FEDERAL Labor's woes played a significant role in tainting the party's West Australian election bid, helping to deliver a crushing defeat to state opposition leader Mark McGowan.
The polls had pointed to a landslide win on Saturday for the WA Liberals, but even Premier Colin Barnett, dubbed the Emperor for his decisive and autocratic approach, appeared taken aback by the magnitude of his sweeping victory.
The Liberals, who will once again form a coalition with the Nationals, kept all of the 24 seats they won at the 2008 election, secured a further seven seats and a few were still up for grabs, Mr Barnett said in his victory speech.
With three quarters of the vote counted late on Saturday night, the Liberals had enjoyed a swing of 8.5 per cent which could translate into many as 40 seats for the coalition to Labor's 19.
It was one of the state's - and perhaps the nation's - most swiftly called elections.
Also swift was a comment by deputy federal opposition leader Julie Bishop that the WA election results reflected poorly on Labor's brand.
So too was a brutally frank admission by defence minister Stephen Smith that federal Labor had not helped Mr McGowan, who, despite a strong campaign, could not achieve an extremely rare defeat of a first term government.
Mr Smith said Saturday's result in the west proved the Labor party had many issues to work on before the federal election on September 14.
"We've had a tough time federally - you don't need to be a rocket scientist to work that out - and there's no doubt we have been a drag on Mark and there's no doubt that we haven't been helpful," Mr Smith said.
"We have a range of tough political issues to work through between now and September.
"It will go down to the wire."
Mr Barnett said the resounding result was a combination of his good government and a distaste for Labor federally.
"I think Labor is on the nose to a lot of people, and that was a factor," Mr Barnett said.
"I think the message, if there is one, is that you need to make decisions, for the good of the economy and the good of the people."
The Liberals were poised to claim the previous safe Labor seat of Perth, along with winning Joondalup, Forrestfield, Balcatta and Belmont from Labor.
Deputy Opposition leader Roger Cook admitted there had been some damage from the federal government.
"To what extent it had a role to play in the state election is very difficult to say," he said.
Ms Bishop also said state Labor had put all of its eggs in one basket with its ambitious Metronet suburban rail plan, whereas the government ran local campaigns seat by seat.
But Mr McGowan said he was proud of the values that were reflected in his party's policies, which aimed to support West Australians in the regions as well as in the suburbs.
"I think we did a good job," he said.
"I know that we need to provide those basic core services, those basic facilities where people live in an expanding, growing state like Western Australia, and that was the vision we took to the election."
WA Treasurer Troy Buswell, who had been personally attacked by the Labor party in the last week of the campaign, said the tactic backfired.
"It's pretty un-Australian to play the man - I don't think West Australians have taken too kindly to that," Mr Buswell said.
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