Geoff Gallop is such a mild-mannered-looking guy – but now the WA premier seems to have gone for the nuclear option.

Local political vet Joe Poprzeczny reports in the WA Business News today that the state government has written to the management and board of The West Australian, raising concerns about its political news coverage. Poprzeczny writes:

In the latest twist to a long-running dispute between the Labor Party
and the newspaper’s editor, Paul Armstrong, the letter is believed to
have asked West Australian Newspapers Holdings Ltd (WAN) chief
executive officer Ian Law and directors Warwick Kent, Peter Mansell,
Erich Fraunschiel and Melvyn Ward, how they envisaged a newspaper being
edited.

Mr Armstrong is also understood to have been sent a letter, though
neither he nor Mr Law could be reached for comment on the matter.

Relations between Mr Armstrong and the state government have been
frosty for some time, however they reached new lows during the election
campaign when Labor leaders believed The West’s coverage was unfair.

In February, WA minister for planning and infrastructure Alannah MacTiernan reportedly told The Australian’s
Media section that: ‘The level of distortion and misrepresentation has
reached a point now where the paper is truly incredible.’

Although
the recent letter is believed to have been sent from the government’s
media office (GMO), sources said the all-clear had been given by the
premier, Geoff Gallop….

And Opposition leader Matt Birney is reportedly staying away from the Subiaco Hotel.