14 July 2019
The job of Deputy Premier should be prestigious for any State politician, at least at first glance. But one wonders if the person currently holding the post in New South Wales, John Barilaro, considers it a poisoned chalice.
Barilaro became Deputy Premier at the same time that he became leader of the Nationals in NSW, in late 2016. It was at a bad time for the Nationals, who lost one of their safest seats, Orange, in a by-election. The loss was to a minor party proclaiming to represent shooters and fishers and farmers. That party took another two seats from the Nationals, Barwon and Murray, at a general election earlier this year.
Because of a perception that people in regional NSW aren’t getting much out of massive investment and economic improvement within the state, Barilaro has been making some noises about whether he might give up the job of Deputy Premier, assuming that it lets him and the Nationals take a stronger stand for the bush.
Barilaro actually seems to be seeking to emulate Brendan Grylls, who used to lead the Nationals in Western Australia, in what might seem like an unusual arrangement when you look at the Australian political landscape.
Just over ten years ago, the Liberal Party took power in WA after a close election result, while the Labor Party lost office after seven years there. But the Liberals didn’t obtain power like their counterparts elsewhere would’ve taken it.
You’d know about the Liberal-National Coalition which recently won a Federal election, and has governed in NSW for eight years. But the Coalition hasn’t existed in WA since early 2001. When the Liberals took power in WA in 2008, it was only through an alliance with the Nationals – rather than what we see at Federal level and in NSW.
Normally, the Coalition “splits” when it loses office in elections. The Liberals, with more seats, hold the jobs of both Opposition Leader and Deputy Opposition Leader, and the Nationals act separately in that sense. They still work together where possible, becoming the Coalition again if they win office at elections, and the leader of the Nationals takes the deputy leadership in power.
But in WA in 2008, with neither the Liberals nor Labor winning enough seats to govern alone, the Nationals had decided that they’d support the party willing to increase funds for regional WA in terms of economic growth and investment. This idea was described as “royalties for regions”. The Nationals had been prepared to support Labor if Labor had been willing to implement this policy. In the end, however, the Nationals gave their support to the Liberals, led by Colin Barnett, who duly implemented the policy.
Grylls was then leading the Nationals, but because he and Barnett and their parties were only in an alliance, although he and several Nationals became ministers in the Barnett Government, the job of Deputy Premier went to the Liberals.
The next election in WA, in 2013, saw the Liberals win a parliamentary majority. Despite this advantage, the Liberals maintained their alliance with the Nationals, meaning that Grylls and several colleagues stayed in the ministry.
Barnett did a pretty job as Premier, but he lost office at an election in 2017, while Grylls ended up losing his own seat.
Moreover, the notion of the Nationals being less than wholly supportive of the Liberals isn’t exactly new. Back in 2004, there was a National in the South Australian Parliament, who became a minister in the Rann Labor Government, which didn’t have a majority there. Although Labor later obtained a majority at an election, the National was retained as a minister until being defeated at a later election.
Barilaro, in his recent noises about having being more “independent” in his leadership regarding the Nationals, mightn’t have mentioned Grylls – assuming that he even knew about what Grylls did. But I can’t help thinking that he’d like to do what Grylls managed to do. I could suggest that, amid his discomfort at the loss of support for the Nationals lately, perhaps he’s burning or scorching over Grylls – if you’ll pardon the pun.
I also can’t help thinking that Barnaby Joyce, who was Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Nationals in Federal Parliament until last year, might’ve sought to be what Grylls was. After all, everybody knows Joyce to be a maverick willing to speak his mind, even though it puts him offside with the Liberals. But upon joining the Coalition frontbench, and later becoming leader of the Nationals, he virtually ceased to be his true self. Since resigning the leadership last year, he’s arguably become his true self again.
The troubles afflicting the Nationals might’ve unsettled Barilaro to the point of implying that he’d give up the job of Deputy Premier in NSW. I’m not convinced that he’ll actually do that. There’s no election due in NSW until 2023, so there’s time to clear up whatever messes happen before then. But Barilaro and the Nationals must be jittery to consider developing more of an independent streak, regardless of what the Liberals think.
electiontragic 