WA Labor is treating Zak Kirkup like the Harry Potter villain Lord Voldemort — he who must not be named

Labor is treating Zak Kirkup like the Harry Potter villain Lord Voldemort — he who must not be named. Mark McGowan has been asked several times in the past week about his young rival since Kirkup’s elevation to Opposition Leader Not once have I heard the Premier make direct reference to Kirkup by name. That’s telling, because McGowan was never shy to talk about Liza Harvey or Colin Barnett when mounting a political attack. Instead, he’s so far only contrasted Labor as “safe and strong” with the “inexperienced and risky” Liberals. Privately, Labor strategists acknowledge that while Kirkup is inexperienced, he’s a seasoned campaigner who can match them for work ethic. Labor don’t appear spooked by Kirkup, yet, but it was hard not to be cynical when a press conference was yesterday called in Mandurah for the Premier to appear alongside Labor’s candidate in Dawesville. Apparently the Peel Health Campus funding announcement had been in the diary well before Kirkup’s promotion but I fully expect the one-hour drive to Mandurah will become a regular occurrence for Perth’s media pack. While Kirkup’s seat of Dawesville doesn’t top the list of Labor’s target seats, they will want to keep the 33-year-old in his electorate defending his slim 0.9 per cent margin. The theory being that the more time he’s in Mandurah, the less time he can spend crisscrossing WA in support of Liberal candidates. Kirkup’s got off to an enthusiastic start, but the real test — substantial policy — is still to come.