The WA election campaign has been about big promises, but culture wars are inescapable in contemporary politics
- Written by The Conversation
The Western Australian election is less than a week away, and two themes have dominated: big public spending and culture wars.
The main parties are racking up a long and expensive list of policy promises. The ABC’s election promise tracker shows big spending in suburban road upgrades, improving school access and infrastructure, responding to domestic and family violence, and addressing undercapacity in WA’s health system. The combined promised spend of Labor, Liberals, Nationals and the Greens is estimated to exceed A$16 billion.
Appeals to fiscal restraint have been quiet. Labor is trumpeting its responsible economic management, while the Liberals are promising to “set the right priorities”. There is little talk of slashing and saving.
The combination of the cost-of-living crisis and WA’s strong economy has dampened the public’s appetite for austerity. It has also provided the parties with the cover to spend without seeming fiscally reckless.
While the policy priorities between the parties are broadly similar, there remain significant differences.
Policy debates on housing and climate
In housing, for example, all parties promise to slash stamp duty for first home buyers, but their proposals otherwise differ:
For climate policy, the differences are starker. Labor promises a coal-free grid by 2030 and a green energy future built in WA, driven by windfarms and WA-made home batteries. It stops short at reducing natural gas use, unlike the Greens.
However, Labor has also pushed back against environmental regulation. Premier Roger Cook lobbied the federal government to abandon environmental protection legislation.
The recent release of a long-withheld independent report that prompted sweeping changes to the WA Environmental Protection Agency was criticised by conservation organisations for its lack of consultation outside of the mining industry.
The Liberals agree on the need for batteries and wind power. However, they also promise to extend the lifespan of WA’s coal power stations and lift the ban on uranium mining in WA.
In her campaign launch speech, Liberal leader Libby Mettam pledged to cut “green tape” and defund the Environmental Defenders Office. This is on the grounds that “taxpayer money should not be spent propping up activists”.
The culture wars cometh
Mettam’s choice to target “activists” signals the Liberals’ flirtation with the culture wars. This term refers to conflict over social issues concerning identity and inclusion such as gender, race and sexuality. These issues are invoked by politicians to win votes from a polarised electorate.
Centre-right parties around the world have embraced culture wars, including in Australia.
Aligning herself with federal Liberal leader Peter Dutton, Mettam has stated she will refuse to stand in front of the First Nations flags.
She’s also promised to “ban the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormone treatments and surgical intervention for children under the age of 16 for the purpose of gender transition” and launch a comprehensive review of these treatments.
Mettam has stated she will refuse to stand in front of the First Nations flags.
AAP Image/Richard Wainwright
There are incentives for the Liberals to engage in culture war tactics.
Labor’s electoral position is stable. It also holds a dominant share of political donations. Public desire for big spending is limiting the effectiveness of traditional conservative attacks on Labor’s economic management.
The Liberals may perceive culture-war signalling as their most viable strategy for winning government. And, if the results of recent elections around the world are anything to go by, then “anti-woke” politics is surging.
Scandals involving various Liberal candidates further deepen the perception the Liberals are engaged in culture wars.
Albany candidate Thomas Brough was ordered to take workplace training with the Australian Human Rights Commission after making comments falsely linking the LGBTQIA+ community with paedophilia. Brough (who is a doctor) was referred to the State Administrative Tribunal by the Medical Board for the comments.
Brough also came under fire for suggesting a “posse” of regional doctors would help gun owners navigate new stricter gun laws introduced by Labor. Brough has not been asked by the party to resign.
Similarly, a rising star for the Liberals and candidate for Churchlands, Basil Zempilas, made widely condemned comments about transgender people on his radio show in 2020, shortly after becoming Lord Mayor of Perth. Apologising after, he said he had “forgotten he was lord mayor”.
The party also preselected candidates whose digital footprints revealed unpalatable views.
During an awkward press conference, Darling Range candidate Paul Mansfield was confronted with what the ABC described as “a series of derogatory social media posts, including homophobic slurs and two lewd posts about women”.
Kimberley candidate Darren Spackman was asked to leave the party after derogatory social media posts he made in 2022 about Indigenous people were republished.
The preselection of these candidates could be written off as the reflection of a hollowed-out party struggling to attract strong candidates.
But under Mettam, the WA Liberal Party is caught between signalling it is part of the anti-woke surge and being seen to resist discrimination.
It is unclear whether the culture wars will secure votes for the Liberals. Recent research shows strong support for issues such as transgender rights among Australian voters.
How WA voters respond to culture-war messaging will undoubtedly inform the Liberals’ position in the federal election.
