WA: Carpenter expected to call September 6 election

AAP General News (Australia)
08-07-2008
WA: Carpenter expected to call September 6 election

PERTH, Aug 7 AAP - West Australian Premier Alan Carpenter is set to call an early election
and capitalise on turmoil within the state Liberal party.

A government spokesman has confirmed West Australians will go to the polls on September 6.

The election will be called this afternoon, one day after Opposition Leader Colin Barnett
was endorsed by his party as the fourth leader of the Liberals in less than four years.

Mr Barnett was still to unveil his shadow cabinet when it was announced that Mr Carpenter
would visit the Governor Ken Michael at 2.30pm (WST).

The premier has scheduled a press conference for 3.30pm.

Labor holds 30 seats in the 57-seat Legislative Assembly while the Greens and two independents
hold the balance of power in the Legislative Council.

The snap poll means an investigation by the Corruption and Crime Commission into links
between members of parliament and the disgraced former premier and lobbyist Brian Burke
will not be made public before the election.

It's understood the report was due to be released soon.

Mr Barnett has said he would make corruption a key plank of his campaign against the
government, and had warned Mr Carpenter not to call an election before the report was
handed down.

The poll is Mr Carpenter's first as premier, after being elected by caucus to lead
the parliamentary party in January 2006 after Geoff Gallop retired.

His government has faced several challenges, including the sacking, standing down or
demotion of ministers who had links with Mr Burke.

Edith Cowan University political analyst Peter van Onselen says Labor remains the favourite.

But he says the contest will now be much closer than if former leader Troy Buswell
was still at the helm, or if the government had waited longer after Mr Barnett's took
over from Mr Buswell yesterday.

"I think it's a cheap political move to try and take advantage of the leadership change
in the Liberal party, there's no doubt about that," Dr van Onselen said.

"But I think it's one that may backfire, because the Liberal party, their biggest problem
was their leader.

"Their policy construction was going along perfectly fine, so Colin Barnett has now
taken over a united team and he's also got bucketloads of credibility himself.

"So I think the Labor party are in for the fight of their lives at this election and
they're bringing it on sooner than they should have."

A recent electoral redistribution is viewed by analysts as being in Labor's favour.

AAP jp/was/imc/jlw

KEYWORD: POLLWA LEAD

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