Former prime minister Tony Abbott delivers brutal spray at WA Liberals, Zak Kirkup after State election loss

Tony Abbott has launched a blistering attack on the State Liberal Party saying the thumping election loss was “inevitable with a leader on training wheels and policy lifted from the Greens”. The former prime minister, who has most recently been working in London as an adviser to the UK Board of Trade, was in Perth last night rallying party faithful in the southern Perth electorate of Canning held by Andrew Hastie. Writing for The West Australian today Mr Abbott gives a searing dissection of what led to the Liberal Party being decimated from 13 seats in the Legislative Assembly to just two, and suffering the additional blow of Zak Kirkup being the first WA Liberal Party leader to lose his seat in 88 years. “As a political philosophy, (the) ‘if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em’ is a recipe not just for defeat but for ruination because what’s the point of a party which is hardly different from Labor,” Mr Abbott writes. He said the Liberal Party was “only full of former political staffers ... insulated from life in the real world”. “Some elections are hard to win; but you guarantee defeat by announcing beforehand that you’re doomed — as anyone who’s ever played in a footy team where the coach has proclaimed that you’re losers would have known,” Mr Abbott writes. The 28th Prime Minister of Australia who was politically knifed by Malcolm Turnbull served in the nation’s top job from 2013 to 2015. Mr Abbott was key in jettisoning SAS commando Mr Hastie into the seat of Canning following the former member Don Randall’s death. He also was successful in Opposition from 2009 to 2013 in destabilising the Rudd-Gillard Labor governments. Mr Abbott urged the State Liberals to “not wallow in self-pity or recriminations ... and not dream of some saviour from outside because effective politicians are made, not born; and politics is about making a difference, not a personality cult.” He said Liberal leader David Honey needed to remind West Australians why the party was important. “The first thing the party needs to do now is have the leader spend the next 12 months visiting the whole state and every branch encouraging all members and key supporters to say why they’re Liberals and what they expect from government,” Mr Abbott writes. He said the party had to assure voters they would never betray their “decent and wholesome” core instincts. “Most will say that they want lower taxes, and less interference; then they’ll say that they want more respect for the individual who works hard and for people who stick together; eventually they’ll say that they’re proud of the country that’s made them and that gives everyone a fair go if only they’re prepared to have a go too,” he writes. “There should be no opposition for opposition’s sake because even bad governments will get much right on a day-to-day basis; and no anxiety about low poll numbers because no one outside politics wants to hear from you for the first 12 months anyway.” Mr Abbott said inevitably Labor ministers in the McGowan Government would take “political correctness to ridiculous lengths” and that there would be “too many public servants building empires to themselves”. “With a majority in both houses, the government will inevitably over-step and become arrogant as the Premier may have already, in deciding there’s no one worthy of being treasurer. Then, the opposition can pounce,” he writes. “Above all, every Liberal needs to encourage men and women of demonstrated character, conviction and courage to run for parliament — more people like Andrew Hastie, in fact. “They don’t all have to agree but they have to be capable of working with each other as a team.“None of this guarantees success; but it maximises your chances, because striving to be your best is all anyone can reasonably expect, even of a political party.” Mr Abbott visits WA before Scott Morrison who was absent during the election campaign and hasn’t visited the west since 2019.