Post by truthIf he ever dares to step foot there, they will tear him into bits.
Not broke yet, but getting there
Amanda O'Brien | March 07, 2009
Article from: The Australian
THERE was chortling in the aisles this week when Colin Barnett gave
business leaders a glimpse of his life at the top table when he meets
the other premiers.
Australia's only Liberal Premier clearly feels at odds. But it has
nothing to do with politics. Barnett's dilemma, he says, is economic might.
He sits at the table and sees blue sky; his Labor counterparts sit
looking at their shoes. It's a vivid image; you can almost see the
400-strong business audience picturing the other premiers in their
states of despair and feeling a lift, as Barnett intended.
Barnett likens the carnage in other states to an infectious disease,
urging people to take precautions so they aren't struck down. "We're
different," he told the business crowd. "We need to recognise that and
make sure we don't get completely drawn into the negativity that's around."
Talking up the economy is a calculated strategy. With money still in the
kitty, albeit less than previous years, and investment and growth still
happening, at least to a degree, Barnett has reason to feel better than
most.
But the tactic is also dangerous, as the Premier is finding out as his
double act with Treasurer Troy Buswell slowly unravels under the weight
of mixed messages and community angst.
As he spruiked the economy to business this week, chaos reigned in the
wings, where departments and agencies are fighting an increasingly dirty
war to try to keep their budgets intact.
The main weapon is fear. If the 3 per cent cuts the Government has
demanded of them go through, services will be cut, we are constantly
told. Patients won't be washed in hospitals; police will have to axe
patrols; heaven knows what will happen to schools.
This week it reached a dismal crescendo when the Premier announced he
was sending in Treasury officials to trawl through police activities to
cut the fat after Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan indicated he
couldn't do it without affecting frontline services. O'Callaghan is
highly respected and the insinuation that he wasn't trying did the
Premier no credit. The Opposition was quick to jump in, with police
spokeswoman Margaret Quirk demanding Barnett respect age-old protocols.
"It's a major concern that the Premier doesn't appreciate that police
need to have some separation from political control," Quirk said.
For months since the global slide began, Barnett has been the good cop,
focusing on the positives and claiming blue sky ahead. Buswell has been
the bad cop, appearing at media conferences looking bleak and worried as
he tosses out warnings like grenades. The state's finances, he says, are
a mess. Spending must be slashed or the state will be toast.
No one in WA knows what to think any more. They see a nickel mine close,
costing 1800 jobs, but then a new fertiliser plant is announced,
creating 1500 jobs. Another surplus is revealed -- $800 million in just
six months -- yet spending is unsustainable and the state's AAA credit
rating is at risk. The economy is fundamentally sound but apprentices
are losing their jobs. And Australia is on the brink of recession as
exports slump, but the main export state apparently will ride out the storm.
Perhaps it's time to cross your fingers and hope Barnett is right.