Labor's brand needs to be rebuilt: MacTiernan

Former State minister Alannah MacTiernan hopes to rebuild Labor’s tattered image should she win the seat of Perth today.

Ms MacTiernan looked confident as she greeted supporters at a polling station in inner-city Highgate this morning but said that despite polling showing she was almost guaranteed a win, she would wait until tonight when results were out before celebrating a victory in Perth.

But her win would defy an expected nationwide Labor rout with the Coalition tipped as clear winners in today’s poll.

Ms MacTiernan conceded Labor’s brand needed to be “rebuilt” in WA and nationally.

“I really believe that we can rebuild the Labor Party so that at the next election we really have a chance of holding a decent number of seats and really contributing to a future Labor government,” she said.

She hopes to focus on climate change, early childhood education and public transport should she be in opposition.

She also denied opposition leader Tony Abbott’s comments four days ago that this election was a referendum on the carbon tax.

“That is absolute rubbish and I can tell you absolutely 100 per cent there is no way that I will be voting not to have a price on carbon,” Ms MacTiernan said.

She said if the Coalition won, Premier Colin Barnett would have to deal with a government that had pledged less in transport infrastructure spending than federal Labor, which would affect Mr Barnett’s State election spending commitments.

“One of the things I wanted to do was help Colin honour at least one of his election commitments," she said.

"Federal Labor had committed $500 million to help Mr Barnett meet some of those commitments on public transport.

“I’m just not sure how Mr Barnett’s going to do that, so I think Mr Barnett’s enemy is not going to be me, it’s going to be Mr Abbott.”

Alannah MacTiernan arrives to vote at Highgate Primary School. Picture: Nic Ellis/The West Australian