First and only WA leaders debate rushed and uninspiring

February 24, 2025 journo

If you were looking for inspiration on Monday night, you would’ve come up empty-handed watching the first and only leadership debate ahead of the March 8 WA election.

Both Liberal leader Libby Mettam and Premier Roger Cook were cordial but they often fumbled over words and sentences impacting the delivery of their messaging.

WA Premier Roger Cook and Liberal leader Libby Mettam have gone head to head in the only leaders debate.Credit: WAtoday

The pair largely stuck to their talking points in the 40-minute snoozefest in which a small audience watching on backstage determined Cook was the narrow victor.

Often Cook and Mettam ignored questions from veteran Seven West reporters Geof Parry and Jess Page altogether – particularly over why ambulance ramping has gotten so bad under Labor and whether the Liberals would recommit to freezing household fees and charges.

Cost of living

Cook began the debate by rattling off his government’s $1 billion worth of cost of living announcements including new $150 or $250 student assistance payments and household solar battery rebates announced on the weekend.

Mettam used her time to attack Cook on what he had done with the wealth amassed during the iron ore royalties boom.

But she would not be drawn on a pledge she made in a press release in May last year calling on the government to freeze cost of living charges before sticking the boot in over Labor’s plans to build a racetrack in Burswood.

“We have a targeted approach to cost of living which respects taxpayers dollars, and we will not be wasting money on race cars on the Swan,” she said.

Health

Mettam, who is the Liberals’ health spokeswoman, shined when speaking on this topic, reiterating all the areas Labor has struggled in health, including hitting nearly 7000 ambulance ramping hours per month in 2022 and those hours remaining above 5000 currently.

It was this topic that elicited the most interesting interaction of the night when Cook said: “We put Labor first …we put health first. WA, Labor always does perform best in health care.”

Mettam fired back: “You just said it. Roger Cook, you put Labor first, instead of the people of Western Australia.”

Cook deflected further questions on ramping and why he described it as a crisis at 1500 hours a month while he was in an opposition but would not admit there was a crisis while in government.

Housing

On the topic of housing Mettam scorched Cook for his government’s performance in providing social housing.

Cook has set a target of 5000 new social homes in WA over four years but when asked why her party had not set a similar target Mettam refused to answer.

“We will not be going backwards. We will be going forwards, and we will be ensuring that we make this a priority,” she said.

Law and order

Mettam lashed Cook for allowing violent crime rates to increase while Cook said overall crime was down in the state.

The pair then clashed over coercive control legislation which Mettam has pledged to introduce as a priority if elected while Cook will wait for an education program to play out before legislating.

“[People with lived experience of coercive control] didn’t want the laws introduced before an education campaign, and so we followed the advice of people with lived experience,” he said.

Leadership

Cook said he intended to serve the full four years if elected premier while Mettam said she was “confident in her leadership” despite the presence of big personality Basil Zempilas waiting in the wings.

Both leaders rounded out the debate with a smattering of talking points that have been ventilated for months.

“In times of global troubles, you need a steady hand at the wheel. You need experienced leadership, and only WA Labor can provide that leadership to make sure Western Australia can continue to navigate the next four years,” Cook said.

“Western Australia has experienced the largest boom our state has ever seen, and this Cook Labor government had enjoyed the dominance of two houses in Parliament. They have not delivered,” Mettam said.

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