The polls got it right… To say Labor won Saturday’s WA state election is an understatement. Premier Mark McGowan and his party obliterated their opponents, scoring at least 50 (and probably 52) of the Legislative Assembly’s 59 seats. The Liberals look like they will hold 3 seats (down from 13), with the Nationals set to become the official opposition with 4 seats (down from 6). There is a lot of counting to be done, but it looks like Labor attracted 70% of the two-party preferred vote making it Labor’s biggest win in any election ever. Liberal leader Zak Kirkup – who took on the leadership just 16 weeks ago – became the state’s first major party leader to lose their own seat in 88 years. He will not continue in politics. “Thank you so much to every Western Australian,” McGowan said. And so he should – almost every one of them voted for him…

Another Western Australian doing well in elections is former Finance Minister Mathias Cormann. He’s the new boss of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), delivering what pundits say is “a diplomatic triumph for Australia”.