Peter Kennedy

Federal Labor’s leadership ballot, which will involve rank-and-file members for the first time, has the capacity to make or break the party – including in Western Australia.

Progress may be slow at first, but federal tax reform will be high on the Abbott government’s agenda.

A coalition win on Saturday will bring added responsibilities for a quartet of WA Liberals, but what it means for Colin Barnett down the track is another matter.

Those who made the initial decision on the solar feed-in tariff should have been more switched on to community sentiment.

Expect costs to rise as falling revenue streams put pressure on the Barnett government’s ability to balance the budget bottom line.

Having cleared the decks, Labor has decided the timing’s right for the election.

The state budget to be delivered on August 8 is expected to remain in surplus, despite the government preparing for a further major reduction in GST revenue.

Just more than a week after Kevin Rudd took back the top job and suddenly Labor’s starting to look competitive again.

Well-known as a ‘boom denier’, Colin Barnett has added another string to his bow – recession rejecter.

Things can get messy when state and federal political agendas collide.

THE resources sector has lost an experienced advocate, and the state government a steady hand, with the retirement of the former mines and petroleum minister Norman Moore after a 36-year career in

MAKING predictions in politics is fraught with risk.

RARELY do two budgets – Tuesday’s federal budget, which was the last before an election, and the August state budget, which will be the first after an election – send such conflicting messages.

WA could lose out in the long run, with a likely incoming Abbott government paying less attention to a state perceived to be in the bag politically.

With WA having been short-changed in terms of education funding, it’s clear the federal government is focused on shoring up electoral support elsewhere.

Get ready for some belt tightening in the next state budget. The fact that it will be introduced in August, three months later than usual, will provide only temporary respite, with all the signs suggesting there won’t be much extra money being thrown around.

The federal government has laid a fiscal trap for the states on the key election issue of education.

Labor needs to get with the times if it is to connect with the mainstream, and re-energise its traditional supporter base.

Labor needs to get back to basics in WA, reinvigorating its image and getting boots on the ground.

Colin Barnett should prioritise his ‘to-do’ list as he and his ministers wade through their election commitments.

Labor may have set the agenda for the campaign in recent weeks, but the government holds the whip hand due to a combination of factors.

The Liberals may be on track to win the March 9 poll, but Colin Barnett and his team will be hoping voters don’t see the result as a fait accompli.

Expect both sides of politics to slug it out until election day over the cost of their promises.

There’s little new or creative about either side’s approach to the state election campaign so far, with economic management, public transport and law and order front and centre.

State Labor is aiming to trade on its reputation as the party that cares about public transport.

Neither side of politics has yet managed to engage the electorate with a clear and comprehensive transport strategy.

All the polls may point to the Barnett government’s return on March 9, but election campaigns are unpredictable and neither side can take anything for granted.

Initially lauded for the certainty it provided, the government’s decision to create fixed parliamentary terms is not without its shortcomings – some of them significant.

As an election year approaches, Colin Barnett finds himself nursing a headache despite not having done the drinking.

Coalition governments are happier to contract out responsibility for the running of government-financed hospitals like Peel because they believe it represents better value for taxpayers.

It may have been ugly, but the bitterness that dominated federal parliament this year has set the tone for 2013.

Labor’s John Kobelke has called on both sides of politics to help ensure the billions invested in capital works projects are spent wisely.