Western Australians have delivered a resounding victory to Labor at the state election, returning the party to a third straight term in government and electing Roger Cook in his own right.
The premier called the victory a vindication of his party’s vision, saying it was a vote for “a future which is made in WA”.
The Liberals remain in the political wilderness, with the rebuild and voting correction they had hoped for failing to materialise and putting Libby Mettam’s leadership in question.
At the conclusion of counting last night, the Liberals looked set to repeat their horror 2021 result, when former premier Mark McGowan, immensely boosted by popular policies during the COVID-19 pandemic, obliterated the opposition parties to claim a mammoth majority.
With 30 seats needed to form government, Labor has secured at least 37.
The Liberals and the Nationals have only two seats each, independents one, and 16 are still in doubt.
There were significant swings against Labor across the state, given the landslide of 2021, but nowhere near enough to give the opposition parties hope of stopping Labor.
Even in nine seats considered Liberal heartland, only one (Carine) had been turned blue, while Labor looked likely to clinch five (Bateman, Kingsley, Riverton, Scarborough and South Perth) and three were undecided (Churchlands, Cottesloe and Nedlands).
Cook ‘humbled’, Liberals search for answers
Cook opened his victory speech saying “today, Western Australia has voted for a future, a future which is made in WA”.
He said for eight years Labor had “delivered sensible, stable government focused on strong financial management”, focusing on jobs, infrastructure and services.
“And while we celebrate tonight, we are humbled, we did not take that trust for granted.
“We will work to repay this trust every single day.”
Mettam, in her concession speech, said the rebuild of the Liberal party would continue.
“Is this the result I hoped for? Of course not. Is this what we have been working for? Absolutely not,” she said.
“What we will take from tonight is lessons on how we can do better.”
Former Liberal premier Colin Barnett said the defeat was “disastrous”.
“Politics is so brutal, so public and so humiliating,” he said, on Nine’s coverage.
“For the Liberal Party, obviously this is going to be a very difficult time .”
