PM fumes over minister's comments

IN a stunning rebuke of a senior minister, the Prime Minister's office yesterday warned Stephen Smith to tone down his comments after he said federal Labor had been a "drag on" the WA branch.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard was reported to be furious about the Defence Minister's comment in the wake of the WA wipeout, which follows worse Labor floggings in Queensland and NSW.

MPs believe the state disasters point to an expected massacre at a federal level in September, when a 7 per cent swing would potentially wipe 30 seats from Labor.

Labor lost at least seven seats in the weekend state election, as West Australian premier Colin Barnett celebrated the Liberals' performance in winning enough seats to govern on its own.

The WA Liberals and the Nationals will form a coalition with a predicted 40 seats of 59, while Labor could slide from 27 to 19.

Mr Barnett said federal issues were background to the win, although he noted WA Labor leader Mark McGowan's call for Ms Gillard not to visit during the campaign was a mistake.

In saying Labor had plenty to work on before the federal poll, Mr Smith said: "There's no doubt we have been a drag on Mark (McGowan) and there's no doubt we haven't been helpful."

One Gillard supporter said "Smith's comments were not helpful at all," noting Kevin Rudd supporters had seized on the comments.

"It's that sort of thing that could ignite the whole thing," the MP said. Another Labor MP said the call to Mr Smith, who would have to fight to hold his seat if the Perth swing was replicated federally, was "not a good look".

In a later interview with ABC radio, Mr Smith was less strident about federal Labor.

Immigration Minister Brendan O'Connor said he also believed state issues resulted in Labor's flop in WA, and added support to Mr Smith's claims, saying: "I understand why Stephen Smith said those things."

In a sign of how desperate caucus has become, one MP said a senior NSW minister was "telling people they think there will be a challenge in the next two weeks", with Ms Gillard entering a potentially dangerous parliamentary sitting period. "Her camp has to be more than half expecting it," the MP said.

Labor figures tore into the party's problems with former WA premier Geoff Gallop telling Sky: "The public are looking in and they don't like what they see. Tthey don't like the Labor Party." Former federal leader Mark Latham called for reform because "the ship is going down".

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