Unless some of the smartest people in the financial world are misreading their tea leaves, Australia’s new prime minister, Tony Abbott, has done more than win an election – he’s won the keys to a new era of solid economic growth.
A coalition win on Saturday will bring added responsibilities for a quartet of WA Liberals, but what it means for Colin Barnett down the track is another matter.
The debate around Liberal leader Tony Abbott’s paid parental leave scheme is another example of how it often takes someone on the wrong side of the political divide to achieve things.
Events of the past week have shown that governments in Perth and Canberra face an enormous task getting their budgets under control, no matter which party is in power.
If a political leader in election mode was looking for a sensible road project to fund, they could offer to improve the key industrial exit roads heading north out of Perth.