WESTERN Australia’s Liberal Party has been electorally destroyed, its Greens-embracing leader turfed from parliament and the Party replaced by the Nationals as official opposition.
The Party, which had attempted to outgreen Labor, now holds just two of the State’s 59 parliamentary seats, trailing both Labor (52) and the Nationals (3). Two seats are currently too close to call.
- Zac “GetUp” Kirkup is the first WA political leader since the 1930s to lose his own seat.
- Requiring 30 seats, the ALP declared victory almost immediately after polls closed.
- Kirkup said he hoped the “difficult loss” did not mark the end of the Liberal Party.
Nine Network’s political editor Chris Uhlmann described the March 13 loss as “an extinction level event for the State Liberal Party”.
Thirty-four year old Zac “GetUp” Kirkup became the first West Australian political leader to lose his own seat since the 1930s – experiencing a 15 per cent swing against him.
DIFFICULT
In comments after his defeat, Mr Kirkup said he hoped the “difficult loss” did not mark the end of the Liberal Party.
“The reality is, I think it’s important that we rebuild the Party as best as we can and from my perspective that means that I will no longer seek office for the Liberal Party,” he said.
“It’s important that we do all we can to make way for a new generation… The next four years will be the most difficult for the Liberal Party that we have ever experienced.”
Rather than make way for a new generation, all WA Liberals need to step aside for a smarter generation.
With his radical adoption of policies so Left that the Greens cheered him, Mr Kirkup then conceded the election some three weeks prior to polling day – begging the electorate not to punish him.
They weren’t listening. Requiring 30 seats to retain government, the ALP declared victory immediately after polls closed.
EXTREME
Mr Kirkup is a strong supporter of homosexual marriage, euthanasia and extreme climate action.
After promising last month to achieve net zero carbon emissions a staggering 20 years earlier than Labor, Mr Kirkup’s opinion polling went into freefall.
He described his 2030 net zero plan as “bold”. Most others described it as crazy.
His plan would have seen half the State’s coal fired power stations close by 2025 including WA’s biggest power generator Muja with a capacity of 854 MW. Nearby Collie power station will also close withdrawing 300 MW of supply.
Despite widespread and harsh criticism from representatives of Labor, Liberal and local residents, Mr Kirkup remained defiant.
“We have a $100m plan to help make sure we transition Collie for the future,” Mr Kirkup told Sky News at the time.
“In WA under our plan, no worker will be left behind.”
DESTROYED
Mr Kirkup appears to have taken the same climate path as deposed Liberal Party Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Mr Turnbull’s green obsession saw his government’s massive 35-seat majority – left to him by former PM Tony Abbott – completely destroyed.
By the time Mr Turnbull was removed, the Liberal Party had been decimated and held government only with help from independents.
An opinion poll taken shortly after Queensland’s recent State election indicated that climate issues rated second to last among voters.
According to the JWS survey 95 per cent of centre-Left voters couldn’t care less about climate issues, ranking jobs, affordable energy, COVID response and border security as far more important.
Among centre-Right voters – who traditionally support the Liberal National Party – the divide is even greater with only two in a hundred rating climate change as an election issue.PC
I’m with Twiggy: Opportunity knocks. We just need to open the door. Australia can become the greatest producer of steel on planet Earth. And also batteries and other forms of energies.
If we want to win, we need to focus on manufacture, massive job creation and a higher standard of living for all.
How do we sell it? John Howard had the answer – stick to the basics. Put dollars in people’s pockets. Family values can only come from a stable base. Security. Security of income, security of conscience and security in a stable society.
Our basics are low-taxing, high employment and a great happiness index.
I don’t know if that’s left wing, right wing or a wing and a prayer.
I do know that the public can sniff out a faker and recognise a genuine offer.
If we want to win the next Federal election we will need to offer all of that (except the faking) and tell them how.
The other party has the faker.
And how easy is it to get the right formula?
Listen to Twiggy – common sense on stage!
This from the same Andrew Forrest who reckons hydrogen is the fuel of the future?? Madness….
The big surprise is that the WA Libs won any seats at all. WA is a resource state, upon which its people have depended for their living during the past half century. Surely Kirkup must have known that West Australians access the news through the media and other outlets, so would have also known what was going to happen if their base load power stations were closed. They saw the recurrence of blackouts, and what happened to electricity prices in South Australia and the Eastern States when power becomes scarce. The average bloke wants to be able to have a job, earn a living, come home at night, switch on the power, watch TV, and live a normal life.
Why did Kirkup think that the voters would write themselves an economic suicide note, and his ‘woke’ judgement reached in these regards was what happens when anyone embraces that extraordinary fantasy type culture, and moves away from reality. Contrastingly, McGowan has his ‘marbles’, normal people felt safe with his pro jobs and pro business policies, and he appears to be averse to spending large sums of money on the public service. Unless local voters there were into ‘self harm’, there was no other choice to make.
Nonetheless the ‘Woke’ culture keeps growing in other states, its take up is a threat to the public’s mental health, and as is the instance with mind altering drugs, going forward we are consequently likely to see much larger numbers of persons institutionalised by this form of mental self mutilation.
There is a lesson in this for NSW Premier, Gladys (think Matt Kean, for one), and more importantly our current PM, Scott Morrison (think Turnbull #2, Dave Sharma.) I am positive there are other Green credentialed sleepers in the Liberal Party and as MPs who would love to drive Australia into socialism.
Time to review Policy Mr Morrison and grow a pair with conviction. I think you will get more votes from traditional conservative voters who are not understanding your confused policies.
It’s a shame for the Liberal Party that the WA division Woke up so late! Hopefully the NSW division learn from that election so they don’t end up the same way in 2 years – courtesy of the Member for Hornsby and others whom we have recently been exhorted to ‘respect’ and not ostracize, but rather internalise our discontent where it will ultimately do the most damage to motivation when handing out at polling booths. Actually the circular said we should put our complaints to the relevant Parliament, but that amounts to the same as internalising it because it will be ignored and not answered!
The WA Liberal Party have erred badly in trying to capture the popular vote with ‘lefty/green’ policies – in doing so they have ‘kicked an own goal’.
And a ‘Kirkup’ the backside!
How can a Liberal party that wishes to be taken seriously install an opposition leader (Zack), who places total reliance on renewables to take effect 20 yrs earlier than the moronic Greens. Can we be serious in even allowing such a f#ckwit to merely attend branch meetings, let alone positions of influence.
I believe he felt his unpopularity was the result of too many Christian believers/followers within the Liberal brand.
If we don’t wake up to the Sharma’s—Kean’s—Dore’s and other poisonous pretenders—WE WILL BE GOING NOWHERE!
The W.A. “Libs” got a big Kirkup the bum.
There is a lesson in this for NSW Premier, Gladys (think Matt Kean, for one), and more importantly our current PM, Scott Morrison (think Turnbull #2, Dave Sharma.) I am positive there are other Green credentialed sleepers in the Liberal Party and as MPs who would love to drive Australia into socialism.
Time to review Policy Mr Morrison and grow a pair with conviction. I think you will get more votes from traditional conservative voters who are not understanding your confused policies.