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Joe Spagnolo

Opinion: Patrick Gorman’s opposition to Roger Cook’s Burswood racetrack has gone down like a lead balloon.

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Political DisharmonyComments
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The September of discontent: WA infighting hits new high

So what’s going on? Lovers’ tiffs or something a little bit more serious?

JOE SPAGNOLO

Optus CEO Stephen Rue speaks to media following outage 7NEWS

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OpinionComments
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Optus outage: Sorry just isn’t good enough with four deaths

‘I am so sorry for your loss’ - Those were the words on Saturday from Optus CEO Stephen Rue to the families of four Australians, two from WA, who died after unsuccessful attempts to get through to 000.

Joe Spagnolo

Opinion: Sussan Ley will need to win over her WA colleagues if she is to keep the top job.

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Ley under pressureCommentsPremium
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The two WA MPs Sussan Ley will need to keep her job

Joe Spagnolo: If Sussan Ley is to keep her job as Federal Opposition Leader, she will need to win over two of her WA colleagues.

Joe Spagnolo

John Carey has become the Mr MacGyver of the Labor government, writes Joe Spagnolo.

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OpinionCommentsPremium
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Roger Cook’s ‘MacGyver’ is feeling the heat

I have a question for readers. Which Government minister has been handed the proverbial s..t sandwich? Need a hint? He likes to pull every lever.

Joe Spagnolo

Opinion: Michaelia Cash normally stays on script. But she appears to have differing views to Sussan Ley on welcome to country and flag recognition issues.

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Political FrictionCommentsPremium
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Cash deviates from Ley script ahead of community visit

Michaelia Cash is normally on script. It’s interesting that she deviated from Sussan Ley's this week.

Joe Spagnolo

Opinion: Roger Cook wants us to have two additional public holidays a year. But do we really need them?

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Public Holiday DebateComments
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Harley holiday: Why not?

For mine, a more important debate is the appropriateness of the Australia Day public holiday - albeit that is a national issue and one which will take great courage to properly address. 

JOE SPAGNOLO

Ley has two years to prove she can at least be competitive at the expected 2028 Federal poll, writes Joe Spagnolo.

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Joe SpagnoloCommentsPremium
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Will Ley do a better job at wooing WA than Dutton?

For mine, Sussan Ley has two years to prove she can at least be competitive at the expected 2028 Federal poll.

Joe Spagnolo

Opinion: Dom Sheed showed us that if life presents you with that once in a lifetime opportunity - you need to take it.

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Joe SpagnoloComments
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What can we learn from life’s ‘what ifs?’

Dom Sheed had a chance at footy immortality and took it. It will be interesting to see whether Rita Saffioti or Amber-Jade Sanderson also manage to nail that kick from the boundary.

JOE SPAGNOLO

National Party leader Shane Love.

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Joe SpagnoloComments
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Opposition spat sure to get an ‘F-bomb’

I don’t reckon Trump’s the only political leader to drop the F-bomb this week. I reckon Basil Zempilas would have dropped quite a few during the course of the week, albeit in private.

Joe Spagnolo

Labor appears keen to move on from the Mark McGowan era with Roger Cook and Rita Saffioti taking the state in a new direction.

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Joe SpagnoloComments
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Cook moves on from Mark McGowan’s Labor

It appears Roger Cook is going all out to ensure the public is aware, there is a new sherif in town, and that Mark McGowan is well and truly part of Labor history.

Joe Spagnolo

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and WA Premier Roger Cook will reunite in Perth this week.

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JOE SPAGNOLO CommentsPremium
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The tale of two parties played out in Perth

Get ready for the Albanese-Cook selfie this week. These are good times for State and Federal Labor. 

Joe Spagnolo

Nationals leader David Littleproud and Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie.

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Joe SpagnoloCommentsPremium
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Nationals must heed debacle in WA

David Littleproud need only to look across the Nullarbor to see just how not to do it.

Joe Spagnolo

NCA 2025 FEDERAL ELECTION BUS. 1/05/2025 Australian Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese In Perth visit Winthrop Primary School Premier Roger Cook Jason Edwards / NewsWire

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Joe SpagnoloCommentsPremium
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Joe Spagnolo: Albanese-Cook 40 year bromance put to the test

How Cook and Albanese navigate their four-decade friendship against the backdrop of expectations from their respective voters will be interesting to watch.

JOE SPAGNOLO

“Am I naive to think that as a result of two elections there may be a fairer WA, where a wider spread of people gets a better deal?” says Joe Spagnolo.

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OpinionCommentsPremium
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Thank God the political war is over for weary WA

I think I speak for most West Australians when I say: ‘Thank God that’s over.’

JOE SPAGNOLO

Peter Dutton at Mt Pleasant during one of his Perth visits.

OpinionPremiumDutton’s rehabilitation tour of WA tarnished by the past

The Opposition Leader tried to soften his image and win the WA love by visiting the west as much as he could. But that didn’t work.

Joe Spagnolo

World events and a poor election campaign probably means Peter Dutton won’t be celebrating come Saturday night.

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OpinionCommentsPremium
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Peter Dutton afforded no favours in dying days of campaign

In what was the all-important second-last week of the campaign, another significant world event made it even harder for Dutton to get any traction with voters.

Joe Spagnolo

In 13 days we will find out whether Dutton won over WA — or at least some of it.

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Joe SpagnoloCommentsPremium
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Dutton in trouble if he loses big in WA

There is every chance that if Dutton bombs here in the west on May 3, he will no longer be leader of the Federal Liberal Party.

Joe Spagnolo

Basil Zempilas carries a photo of his late father Anthony into the WA Parliament.

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New Parliament CommentsPremium
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Basil set up to face Labor’s evil spirits

Throughout the course of my 20 years of reporting on WA politics, I’ve often thought I had seen it all. But I have to say, Basil Zempilas’ first day at the office had a bit of originality about it.

Joe Spagnolo

Bet you Albo falling off a stage wasn’t in his re-election script.

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Joe SpagnoloCommentsPremium
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Labor chaos not in re-election script

As the saying goes, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

Joe Spagnolo

WA voted red, with Anthony Albanese’s Labor Party able to take the Liberal seats of Swan, Hasluck, Pearce and Tangney and, in the process, form a majority government.

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Joe SpagnoloCommentsPremium
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It’s a whole different world in WA this Federal election

Has Albo repaid the faith West Australians had in him three years ago? We are about to find out.

Joe Spagnolo

Former WA Liberal Party leader Libby Mettam must retain health in a Liberal shadow ministry.

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Joe SpagnoloCommentsPremium
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Mettam must keep health in Liberal shake-up

Former WA Liberal Party leader Libby Mettam must retain health in a Liberal shadow ministry.

Joe Spagnolo

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

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Joe SpagnoloCommentsPremium
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Why Albanese not coming to WA is no real blow for Cook

The fact that Anthony Albanese was a no-show in WA during the election campaign proper confirms what polling is showing — the PM ain’t as popular as he used to be here in the wild, wild west.

Joe Spagnolo

Barring divine intervention, Roger Cook’s Labor Party will win next Saturday’s election.

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Joe SpagnoloCommentsPremium
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Labor must lift game after poll

Barring divine intervention, Roger Cook’s Labor Party will win next Saturday’s election.

Joe Spagnolo

Premier Roger Cook needs an emphatic victory on March 8 to command authority over the party, writes Joe Spagnolo.

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State Election CommentsPremium
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Roger Cook has a lot to live up to after 2021 bloodbath

What’s Roger Cook’s pass mark at this election? Cook is like a guy who becomes the new coach of a footy side, just after they have won a premiership.

Joe Spagnolo