Premier set to add to PM's problems

UNBACKABLE: Premier Colin Barnett, a firm favourite to win the state election, will give the federal Labor leadership another headache. Source: The Sunday Times

AS if the polls, the carbon tax, the mining tax, the lack of a budget surplus and Kevin Rudd weren't enough for Julia Gillard, the prime minister looks set to be handed another problem this weekend.

It can be summed up in a name: Colin Barnett.

The incumbent Liberal West Australian premier has been one of the most vocal and strident political critics of the prime minister's style and substance since her ascension in 2010.

And with the member for Cottesloe an unbackable $1.02 favourite to lead the Liberals to a state election win this weekend, Ms Gillard can expect a newly-mandated Mr Barnett to renew his attacks with even more vigour if WA votes the way the polls and bookmakers have long predicted.

She may have been out of sight during the build-up but Ms Gillard has never been far from the mind of the Liberal party since it began officially campaigning in early February.

After it became clear Ms Gillard would keep her distance until polling day, Mr Barnett has consistently used her absence from the side of WA Labor leader Mark McGowan to link the party's federal woes to its local team.

Kelly O'Dwyer, Liberal federal MP for Higgins, said the lack of election support from a sitting prime minister for a state election candidate was "unprecedented".

"The reason they don't want the prime minister in WA is because they know it will lose them votes," Ms O'Dwyer said.

Mr McGowan has staunchly deflected such commentary, saying the March 9 poll was a state election fought on state issues and the prime minister was free to travel where and when she wanted.

He also vowed to be firm but fair if given the chance to work with his Canberra colleagues.

"It is possible to be tough with Canberra and get results and that's what I'll do," Mr McGowan said.

But the fact no federal minister has been seen with Mr McGowan over the entire campaign - and only three set foot briefly in the state in that time - gave some weight to the Liberal argument of a state and federal party that were not talking, let alone able to work together.

In contrast, federal opposition leader Tony Abbott was effusive in lauding Mr Barnett - and buttering up the locals - at the Liberals' official election launch.

"How much I respect the premier of this state, how much I have learnt from him, how much I wish to model myself on him, should I get the opportunity to lead our country," Mr Abbott said.

"The Barnett government has become a model for all the governments that we run or hope to run. That's the kind of government that I wish to run in Canberra.

"Every Australian owes a debt to Western Australia and in an important sense, West Australians are the best Australians."

Mr Barnett has continued to play on WA's ingrained and parochial mistrust of much that emanates from Australia's east coast with his mantra to "stand up to Canberra", pointing to the mining tax and the state's GST share as examples of how the state was being diddled by Labor.

And so, if Mr Barnett proves victorious on Saturday night, Ms Gillard can expect no favours from WA, which had an economy valued at $239 billion in 2011/12 and accounted for 46 per cent of Australia's exports last year.

First on Mr Barnett's hit list is likely to be Ms Gillard's Gonski education reforms, set to be discussed at the Council of Australian Governments' meeting on April 19.

"We have never indicated we would sign up to Gonski, and we are not going to sit back and suddenly let the commonwealth take over the running of our schools," Mr Barnett said.

"They come out and denigrate our hospitals, denigrate our schools, and then pretend to have a solution. That is not good government."

And not a good sign Ms Gillard is going to get any peace from Mr Barnett as she approaches her date with the nation on September 14.

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