Terrible but not entirely unexpected news from the WA election on March 8, with the gun-hating ALP re-elected by a massive margin; it took the ABC a little over two hours to call the results based on expert analysis from the highly respected Anthony Green.
There’s no sugar-coating it: For shooters, it is an unmitigated catastrophe; the ALP are back with a supermajority and can essentially do whatever they like until 2029 at least.
While The Nationals did manage to win one additional seat (possibly two; counting was still ongoing at time of writing with the Nationals having a slight lead in the seat of Warren-Blackwood), the openly pro-gun Libertarians, Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, and One Nation parties all failed to gain any meaningful traction - essentially sending a loud and clear message that shooters in WA have no political weight and can safely be ignored, as the Government has been doing for some time anyway.
The results of the Upper House paint a similar picture, with openly pro-gun Independent MP Louise Kingston losing her seat and The Greens looking to have the balance of power - not a good situation for shooters at all, and only somewhat mitigated by the pro-gun Nationals getting two seats and One Nation receiving one as well.
We hate to say it, but if you are a shooter living in Western Australia, it may be time to leave if you can.
Just to be clear: we’re not giving up, but we have to be realistic that there’s severe limits on what can be accomplished in the current WA political climate.
