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Josh Zimmerman

opinion
opinion
Josh ZimmermanCommentsPremium
opinion
Sugar hits, not baked in spending, Saffioti’s budget recipe

There is no doubt Treasurer Rita Saffioti’s first Budget will ‘share the surplus’. The only issue: her idea of sharing may be very different from what teachers have in mind. 

Josh Zimmerman

Josh Zimmerman

opinion
opinion
Josh ZimmermanCommentsPremium
opinion
Shift in WA Liberal power dynamic throws up familiar faces

You don’t need a stash of leaked WhatsApp messages to tell you who is in control of the WA Liberal Party today.

Josh Zimmerman

Josh Zimmerman

opinion
opinion
Josh Zimmerman CommentsPremium
opinion
Who can blame school leavers reluctant to learn trades?

Despite shifting work trends, the hammer and the ute remain emblematic of the Middle Australia mythologised and desperately courted by both major parties.

Josh Zimmerman

Josh Zimmerman

opinion
opinion
State politicsCommentsPremium
opinion
Cash splashes and attack ads as WA enters war footing

Bang. A year out from the next State election, the starting pistol has sounded.

Josh Zimmerman

Josh Zimmerman

opinion
opinion
Josh ZimmermanCommentsPremium
opinion
Quigley’s retirement surest sign captain’s picks are done

In the end, it wasn’t age that caught up to John Quigley. It was Labor’s factions.

Josh Zimmerman

Josh Zimmerman

opinion
opinion
Josh ZimmermanCommentsPremium
opinion
Lessons for Federal EPA architects in heritage debacle

Well-intentioned reforms don’t automatically make good laws. Just ask anyone involved in the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act.

Josh Zimmerman

Josh Zimmerman

opinion
opinion
Josh ZimmermanCommentsPremium
opinion
Dutton’s pitch to win WA hearts is similar to Premier’s

It wasn’t that long ago that Peter Dutton was attacking the ‘woke’ leadership of BHP and Rio Tinto over their financial backing of the Voice referendum.

Josh Zimmerman

Josh Zimmerman

opinion
opinion
Josh ZimmermanCommentsPremium
opinion
Tax cut tinkering a huge gamble for Labor, will it pay off?

After pledging to implement the stage three tax cuts in full at the last election, the Albanese Government this week opened the door to tinkering.

Josh Zimmerman

Josh Zimmerman

opinion
opinion
Josh ZimmermanCommentsPremium
opinion
No winners as Labor seeks to neutralise Lord Mayor’s threat

It’s hard to pick a winner in the ongoing spat between Basil Zempilas and the Cook Government over a now shuttered women’s shelter. 

Josh Zimmerman

Josh Zimmerman

opinion
opinion
Josh ZimmermanCommentsPremium
opinion
Alcoa closure highlights the key issues facing Cook

The loss of more than 1000 jobs — many of them in his own electorate of Kwinana — is not how Roger Cook hoped to start 2024.

Josh Zimmerman

opinion
opinion
Josh ZimmermanCommentsPremium
opinion
Government report card: Who’s top of the class?

With Christmas bringing a much-needed reprieve, let’s grade some of WA’s leading politicians on their performances across 2023.

Josh Zimmerman

Josh Zimmerman

opinion
opinion
Josh Zimmerman CommentsPremium
opinion
Surplus means public servants in for a merry Christmas

Amid a cost-of-living crisis, the pressure on Rita Saffioti and Premier Roger Cook to splash that cash around is immense. 

Josh Zimmerman

opinion
opinion
Josh ZimmermanCommentsPremium
opinion
Who’ll get Cabinet call? There’s room for one at top table

The departure of Bill Johnston necessitates the portfolio load be shared more evenly. Only Cook and his closest circle know how he will elect to approach that task. 

Josh Zimmerman

Josh Zimmerman

opinion
opinion
Josh ZimmermanCommentsPremium
opinion
Labor is discovering the downside to electoral domination

Landslide election victories bring a lot of perks. Total control of the legislative agenda. A diminished and downtrodden opposition. But swollen backbenches also present headaches... 

Josh Zimmerman

Josh Zimmerman

opinion
opinion
Josh ZimmermanCommentsPremium
opinion
WA goes it alone, again

Masks are required in public hospitals, COVID cases are climbing and the Premier is warning WA’s ‘unique pathway’ will place it at odds with the rest of Australia. 

Josh Zimmerman

Josh Zimmerman

opinion
opinion
Josh ZimmermanCommentsPremium
opinion
Festive battles begin: But will voters be left with turkeys?

Christmas is usually a time for politicians to retreat to their electorates, lick their wounds and plot for the coming year. Not so in 2023.

Josh Zimmerman

Josh Zimmerman

opinion
opinion
Josh ZimmermanCommentsPremium
opinion
Unions threaten to turn up heat as inflation erodes salaries

No decision of government can be viewed in isolation. It’s a point Premier Roger Cook has repeatedly stressed on his visit to Tokyo in the context of the global race to net zero.

Josh Zimmerman

Josh Zimmerman

opinion
opinion
Josh ZimmermanCommentsPremium
opinion
Labor risks being swallowed whole by its own information gap

The odd communication breakdown is unavoidable. Just ask any married couple. But the Cook Government is developing a reputation for a constantly shifting story.

Josh Zimmerman

Josh Zimmerman

analysis
analysis
Josh ZimmermanCommentsPremium
analysis
Cost of living pressures the biggest lesson of Voice loss

The biggest political lesson of the Voice referendum is that there is only one division in this country that really counts.

Josh Zimmerman

opinion
opinion
Josh ZimmermanCommentsPremium
opinion
Aversion to negative publicity sends Cook scrambling

Cook’s inclination to reputational preservation is fast becoming an established trend. And one increasingly being picked up on not just by the Opposition but his own colleagues. 

Josh Zimmerman

Josh Zimmerman

opinion
opinion
Josh ZimmermanPremium
opinion
How was unfathomable rape of 13yo girl allowed to happen?

The parents of a 13-year-old girl allegedly raped by a fellow patient in Perth Children’s Hospital have every right to be outraged. Their daughter was betrayed. They were betrayed. But who is to blame?

Josh Zimmerman

Josh Zimmerman

opinion
opinion
Josh ZimmermanCommentsPremium
opinion
Rising inequality biggest risk to political stability

Daniel Andrews’ departure leaves Queensland’s Annastacia Palaszczuk as the last remaining COVID-era Premier.

Josh Zimmerman

Josh Zimmerman

opinion
opinion
Legal loopholeCommentsPremium
opinion
Donation reform must live up to ‘gold standard’ pledge

There’s a simple maxim in politics. Follow the money. If you want to understand how decisions are influenced by outside forces, keep tabs on the donations flowing to the key players.

Josh Zimmerman

Josh Zimmerman

opinion
opinion
Josh ZimmermanCommentsPremium
opinion
The Voice is doomed without a compelling narrative

The Voice may be able to scrape across the line without a star campaigner — and certainly none appears waiting in the wings — but it is doomed without a compelling narrative.

Josh Zimmerman

Josh Zimmerman