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Zak Kirkup

The West Australian exclusive
The West Australian exclusive
Bitter court battlePremium
The West Australian exclusive
Ex-Liberal leader Zak Kirkup dragged into defamation lawsuit

Former WA Liberal Party leader Zak Kirkup has been drawn into a defamation battle involving a WA businessman who claims the ex-Opposition leader was part of a “conspiracy” to damage his reputation.

Peter Law

Read the full reviewCommentsPremiumWA Libs a ‘wasteland devoid of values’: Scathing report

A review of the WA Liberals says powerful factions have played a significant role in the party’s ‘near-extinction’, but fails to name anyone for the conservatives’ demise. READ THE FULL REVIEW

Joe Spagnolo

Election post-mortemCommentsPremium‘Corby’s lawyer’ to lead WA Libs’ election review

Perth QC Mark Trowell, who briefly assisted in the battle to free Schapelle Corby from a Bali jail, has been called in to conduct a review of the WA Liberals’ disastrous State election performance.

Joe Spagnolo

Civil warCommentsPremiumKirkup fires back, says Tony Abbott has ‘no idea’

Zak Kirkup has fired back at Tony Abbott, after the former PM launched a blistering attack on the recently deposed WA Liberal Leader last week.

Ben O'Shea

opinion
opinion
No excuseCommentsPremium
opinion
Labor inaction has pushed health system into crisis

Ambulance ramping has long been the canary in the coal mine for our hospitals. For years now Labor has ignored it and we’re all paying the price, writes Zak Kirkup.

Zak Kirkup

opinion
opinion
‘Long time coming’CommentsPremium
opinion
Four main reasons for the fall of WA Liberals

There will be many people speculating on the reasons for what is the biggest election loss of all time for the WA Liberals. Former MP Rob Johnson reveals the four main causes of the devastating loss.

Rob Johnson

In his own wordsPremiumKirkup admits he has ‘no Plan B’ after political exit

From as early as he can remember, Zak Kirkup dreamed of a life of service in public office but, when that dream became a nightmare on Saturday, he had to face a cold, hard truth about his future.

Ben O'Shea

opinion
opinion
Labor landslideCommentsPremium
opinion
WA Liberals failed to sell Kirkup’s story to voters

The people have spoken and they are always right but our Westminster system of government was not designed for this result — Parliament was simply not built to hold this many Labor MPs.

Peter Law

opinion
opinion
Election massacreCommentsPremium
opinion
WA Liberals did not work hard enough to win election

The truth is that as an Opposition, the WA Liberals ‘simply didn’t work hard enough’ for four years and on Saturday night the chickens came home to roost.

opinion
opinion
Historic election winCommentsPremium
opinion
The West readers fire up over McGowan’s huge win

Readers of The West Australian from across the political spectrum have responded in huge numbers to the historic result of the 2021 State election. Here’s what they have to say.

ELECTION WHITEWASHCommentsPremiumKirkup says Libs should have conceded ‘from day one’

The Liberals conceded the WA election two weeks before polling day but ousted leader Zak Kirkup says the call should have been made even earlier.

Josh Zimmerman

Epic landslideCommentsPremiumLabor’s triumph inflicts generational wipe-out of Libs

West Australians are today taking stock of a historic election win for Labor that has completely devastated the WA Liberals. Here’s everything you need to know about where things stand at the moment.

Bethany Hiatt

opinion
opinion
More power, more responsibilityCommentsPremium
opinion
Total political power will be a test for McGowan

History shows that governments that win huge margins can end up quickly with an unruly backbench, thwarted ambitions and subsequent internal disruption.

Paul Murray

Paul Murray

opinion
opinion
Monumental victoryVideoCommentsPremium
opinion
McGowan wins kills chance of Federal election

The chances of Scott Morrison calling an election this year are officially zilch. If only a fraction of yesterday’s results were recorded in Federal seats, Morrison would lose government in WA alone.

Mark Riley

opinion
opinion
Election whitewashCommentsPremium
opinion
Why the Liberals got what they deserved

My father always said there was no dishonour if you lost a contest — just don’t let it happen twice. Losing an election is never nice, but the WA Liberals failed to learn their lesson in 2017.

Joe Spagnolo

opinion
opinion
State Election wipe-outCommentsPremium
opinion
What the Liberals should learn from poll wreckage

You learn more in defeat than you do in victory and this morning the WA Liberals will be sifting through the wreckage asking themselves, ‘What could we have done differently?’ The answer: Not much.

Basil Zempilas

Basil Zempilas

‘We must rebuild’VideoCommentsPremiumKirkup quits politics after Libs’ devastating loss

Zak Kirkup’s fledgling political career has ended tonight with the youngest leader in the history of the WA Liberal Party suffering a crushing defeat in his Dawesville electorate

Josh Zimmerman & Jake Dietsch

Early callCommentsAntony Green calls election after 42 minutes

The ABC’s Antony Green has called the election for Labor with less than 1 per cent of the vote counted.

Getting rid of dead woodVideoCommentsKirkup calls former Liberal member ‘old and stale’

In an awkward live television moment, Opposition leader Zak Kirkup has told a former Liberal MP he was “old and stale,” when talking about party reform.

Peter Devlin and Kate Purnell

Good ‘mood’CommentsPremium‘It’s not over’: Kirkup confident he’ll keep seat

The WA Liberal leader has revealed he feels better about retaining his seat than he did at the same stage of the 2017 election.

Josh Zimmerman

Frank admissionCommentsPremiumKirkup says election was ‘never winnable’ for Liberals

Asked this morning about the Liberals’ election chances, Zak Kirkup paused . . .

Josh Zimmerman

ELECTION BLOODBATHVideoCommentsRECAP: Labor’s historic election win as it happened

WA Labor has romped to a historic victory in the 2021 State election, with the Liberal Party reduced to just two seats in the House of Representatives. RECAP THE DAY’S EVENTS AS THEY HAPPENED

David Johns, Ben Anderson & David Baker

opinion
opinion
Ultimate voting cardCommentsPremium
opinion
Who to vote for in WA’s 2021 State election

For the first time ever, The West Australian has editorialised on EVERY election seat so you know who to back.

Liberal wipeoutCommentsPremiumMcGowan to lead WA Labor to ‘biggest ever’ victory

Premier Mark McGowan is set to lead Labor to a historic State election victory, with the final poll of the campaign showing Labor ahead 66 to 34 — a landslide 10.5 per cent swing to the Government.

Peter Law and Josh Zimmerman