Barnett and Liberals take big hit, page-8

It seems the voters may punish Barnett at the election, but that's a year away.

To replace him with Labor's McGowan would be a protest vote against the State debt and the fact that some may perceive that it's time for a change anyway.

The benefits to the State of Col's reign may be overlooked and Labor may fall into power. But the question is, will it be for the better? Time will tell.

Col has spent too much money on various infrastructure projects such as roads/freeways, Lizzy's pond; new Stadium; Bridges; Hospitals; Schools; all on the assumption that the mining boom would last longer and that WA would receive a more equitable share of the GST revenue. In appearance the spending appears more typically Labor like during a normal economic cycle, so the debt would probably have been even larger had they been in power during the boom.

I think Labor will fall into power at the next election in WA based on current anecdotal commentary around Perth, but you never know, it is still some time off before the election and many projects, beneficial to the State can be used as support for the governments return. Wishful thinking I hear raider snarl.

In any event, imo, the general standard of politicians in WA can be treated with the same amount of subdued distain as they are Federally.