New Deputy Leader of the WA Opposition Peter Rundle resolute and looking forward

Roe MLA Peter Rundle is the new Deputy Leader of the WA Opposition after the surprise resignation of Mia Davies prompted a National Party reshuffle. Ms Davies’ decision to step down as leader resulted in Moore MLA Shane Love assuming leadership of the Opposition on January 30 and Mr Rundle the role of Deputy Leader, the position previously held by Mr Love. “Being the secretary of our parliamentary team, I was asked to organise a meeting for 7.15am Friday morning unaware what the agenda was; obviously we found out that morning that Mia was going to announce her resignation at 1pm that day,” Mr Rundle said. The unexpected move, which coincided with a tumultuous leadership change within the beleaguered WA Liberals, came as a shock to Mr Rundle. “Once we’d sorted out our leadership positions in an amicable way, we had a really good team atmosphere in the party room,” he said. Mr Rundle said he was looking forward to his new role working alongside Mr Love. “What I feel is that Shane’s got very good political acumen and I think that will be necessary when we’re dealing with the Premier and 52 others sitting opposite us,” Mr Rundle said. In her resignation address at Parliament House on January 27, Ms Davies stated that she felt she didn’t “have fuel left in the tank” to continue on in the leadership role. “The workload can take a toll,” Mr Rundle said. “You can’t be everything to everyone, it’s a balance.”