WA Election 2017: WA Liberals do preference deal with One Nation

COLIN Barnett has described the Liberal Party’s preference deal with Pauline Hanson’s One Nation as a “sensible and pragmatic result”, saying his overriding aim was to beat Labor.

The Premier this morning confirmed details of a preference swap struck by the Liberal and One Nation parties yesterday, which he said would “give a buffer to some of our seats under challenge”.

Under the deal, the Liberals would direct its first preference to One Nation ahead of the National Party in Upper House regions, in return for Pauline Hanson’s party preferencing the Liberals ahead of Labor in each Lower House seats it contests.

The Liberals would still preference the Nationals first in the Lower House.

Mr Barnett came under pressure this morning to justify the deal given controversy surrounding One Nation candidates, including Dawesville hopeful Lawrence Shave advertising for “bikini baristas” and Pilbara candidate David Archibald belittling single mothers on welfare.

Senator Pauline Hanson also caused offence this week for lauding Vladimir Putin as a strong leader and shrugging off Russia’s alleged role in the downing of MH17, with 38 Australians on board, by saying “everyone’s done something”.

Mr Barnett said he was not going to run around criticising or defending candidates from other parties.

“That’s not my job. My only focus is on the Liberal party maximising our votes,” he said.

“I think (the One Nation deal) is a sensible and a pragmatic result.

As I’ve said consistently throughout this campaign, (for) the Liberal party, our opponent is the Labor Party, that’s what we’re after. So my task is to defeat the Labor Party and hopefully continue what I think is a very good government.”

Mr Barnett said he had not been part of negotiations but he’d “had a view and I’m satisfied with this outcome”. He had not yet discussed it with Brendon Grylls, the Leader of the National Party, which is said to be fuming over the deal cut by its alliance partner.

Deputy Premier Liza Harvey, who spoke publicly in the Sunday Times of her friendship with Scarborough couple Marite Norris and Anthony Maslin, who lost three three children and Ms Norris’ father on MH17, said Senator Hanson’s comments about Mr Putin and Russia were “not helpful”.

“I would implore Pauline Hanson to come and meet some of those survivors, the families who are left behind, because that grief and that loss is something that is not going to leave them,” she said.

Asked if she was comfortable with the preference deal, Mrs Harvey agreed “we have got to be pragmatic about this” and said she would deal with One Nation in the Upper House if necessary.

“I would deal with the people which have been chosen by the constituency in WA,” she said.

Opposition Leader Mark McGowan said Mr Barnett had previously ruled out a blanket deal with One Nation and “would do anything to get re-elected”.

Mr McGowan said Mr Barnett was “a desperate hypocrite” for encouraging people not to vote One Nation, but striking a deal with it.

“This is a desperate, sneaky political deal to try to save Mr Barnett’s hide,” Mr McGowan said.

“Understand this, all West Australians: if you vote for One Nation, that’s a vote for the Liberal Party, and if you vote for the Liberal Party, that’s a vote for One Nation.

“WA is now on the precipice. You can have a dysfunctional, chaotic Liberal-One Nation government or you can have a stable, competent WA Labor government.”

Mr McGowan said the deal showed the anti-establishment One Nation was “just another political party”.

“They said they wouldn’t support the privatisation of Western Power, yet they are supporting the Liberals,” he said.

“They said they’d stand against foreign workers taking WA jobs yet they are supporting the Liberals who support that.

If you want to support Western Power in public ownership and you want to make sure you preference local workers over foreign workers you need to support WA Labor because One Nation has done a deal with the devil.”

Senior federal minister Arthur Sinodinos yesterday left open the door for the Liberals to do further preference deals with One Nation, claiming Pauline Hanson’s party was was a “different beast” compared to two decades ago.

“They are a lot more sophisticated, they have clearly resonated with a lot of people,” said the Industry Minister, who is one of Malcolm Turnbull’s top confidantes.

“Our job is to treat them as any other party. That doesn't mean we have to agree with their policies.

“When it comes to preferencing, we have to make decisions - this in this case, a State decision, not a federal decision - based on the local circumstances.”

Senator Sinodinos, who was John Howard’s chief of staff in 2001 when the then prime minister decreed One Nation would be preferenced last, said Senator Hanson’s evolution was reflected by the media treating her more respectfully than campaigning against her.

“I find that quite interesting. They're taking [Senator Hanson] more seriously because they've realised she's also changed the way she operates,” he said.

But Opposition Leader Bill Shorten slammed the preference deal, saying political leaders have got to make a stand.

“I’m staggered that on one hand the Liberals spend so much time telling Australians they dislike One Nation’s policies but then they cuddle up to One Nation when the Liberals get desperate.

“Frankly, I’ll leave the One Nation/Liberal deal to the judgement of the Australian people. In politics you’ve got to stand for something. John Howard didn’t give his preferences to One Nation, I won’t give our preferences to One Nation.”

Mr McGowan made his remarks while highlighting the plight of Roleystone 60-year-old Joan Walker, who has been on the waiting list for a knee replacement for 10 months.

Labor said at the end of November 2016 there were 19,494 West Australians on the elective surgery waitlist, up from 17,168 in November 2015.

Ms Walker said the arthritic injury was very painful and depressing and she had no idea when the required surgery would occur.

“It’s unbelievable the disability that one missing leg can cause you,” she said.

The Government said in a statement there had been almost 7000 more elective surgery operations committed this year compared with the same period last year and WA’s elective surgery waitlists were among the lowest in the nation.