social media with targeted ads exposing the scandal.

Instead, they let Labor off the hook.

Fourth, we must use parliamentary procedures effectively. Refer bills to committees, move amendments, and force Labor and the Greens to debate their agenda at length. Don’t just go through the motions – make Parliament work for us. Every conservative Opposition and crossbench MP should have a list of Questions on Notice prepared every month to track the government’s progress – or lack thereof – on key issues. Focus on areas like police staffing levels, new government jobs, and the status of Labor’s election promises. These are the pressure points that will expose their failures.

And here’s an idea: why not strike strategic agreements with the Greens where possible? For example, why not vote together to force a select committee inquiry into Labor’s so-called energy transition? The Greens would relish an opportunity to grill the government for not going far enough while we could expose the glaring holes in Labor’s plan and the risks it poses to the public.

It’s time to stop being spectators. The right needs discipline, aggression, and strategy. No more waiting for the government or the media to hand us a playbook. Set the agenda. Focus. Execute.

This OP-ED was written by Rod Caddies, Leader of One Nation WA and soon to take office in the State’s Legislative Assembly.