Tasmania and W. Australia

Press, 11 February 1986, Page 20

Tasmania and W. Australia

The state elections in Australia at the weekend went very much as had been predicted. The Governments did not change in either Western Australia or Tasmania. In Western Australia the Labour Party hung on, in spite of a swing against the Labour Government in rural areas. The significant event was the Liberal Party’s loss of seats to the National Party (once the Country Party).

The Western Australian Premier,. Mr Brian Burke, had argued that a win for Labour would isolate the Socialist Left in the Labour Party — an argument that appeared to be persuasive to many people, although the Socialist Left represented only a small number in the Labour Party . The Liberals in Western Australia are even more divided than is the Labour Party, and the fact that they have not performed well in the election will probably mean a major split. The message read by the Australian Labour Party in Canberra is likely to be that there is a great deal of dissatisfaction among rural voters and that some measures will need to be taken because of the importance of the farmers to the economy as a whole. The Tasmanian Premier, Mr Robin Gray, appears to be occupying some of the political ground once held by Labour leaders in Tasmania. Labour was once viewed as the

party that provided the jobs. Tasmania has the highest unemployment rate among all Australian states, but Mr Gray can charge the Federal Labour Government with having stopped the development of the Franklin dam, and the consequent loss of jobs. Nevertheless, his state Government has managed to provide a large number of jobs. In spite of their political differences, both Mr Burke and Mr Gray are conservative leaders and this still appears to suit the temper of the times. Both are forceful leaders, and Mr Gray may be regarded as aggressive. In both the Liberal Opposition in Western Australia and the Labour Opposition in Tasmania, there are likely to be changes because of the losses. In Tasmania, the recent return to state politics of Mr Neil Batt suggests that the present Labour leader, Mr Ken Wriedt, has said that he would stand aside in favour of Mr Batt if Labour lost the election.

The effects on federal politics will take some time to show. The most important assessment will not be on the Government, but on the Opposition. The question which will demand an answer is whether Mr John Howard’s leadership of the Liberal Party was a factor in the poor performance of the Liberals in Western Australia.