WA Premier Roger Cook examining possible contingency plans in case of federal election date clash
Roger Cook had said March 8 was a lock for the state election, but Anthony Albanese could have other plans. (ABC News: James Carmody)
In short:
WA Premier Roger Cook has conceded he has no control over whether the state election will actually take place on March 8 as scheduled.
If Prime Minister Anthony Albanese calls a federal election for that date, the state poll will be pushed back one week.
A political analyst feels the federal government would be best served by waiting until after the WA election.
WA premier Roger Cook has conceded the timing of the next state election is "out of his hands" as a looming federal election threatens to cause a schedule clash.
West Australians already have March 8 marked as the date they head to the polls for the 2025 state election.
But if Anthony Albanese chooses that date for a federal election, it will have to be moved.
There is no set date for the federal election, but Mr Cook raised eyebrows on Monday when he said his government had sought legal advice on what it can do in the event the elections are scheduled close together.
On Tuesday, he said he was confident the date would not change.
"There's been no date set for the federal election — I can assure you the date for the state election is March 8," he said.
WA Premier Roger Cook has explored his options for changing the date of the state election. (ABC News: West Matteeussen)
But after being asked again on Wednesday if he could guarantee the election would be held on that day, he said it would depend on the prime minister.
"All I know is that in Western Australia we’ll have an election on the 8th of March ... unless we don't," Mr Cook said, with a chuckle.
"It's just out of our hands.
"And we understand that we just really have to understand the circumstances at the time and make decisions on the basis of that."
How can the date be changed?
The fixed date of the WA election — the second Saturday in March every four years — was passed into legislation back in 2011 and has been held on this date ever since.
"To date, a WA state election has never been rescheduled due to a federal election being held on the same date," a WA Electoral Commission spokesperson said.
The next WA state election is scheduled to take place on March 8. (ABC News: Andrew O'Connor)
Federal Labor is continuing to get its ducks in a row for a 2025 election — with May 17 being the latest practical date it could be held.
Should a clash occur, the WA governor has the ability to set the date to be one week later — meaning WA's new election date would be Saturday March 15, 2025.
And, under "exceptional circumstances", and if both the premier and the leader of the opposition agree, they can recommend to the governor it be further delayed.
Before or after WA election?
Having the elections one week apart is not a scenario many would want — it would put pressure on electoral staff and there is the threat of voter fatigue.
However, there could be some benefits for WA Labor if the federal election happened first.
"It's in the interest of WA Labor for the federal election to probably happen before the state election," University of Notre Dame professor of politics Martin Drum said.
Political analyst Martin Drum. (ABC News: Claire Moodie)
"If there's people who are a bit unhappy with federal Labor, and I think state Labor is performing better than federal Labor, then they can give Labor a whack [at the federal election] … and WA Labor would still be in better shape to run on state issues."
Professor Drum said if there are "grievances against the federal government" then they could be resolved first before a state election.
But Professor Drum feels federal Labor would be quite content to wait until after the WA poll.
"I wouldn't go first if I was federal Labor, the election is not due until May 2025, so it doesn't in my view make a lot of sense for Labor to go early … they're not tracking especially well in the polls," he said.
The latest a federal election could be held next year is May 17. (ABC News: Courtney Bembridge)
"They would only go early, I would have thought, if you think you're confident about winning … I'm not sure why you would go early if you're not so confident about winning."
Who floated the potential clash?
Mr Cook said yesterday he had sought the advice purely as a contingency.
"Because I understood that there would be a federal election in the first half of the next year, so any government that's responsibly managing the situation would obviously be aware of all contingencies and scenarios," he said.
He said Mr Albanese had not given him any indication a clash may occur, and that he did not seek the legal advice as a result of talking to him.
However, federal opposition leader Peter Dutton suggested Mr Cook was engaged in a "secret discussion or deal" with the prime minister.
"Well, that's entirely false and it's not surprising," Mr Cook said.
The premier also confirmed he would work closely with Opposition Leader Shane Love in the eventuality the election date needed to be changed.
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