From the AFR:
Speculation is growing that West Australian Premier Colin Barnett will be removed by his own party after the July 2 federal election to avoid damaging the Turnbull government’s prospects in one of its strongholds.
Liberal sources said it was unlikely Mr Barnett, Australia’s longest-serving Liberal leader, would take his troubled government to the next state election, due in March 2017, but there was a resistance against moves to oust him as early as this week because of the federal campaign.
“There’s a lot of chatter … but I’d be very surprised if anything happens this side of the federal election,” said a source familiar with events.
…Anger over the state’s continued low share of GST revenue prompted Mr Nahan to effectively endorse a Labor vote on July 2 by saying the state needed more marginal seats to exert more pressure on its federal representatives. He endorsed a vote for Palmer senator Dio Wang and accused the federal government of awarding the $50 billion submarines contract to South Australia to protect marginal seats.
Prominent property developer Nigel Satterley took the extraordinary step of publicly airing rumours about a possible leadership spill as early as Tuesday this week.
Mr Satterley, who is upset there were no tax cuts in the state budget, told reporters there were rumours Mr Nahan would move a spill motion for corrective services minister Joe Francis.
The one resource that Australia appears to have an endless reserve of is entitlement. Anger over GST when the state partied like it was 1999 throughout the boom? Anger over no tax cuts when the Budget is in ruins? Anger over Barnett damaging the Federal Coalition prospect’s when they couldn’t run a piss up in brewery?
Nothing can save Naked Emperor Barnett. Nothing will save the WA Coalition, the worst state-level fiscal mis-manager since the Labor Kerner Government. Increasingly, it appears nothing will save the Federal Coalition, either.
