‘Sad, desperate, cynical’: Cook unleashes on Mettam over refusal to stand beside Aboriginal flag

May Be Interested In:Sun sets over minimum payments for Victorians with rooftop solar


West Australian Premier Roger Cook has unleashed on Liberal leader Libby Mettam for declaring she would not stand before the Aboriginal flag at official press events, branding her stance “sad, desperate and cynical” and accusing her of trying to import Canberra’s “toxic political culture”.

On Thursday, Mettam told The West Australian she backed and would replicate her federal counterpart Peter Dutton’s decision not to feature the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags at official government addresses, as has become custom under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

WA Liberals leader Libby Mettam and Premier Roger Cook.Credit: Trevor Collens

Mettam echoed Dutton’s sentiments on the issue, stating there was only one national flag.

But the comments angered the premier, who on Friday accused the Member for Vasse of attempting to emulate Dutton’s “tactics of sowing division and hatred”.

Cook — who is flanked by the national flag, the state flag and the Aboriginal flag at press events in Dumas House — said the comments abandoned decades’ worth of work to promote reconciliation.

“What a sad and desperate, cynical approach to try to attract a few miserable votes,” he said.

“Political leaders are charged with the responsibility of uniting their community, getting the community together to make sure that we can progress, and Libby is simply going about trying to bring the toxic political culture of Canberra into Western Australia.

“That’s not the way we do things here in WA. We don’t try to sow division, we don’t try and sow hatred; we try to unite our community, and this is just a sad and desperate political attempts for a few miserable votes.

“What she is actually doing is repudiating all those efforts over the last four or five decades to unite the community in an inclusive way, and reconciliation is an important part of that.”

share Share facebook pinterest whatsapp x print

Similar Content

Four taken to hospital after car crashes into Melbourne home
Four taken to hospital after car crashes into Melbourne home
China accuses Australia of ‘intruding’ in its airspace after jet flare incident
China accuses Australia of ‘intruding’ in its airspace after jet flare incident
Sam Kerr tells court ‘she feared for her life’ during taxi ride
Sam Kerr tells court ‘she feared for her life’ during taxi ride
Buyers snap up toxic waste dump
Buyers snap up toxic waste dump
Monster Hunter Wilds director confirms PS5 Pro patch coming day one
Monster Hunter Wilds director confirms PS5 Pro patch coming day one
King, Gardner spin Australia to Ashes whitewash as England soul-searching begins
King, Gardner spin Australia to Ashes whitewash as England soul-searching begins
World Alert: News that Changes the Game | © 2025 | Daily News