The way things are starting to go with the current loose coalition in WA, I think the wheels will start falling off soon. Barney wasn’t even a competent energy minister in the Court gov, and now he’s running the state. They are struggling to manage the 3% cuts to the budget. The govt should be driving this issue, not expecting the department heads to find the savings.

It’s so good to see the Liars trying to manage the WA economy in the current economic climate. They have always had it so easy governing in the good times, but never in the bad, well now they can have a go at stuffing things up.

I suspect WA will be going back to the polls in about six months, then we can kick out this mob that never got the majority vote. Alannah for Premier.

Kingmaker Brendon Grylls, new premier Colin Barnett and influential Independent Liz Constable were interviewed in that order by the ABC’s Geoff Hutchison and the support for Subiaco diminished with every new voice.

Though it should be noted that the article quoted was from September 15th, the basic thrust is still correct, there will be no Subi Stadium, unless the Nats can successfully move it to Northam

Ten minutes of ABC radio this morning sounded the death knell of the new Subiaco stadium.

Confirming that it is merely a naive cliché that sport and politics should not mix, particularly if the pollies are paying sport’s bills, three powerful interviewees potentially set back football’s cause by what could be decades.

WA football administrators have been apprehensive for the past week over the chances of the $1.1 billion stadium project continuing under a new State Government hamstrung by its commitment to the regional-focused Nationals.

Whether it was Labor or Liberal who formed Government, footy believed the stadium would be in the crosshairs if projects had to be dumped or rationalised to keep the Nationals sweet.

One or two footy bosses at the WAFL preliminary final on Saturday had moved from apprehension to outright pessimism about Subiaco being redeveloped.

They would have had good reason for their gloom if they were listening to the ABC today.

Kingmaker Brendon Grylls, new premier Colin Barnett and influential Independent Liz Constable were interviewed in that order by the ABC’s Geoff Hutchison and the support for Subiaco diminished with every new voice.

http://blogs.thewest.com.au/general/john-townsend-say-goodbye-to-new-subi-stadium/

Subi Post has more stuff about council amalgamations. Apparently Barnett would like to see Cottesloe and Mosman Park merge, and Nedlands and Claremont merge, but Peppermint Grove stay as it is, because it’s ‘the Monaco of WA’. *bangs head on desk* It also had an article from the Town of Cambridge, predictably saying that Cambridge should stay as is.

Ahh, don’t you love the Western Suburbs Mafia – talk about closed shops, and apparently according to the West, the lazy sods in the Shire of Peppermint Grove don’t even have to wheel their wheelie Bins to the roadside for collection, the garbos come to the backyard and collect them.

I don’t know the rules of funding for research officers, but that looks fair enough to me. Bowler and Woollard’s votes are necessary for anything the Liberals try to do (I guess Constable operates on the principle that she might as well be a Liberal), so it’s only natural that they’d be treated as quasi-government MP’s. It’s also pretty silly to say the Liberals are propping up Woollard when they tried so hard to win Alfred Cove back.

According to Today’s West, Labor didn’t fund Wollard, Constable or D’Orazio when they were in Govt.

Can’t post a link, it’s only in the dead tree version.

I wonder why the Greens are getting this cash? I thought half the point of the Nats going with the Libs was that they wouldn’t have to rely on the Greens’ votes in the upper house. Yay for extra money and all, but I don’t quite understand.

The Member for Pilbara Tom Stephens has told state parliament the payment of extra money for research purposes to John Bowler and Janet Wollard amounts to corruption and he is demanding an independent investigation.

According to budget papers, the pair, along with the Greens have been awarded an extra $1 million dollars to enable them to deal with Government legislation.

Mr Stephens says the payment to Independents is improper.

"Corruption that goes to the core of this Government where it has misallocated resources, resources that are being allocated in a differential manner that will support two Independent members of this house, two independent members of this house alone and prop them up additional resources and we need to know the details," he said.

"This is wrong. The Government should know its wrong.

"We on this side of the house know its wrong.

The CCC Commissioner will know its wrong and heads will roll.

"That's what the parliament should be about.

"Accountability should not be bought out in this way."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/03/18/2520071.htm

Any one on here been following the to my mind hysterical over reaction to the cops getting bashed and one seriously injured,and the Govt is introducing mandatory sentencing for assaults on Police.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out given the level of hysteria being whipped up by 2 second rate Talk Jocks on 6PR,Beaumont and Sattler have pushed this along as hard as they can.
I will be waiting to see how long before the local Police decided to test it out,though it will have one good point we will have a jail led boom as they build more,I don’t have a lot of confidence in the honesty and integrity of the WA cops,they have a history of shady dealings and gross incompetence and railroading Innocent people.

And I’m outraged by Mike Dean’s veiled threat to ensure the legislation is passed.

Change the law and we will back you,'' he said. ``Close your eyes and minds and ignore us and we will make your lives a nightmare.''

If it was Kevin Reynolds who said that, then the CFMEU would be before the ABCCC before you could say “Everybody Out”, yet the WA Police Union can get away with it.

Talk about Double Standards