geoff wrote:If anyone seriously believes that the Nats have the capital to make amending any of this a parliamentary priority....
....come and see me about the bridge I have for sale
... and this is really my fear and the basis of my post relating to this. Its great that the Nats have this subject up front and centre on their web page:
https://www.nationalswa.com/Really, its a bold and great thing. This is what they are saying (from their web site):
"Shane Love MLA will move a disallowance motion on the first Sitting Day of Parliament in 2025 which will stop the clock on Labor’s new firearms laws and we will go back to the drawing board"
So, sure, not repealing either - but a disallowance is probably the next best thing - after that it comes down to trust and power. Do the Nats, alone, have the oomph to actually change anything? God I hope so, but its not immediately obvious to me.
Its quite unusual for the Nats to be leading the opposition, thats where we are today, but it seems to me that this is just a lucky (?) outcome of the Libs having been thrashed into oblivion last election. How likely is it that the Nats will form a majority government at the next state election? Vanishingly small I'd suggest. Even assuming that the Libs have anything to offer and somehow get over the line, with the Nats in coalition, the Nats would almost certainly be the junior party and I doubt they'll choose to die on this particular hill if their senior coalition partners stonewall them on the issue, which would be my own expectation.
Even after reading their updated position (thanks for the link above) the Libs are just being mealy mouthed about the whole thing. Despite an apparent change in their focus on this I think their real intent is still clear, they're happy enough with Labors law and are only making noise now as they fight for relevance and a point of difference in the electorate. I don't get any sense that they strongly object ... except that it wasn't their own idea