Mike Nahope: WA Liberals should hurry up and dump their irrelevant leader

The Premier has reshaped his Cabinet halfway through his Government’s first term and Federal Labor is on course to win the next general election, which leaves the WA Liberals languishing and in need of a blueprint for the future.

As this newspaper has already said forcefully, Mike Nahan has displayed shoddy political judgment, represents the unwanted baggage of the Barnett government and will be unable to cut through enough in punter land to be seen as an alternative premier.

Whether it is now or in six months’ time, Nahan must go well before the 2021 State election.

For a sample of his political foresight look no further than his stumble in February, when he infuriated his regional Liberal MPs and would-be partners in government, the Nationals, by declaring war on the Royalties for Regions fund.

“We would not have a separate sacrosanct fund,” he said. “We have an ongoing structural problem with the Budget. One of the areas is Royalties for Regions and it cannot be sacrosanct from efficiencies elsewhere.”

Those words sank like a stone when Nahan woke up to the reality of needing the Nationals to form a future government given he had only 13 Liberal MPs in the Parliament’s Lower House at that time following the 2017 wipe-out. Within hours Nahan went from culling RforR to guaranteeing it would remain enshrined in law.

Then there was the strategically stupid decision in August to publicly devalue and debase the role of mainstream media in already challenging times. Despite what some commentators said, it was not sour grapes that prompted The West Australian togo hard on Nahan for saying the daily newspaper, free-to-air television and talkback radio were irrelevant.

It was a legitimate critique of his political judgment. He simply did not need to use a speech to the State Liberal Party conference to patronise traditional media outlets, especially when it was only mainstream reporters who turned up to cover it.

We in the game know only too well the difficulties posed by digital disruption. We certainly do not need a political leader struggling for his own relevancy to pretend we do not matter. And for Nahan to make those comments in the context of the Darling Range by-election was doubly galling.

Without The West Australian plying the trade of old-school print journalism, there would not have been a by-election and the Liberals would not have gained an extra seat in Parliament. In showing zero appreciation of that fact, Nahan displayed an arrogance he can ill afford and a level of political judgment that raised eyebrows within his own party.

But none of Nahan’s State colleagues has had the fortitude to step up.

Those who think they have the “right stuff” would rather watch Nahan wither on the leadership vine and soak up time in Opposition before making their run.

You rarely win contests with that approach. The sooner the Liberals get down to business, start forming some policies and try to reconnect with the voters who gave them both fingers, the better it will be for democracy in WA.

But in order to do that effectively, the Liberals need teamwork and right now they do not even have the team let alone the right leader. One word springs to mind — renewal. Those safe blue-ribbon Liberal seats, currently occupied by ageing MPs reflecting on their years in Parliament rather than the years ahead, need to be surrendered.

South Perth MP John McGrath, aged 71, must hand over to someone with the potential to lead the party in the future. But given the seat is south of the Narrows Bridge, the party would need to ensure it does not fall into the hands of the growing ultra-conservative Christian power base of the Liberals’ southern suburbs divisions and branches.

South Perth should be there for a future minister or premier, not to push or protect outdated and unelectable religious doctrines.

Nedlands MP Bill Marmion, aged 64, has also had his day and needs to step aside.

The Liberals had the chance for renewal when Colin Barnett called it quits in Cottesloe, and chose to preselect long-time party stalwart David Honey, aged 60.

It remains to be seen if he has parliamentary leadership abilities or ambitions, but he certainly nudged out at least one Liberal preselection prospect who appeared to be precisely what the party needed for the future — a young, intelligent woman in BHP lawyer Emma Roberts.

While sketching a blueprint, the Liberals should encourage talented Upper House MP Tjorn Sibma, aged 41, to move downstairs. He has the smarts to be a minister and the passion to hold the Government to account in the meantime.

Now is the time to start courting a cohort of candidates with an eye on the future because there is no time like the present.