COLIN Barnett has never looked more relaxed. Gone are the suits, gone are the long parliamentary sittings — gone is the premiership.

Camera Icon Joe Spagnolo

These days the suits are mostly replaced with shorts and T-shirts (at least when I’ve seen him), and he spends more time tending to his sheep in Toodyay, rather than mingling with former or present politicians.

When I bumped into him walking along the Cottesloe foreshore last Sunday, I joked with him that about the only person who had not taken credit for WA’s $4.7 billion GST windfall was the Pope.

Although I expect a statement from the Vatican soon.

Barnett was quick to point out that he had not partaken of the very public back slapping that took place last week regarding WA’s GST windfall.

But while Barnett has decided not to put his hand up for GST glory, one could not blame him if he chose to gloat about the success of the infrastructure he built for Perth during his premiership years of 2008-2017.

In particular, Barnett would have every right to give a big “I Told You So” in regards to locating Perth’s new sporting stadium at Burswood, rather than Subiaco.

Optus Stadium is arguably the most important piece of infrastructure built for Perth in years — both in terms of putting sleepy Perth not just on the map in terms of sport and entertainment in Australia, but around the world.

(Incidentally, yours truly always believed the stadium should have been built at Subiaco in order to stop that part of Perth from dying).

Barnett’s tenure as premier of Western Australia did not end well.

He suffered the biggest election defeat in the history of WA politics.

There were a few reasons for this.

He should have handed over the leadership of the WA Liberal Party prior to the 2017 poll, and of course winning a third term of government — especially in the modern era — is almost impossible.

But of course, Barnett’s biggest Achilles’ heel was his propensity to spend big.

His almost “she’ll be right mate” attitude worked very well for him in 2008-2013, but beyond that his financial plan — or lack of — didn’t cut it with voters as the State’s AAA credit rating was lost and State debt went from $3.6billion to nearly $30billion — and rising.

But with WA’s financial woes now on their way to being fixed, courtesy of the GST fix, you now have to wonder how Barnett’s legacy will be seen in generations to come.

Question: Will history record Barnett as a poor accountant, or as a marvellous builder who changed the face of Perth?

Somehow, I think the latter is the most likely.

And that’s because as the State’s finances improve, more focus will go on what Barnett built during his nine-year-tenure rather than his economic record.

And there is plenty to point to.

Apart from a new stadium, Perth now has a new children’s hospital, Elizabeth Quay, Yagan Square and Perth City Link.

Barnett was a stubborn premier — and it cost him dearly.

Had he sold Western Power before the 2017 election, he could have gone to that election able to boast that he also had a plan to pay down State debt.

But that stubbornness also paid handsome dividends for both Barnett — and WA.

When he won power in 2008, he canned Alan Carpenter’s proposal for a new stadium at Subiaco and went for a new stadium at Burswood.

This was despite the fact that former under-treasurer John Langoulant’s investigation into the best locations for a new stadium had recommended the former East Perth power station site, and Kitchener Park, next to the Subiaco Oval, as the best sites.

That stubbornness delivered the magnificent Optus Stadium and Barnett deserves every accolade he gets for that.

They say time heals all wounds.

And Barnett is healing nicely.