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Will Liberal state wins help Tony Abbott?

The election of two new conservative state governments could be good news for Tony Abbott, but don't expect an end to the federal-state blame game.

If all goes according to Tony Abbott's plan, by Sunday morning there will be coast-to-coast conservative governments across Australia - with the exception of the minnow ACT.

With the Liberals poised to end Labor's long rule in both South Australia and Tasmania, the ACT's Katy Gallagher will be the only Labor leader left around the Council of Australian Governments table.

So are we on the verge of a new dawn of federal-state relations? A new era of collegiate co-operation?

Hardly.

While Abbott has made a virtue of having "like-minded" governments in power, it's ultimately unlikely to help him much.

After all, it's only six-and-a-half years since Kevin Rudd came to power amid wall-to-wall Labor state governments, promising to end the federalism "blame game" once and for all.

Disagreements over health and the Murray-Darling Basin ensured the Labor love-in never materialised.

Generally speaking, premiers just want to get the best deal - which usually means the biggest pot of money - for their states, and they don't much care which party's in power in Canberra.

Moreover, state leaders know that beating up on Canberra, whatever the federal government's political stripe, can be a great way to score some cheap electoral points at home.

Indeed, there's a risk in that for Abbott. You'd expect Labor states to beat up on a coalition government in Canberra. But when the criticism comes from your own side - and it will come - it's potentially more damaging.

Party divisions are never a good look.

A COAG meeting in May will tell us more about whether Abbott can turn the new blue-hued political landscape to his tangible advantage.

With schools funding and the national disability insurance scheme on the agenda, it will certainly be one to watch.

But don't expect to see an end to that blame game anytime soon.


2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


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