Jessica Page: Time is not on Liberals’ side as Labor’s spending scrutinised, but will the mud stick?

Niccolo Machiavelli’s conviction that the ends justify even the most nefarious means saw him jailed, tortured and exiled, and his name forever linked to cunning. But a few hundred years later, four-year fixed terms do mean that time, evolving circumstances and the end result can heal all manner of political sins. By March of 2021, in the grips of COVID, most of WA either forgot or forgave Mark McGowan’s short-lived gold tax and proposed Budget cuts to schools of the air. A mere four weeks after that election, the Labor Government was plunged into its biggest crisis. But though Aishwarya Aswath’s death has not — and must not — be forgotten, by March 2025 enough voters were willing to forgive the staff shortages that contributed to her symptoms — and a chance, however “statistically small,” to save her — being missed. Metronet budget blowouts were largely forgiven because voters could see the end result at the end of the Ellenbrook line. Now, three months after another landslide election victory, the Government is again vulnerable on several fronts. Rapid population growth means the health system is still overwhelmed, and housing is still in short supply. But there are signs of improvement, with housing targets a long time coming now on track, and the reality that solving those problems is easier said than done makes Opposition attacks hard to stick. Easier to go for the low hanging fruit. Government spending is ripe for attack, but time and the election cycle is not on the Opposition’s side. A hit list of “pet projects” has been identified to accuse Labor of wasting WA’s good tidings, allegedly with little or no proof that the ends will justify the multi-million dollar means. There’s still no business case for the $217 million Burswood entertainment precinct, including a race track that was locked in by the election result. But by 2029, like it or not, it will be too late to put the brakes on it and the Opposition will be hard pressed to make the mud stick that long. Concerns about noise pollution from one weekend of V8 Supercars haven’t posed a problem for the hordes of football fans who already converge on Burswood every weekend. The Supercars enforce a noise limit of 95 decibels at a distance of 30 metres, that was beaten back in 2018 at Optus Stadium. The second-highest decibel measurement recorded at an AFL game was 112.1 dB, as Willie Rioli snapped a late goal. Eagles fans like me don’t have much to cheer about this year, but I reckon Dockers fans came close to that mark during the last quarter against the Saints on Sunday. The problem with Labor’s Burswood plan is less about the project itself, and more about the process. It was Mark McGowan who promised “gold standard transparency,” but Roger Cook and Rita Saffioti subscribed to that too. In practise, commercial-in-confidence is a valid excuse sometimes but not all the time. The Burswood plan was only kept secret because Labor wanted to spring an election campaign surprise, and didn’t expect the backlash. The numbers around the $65 million Perth Bears deal were held back until it was too late to question, because they didn’t stack up. The Cook Government rightly didn’t take the NRL’s word that forecast 1670 interstate visitors per home game and a $52 million annual injection into the State economy. The Government’s modelling, by independent firm ACIL Allen, predicted a $28 million annual return from 545 interstate visitors per game. Both were based on rugby league boss Peter V’landys’ unverified claim that the Bears already have 200,000 members in NSW. The Premier didn’t ask him for proof. The North Sydney Bears’ 2023 annual report stated the club had 2052 financial members. Repeated requests for the NRL to clarify have gone unanswered. Whether the Bears win or lose will likely decide whether that deal is a winner or a stinker but, either way, $60m will not break the WA bank and won’t sway enough votes in 2029. To do that the Opposition needs to prove that it’s a pattern of Labor favouring luxury projects over basic necessities, and convince voters that it would do any better. That’s the four-year mountain to climb and, despite improvement and new energy, the Liberal Party needs to steel itself for the long haul back from rock bottom.