💧DUKE Clyde (HANSARD)CFW9 (Biden-Harris ELECT)💧 · @nobby15
19th Mar 2017 from TwitLonger
WA Liberals criticise Colin Barnett over landslide election defeat
Former WA Treasurer Mike Nahan has put his hand up to lead the depleted Liberal party, while blasting Colin Barnett for his government’s catastrophic loss at last weekend’s state election.
”Clearly, he was not up to the task of leading the team in this campaign and as a result we had a landslide loss,” Mr Nahan told the Sunday Times.
He said many in the party had expected Mr Barnett would hand over to someone else last September, like NSW premier Mike Baird and New Zealand prime minister John Key had done.
The Liberals remain in leadership limbo, with Mr Barnett returning to the backbench.
Current deputy Liza Harvey will reportedly not contest for the top job, which is tipped to go to Mr Nahan when the party meets next week.
One final seat hangs in the balance from the election, and Mark McGowan has been officially sworn in as the state’s 30th premier.
Counting for the large regional electorate Kalgoorlie is about 80 per cent complete and will reportedly be determined on preferences as it’s too close to call between Liberal Kyran O’Donnell, the Nationals’ Tony Crook and Labor’s Darren Forster.
Preference counts were expected to begin this weekend in all districts, a Western Australian Electoral Commission spokesman told AAP on Friday. McGowan’s new Labor government holds 41 seats in the 59-seat parliament, in a landslide win against Mr Barnett’s two-term Liberal government.
Winning Kalgoorlie would give the Liberals 13 seats, down from the 30 it held in office.
AAP