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14877
Mon, 08/04/2008 - 21:03
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http://m.oananews.org//node/14877
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Buswell quits as WA opposition leader
Western Australia's Liberal opposition is in turmoil following the resignation of its embattled leader, Troy Buswell, just months out from the state election.
The 40-year-old first-term MP, best known for his chair sniffing and bra snapping antics, stepped down to make way for the Liberals' fifth leadership change in less than four years.
"I've made the decision today to resign ... because I believe it's in the best interests of the Liberal party," Mr Buswell told a press conference on Monday.
"There is a massive political opportunity at the next state election and I think I owe it to our candidates, to my fellow members of parliament and to the Liberal party to make sure that we have every opportunity to win government."Mr Buswell, who withstood two Liberal leadership spills in his six months as leader, says he made the decision to quit last week, as speculation mounted that former opposition leader and minister Colin Barnett may return to the helm.
Mr Barnett, MP for the blue ribbon seat of Cottesloe for the past 18 years, announced some time ago that he would not contest the next election, but has recently been reported as saying he would accept a recall to the leadership if he was unopposed.
A seat would have to be found for high-profile candidate Deidre Willmott, who has already been preselected to take over from Mr Barnett.
In June this year, Newspoll put Mr Buswell's satisfaction rating at 26 per cent, compared with Premier Alan Carpenter's rating of 53 per cent.
Mr Buswell has denied that more recent Liberal party polling shows his leadership is affecting the Liberal vote.
"It didn't show that," Mr Buswell told reporters.
"I have formed a view, a very strong view that we have a far better chance of election victory if there's a change."But Mr Buswell's missteps, such as sniffing a female staffer's chair in 2005 and snapping the bra of a Labor staffer last October, have taken their toll since coming to light this year.
"There's no doubt that those issues have made it difficult for us as a political party to obtain the clear air that we need," Mr Buswell told journalists.
"Do those issues mean that I am uncapable or unfit to lead the state of Western Australia? I don't think so.
"However I have an obligation to the Liberal Party to do everything I can to rid them of this rotten government."Liberal Party state president Barry Court thanked Mr Buswell and said the party respected his decision.
"Troy has worked hard as leader in difficult circumstances and has put the Liberal Party in a strong position to contest the state election," Mr Court said.
The resignation of the fourth opposition leader since the last election could hamper Liberal efforts to claw back public support.
The successive failures in the party's leadership have been widely seen by commentators as the reason government scandals and corruption hearings have not made an impact on the polls.
Several ministers have been sacked, stood down or demoted over the leaking of information to lobbyists Julian Grill and Brian Burke or related Corruption and Crime Commission investigations.
But the Carpenter Labor government has also corrected a gerrymander in the Legislative Assembly - a move that could see it win new seats.
Eight new electorates were created in the Perth metropolitan area and six were removed from regional areas.
Mr Buswell's resignation is certain to affect the Labor Party's decision on the timing of the state election, due by May next year at the latest.
Ten of the last 13 state elections have been held in February, with two held in March and one only held in the last six months of the year, in December 1996.
The 40-year-old first-term MP, best known for his chair sniffing and bra snapping antics, stepped down to make way for the Liberals' fifth leadership change in less than four years.
"I've made the decision today to resign ... because I believe it's in the best interests of the Liberal party," Mr Buswell told a press conference on Monday.
"There is a massive political opportunity at the next state election and I think I owe it to our candidates, to my fellow members of parliament and to the Liberal party to make sure that we have every opportunity to win government."Mr Buswell, who withstood two Liberal leadership spills in his six months as leader, says he made the decision to quit last week, as speculation mounted that former opposition leader and minister Colin Barnett may return to the helm.
Mr Barnett, MP for the blue ribbon seat of Cottesloe for the past 18 years, announced some time ago that he would not contest the next election, but has recently been reported as saying he would accept a recall to the leadership if he was unopposed.
A seat would have to be found for high-profile candidate Deidre Willmott, who has already been preselected to take over from Mr Barnett.
In June this year, Newspoll put Mr Buswell's satisfaction rating at 26 per cent, compared with Premier Alan Carpenter's rating of 53 per cent.
Mr Buswell has denied that more recent Liberal party polling shows his leadership is affecting the Liberal vote.
"It didn't show that," Mr Buswell told reporters.
"I have formed a view, a very strong view that we have a far better chance of election victory if there's a change."But Mr Buswell's missteps, such as sniffing a female staffer's chair in 2005 and snapping the bra of a Labor staffer last October, have taken their toll since coming to light this year.
"There's no doubt that those issues have made it difficult for us as a political party to obtain the clear air that we need," Mr Buswell told journalists.
"Do those issues mean that I am uncapable or unfit to lead the state of Western Australia? I don't think so.
"However I have an obligation to the Liberal Party to do everything I can to rid them of this rotten government."Liberal Party state president Barry Court thanked Mr Buswell and said the party respected his decision.
"Troy has worked hard as leader in difficult circumstances and has put the Liberal Party in a strong position to contest the state election," Mr Court said.
The resignation of the fourth opposition leader since the last election could hamper Liberal efforts to claw back public support.
The successive failures in the party's leadership have been widely seen by commentators as the reason government scandals and corruption hearings have not made an impact on the polls.
Several ministers have been sacked, stood down or demoted over the leaking of information to lobbyists Julian Grill and Brian Burke or related Corruption and Crime Commission investigations.
But the Carpenter Labor government has also corrected a gerrymander in the Legislative Assembly - a move that could see it win new seats.
Eight new electorates were created in the Perth metropolitan area and six were removed from regional areas.
Mr Buswell's resignation is certain to affect the Labor Party's decision on the timing of the state election, due by May next year at the latest.
Ten of the last 13 state elections have been held in February, with two held in March and one only held in the last six months of the year, in December 1996.
