The long summer parliamentary recess is usually welcomed as a time for governments to down tools and avoid tough scrutiny and relentless political attack.

It generally presents as a good chance for a government to reset.

Instead, just 11 months into its first term, the McGowan Government will limp back into Parliament when it kicks off for the year on Tuesday having lurched from crisis to crisis in the past few weeks — and most have been self-made.

The parliamentary break started on the wrong footing when Education Minister Sue Ellery called a press conference to announce $64 million in cuts to education funding.

Many of the cuts announced hit a raw nerve not only in regional electorates but with city voters and the Government was quickly facing a public relations disaster of epic magnitude.

Ironically some of the cuts the Government announced, including to shut the Schools of the Air, had been proposed before to other governments by senior bureaucrats in the Education Department.

Other governments had been politically astute enough to immediately rule them out because they realised the sensitivities.

From backlash to backflip

The public backlash gathered momentum over the Christmas and New Year break helped by a highly organised campaign run by rural folk who, with the help of the WA Nationals, painted the Government as anti-country.

Such was the enormity of the backlash that less than a month later Ms Ellery, this time flanked by Premier Mark McGowan, was back out in front of the TV cameras, this time announcing a backflip.

It was no small backflip — $23 million of the most controversial cuts were reversed, the other $41million remained.

Just a couple of days later when the Government should have been basking in the previous Barnett government's glory with the impending opening of the new Perth Stadium, it was instead battling another PR wildfire.

This time a public furore over an issue that had long been flagged — a potential cap on spectators to what was at that time a potential Scorchers semi-final.

In a quiet news period the story caused the Government needless grief for days.

Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said the proposal was based on advice from the public transport authorities. One argument made was that without it, regular commuter services would be heavily disrupted.

It was a message not reinforced enough and largely lost on the WA public.

A potential cap on crowd numbers at the new stadium caused needless grief. ( ABC News: Jarrod Lucas )

Most were excited about the new 60,000-seat stadium, so hearing that one of the first sporting games there would have numbers capped at 40,000 did not impress.

It appeared to be another case where the Government failed to clearly explain to the public the rationale for its position, and by the time it started to, the public relations damage had already been done.

Again in the face of a public backlash, the Government scrapped the proposed cap.

Lead tests poison message

Just as the worm should have been turning for the Government, another self-made problem blew up.

The media were invited as the Education Minister welcomed students back to the first day of school.

What should have been a positive story quickly turned sour when Ms Ellery used the press conference to announce students at a number of new schools were going to be given bottled water because test results for lead had not been completed in time.

Education Minister Sue Ellery (left) and Education Department director-general Sharyn O'Neill discuss the lead levels detected in water at some Perth schools. ( ABC News: Jacob Kagi )

In and of itself it was a minor issue, and seemingly the precautionary measure taken by the Government was the best one in the circumstances.

But again the messaging from the Government appeared to miss the mark.

Ms Ellery and later the Premier, pointed the finger of blame at the relevant departments because the minister had been assured the test results would be ready in time and that "it was all under control".

The Premier said it was the Education Department and Building Management and Works that had done "a bad job".

That may well be the case, but ministers are not paid to just blindly accept the advice of their departments. They're expected to query what they're being told.

Many a dumped former minister will attest to the fact it is not politically smart to be captive to one's department.

Barry Urban report to intensify heat

When Parliament returns on Tuesday, Government MPs will be confronted by a protest over the remaining education cuts, particularly the closure of Moora Residential College.

And within weeks a much-anticipated powerful parliamentary committee report into the extent of former Labor MP Barry Urban's untruthfulness about his past and qualifications will be tabled in Parliament.

A report into Barry Urban (r) is due within weeks. ( Facebook: Barry Urban MLA )

Mr Urban may now sit as an independent, but Labor got him elected to Parliament and they can't expect that cutting ties overcomes that uncomfortable political reality.

The Government has struggled strategically in recent weeks to even manage much ado about nothing.

With the honeymoon period now well and truly over, you have to wonder how it will cope when the heat really turns up.