Senate poll a 'vote on taxes'

Tony Abbott would welcome a new Senate election in WA, saying he would use it as a referendum on the carbon and mining taxes.

But Labor leader Bill Shorten, who is in Perth to visit business executives, said he would use a repeat election in WA as an early judgment on Mr Abbott's failure to protect jobs.

In an interview with _The West Australian _, the Prime Minister foreshadowed spending a lot of time in WA during what would be another five-week election campaign.

"We will make it a referendum on the carbon tax and the mining tax because we want to repeal them," he said.

"The Labor Party is doggedly persisting in supporting the carbon tax and the mining tax and they're both anti-WA taxes."

Mr Shorten, who will visit Alcoa, grain handler CBH, Woodside, Shell and Roy Hill today and tomorrow, said the PM had said one thing before the election and done the opposite in Government.

"In just 100 days it has become clear this is not the Government the Australian people voted for," Mr Shorten said. "I'll keep fighting for jobs in WA, even if the Prime Minister won't."

The Australian Electoral Commission has petitioned the High Court to declare the WA Senate election absolutely void because of the disappearance of 1370 ballot papers during a re-count.

But the Liberal, Labor and Palmer United parties want the original count reinstated.

The fifth and sixth Senate spots were first awarded to Palmer United's Dio Wang and Labor's Louise Pratt but, after a re-count, they went to the Sports Party's Wayne Dropulich and Scott Ludlam of the Greens.

The AEC has asked the High Court to rule by March 18. This would allow for a repeat Senate election on April 26.