Editing Hal Colebatch (section)

===In opposition===
Colebatch was part of the newly-formed [[Western Australian Liberal Party (1911–1917)|Liberal Party]], however in his [[maiden speech]], he said he would always speak for his individual feelings.{{sfnm|Colebatch|2004|1p=48|De Garis|1962|2p=28}} At the time, [[John Scaddan]] had been [[Premier of Western Australia|premier]] for a year and the Labor Party had a substantial majority in the Legislative Assembly,{{sfnm|Colebatch|2004|1p=47|De Garis|1962|2p=28}} however the Legislative Council had a conservative majority.{{sfnm|Colebatch|2004|1p=48|De Garis|1962|2pp=28–29}} According to historian [[Brian De Garis]], "for a man like Colebatch, there could not have been a more opportune moment for launching a parliamentary career". He says it would have been difficult for Colebatch to stand out if he had entered the conservative-dominated upper house during a Liberal government, but entering during a Labor government gave him an opportunity to use his formidable debating skills.{{sfn|De Garis|1962|p=29}} Colebatch would soon become the Scaddan government's harshest critic in the Legislative Council and Labor members grew to dread his speeches.{{sfn|Colebatch|2004|p=50}}

The Scaddan government felt that establishing and expanding government enterprises was in the best interests of the state, something that Colebatch was strongly opposed to. The government set out to establish state-run and state-subsidised brickworks, sawmills, quarries, hotels, dairies, ferries, butcher shops, fish shops, brick works, tramways, meat works, quarries and abattoirs.{{sfnm|Colebatch|2004|1p=47|De Garis|1962|2p=30}}

Colebatch lead the opposition to the Tramways Purchase Bill 1912, which sought to nationalise [[trams in Perth]]. He felt that the [[City of Perth|Perth City Council]] was being cheated out of their reversionary rights to the tramways and that the government would be a poor operator like they were with the railways. The bill was passed anyway, but it earned Colebatch a reputation as a "hard fighter and a brilliant speaker".{{sfn|De Garis|1962|p=31}} Two of the most important bills passed in this session of parliament were the Workers' Compensation Act and the Industrial Arbitration Act.{{sfn|De Garis|1962|p=31}} Workers' Compensation previously only applied to certain occupations, but the new act extended it to apply to all workers earning less than £300 per annum. Although he did not vote against it, Colebatch criticised the bill for hurting employers and was successful in limiting parts of the bill.{{sfn|De Garis|1962|p=32}} The Industrial Arbitration Act consolidated previous legislation and made it easier for unions to approach the [[Court of Arbitration]].{{sfn|De Garis|1962|p=31}} Colebatch opposed the bill for preferencing unionists and hampering the ability of industries to compete with overseas firms. Eventually the two sides met and worked out a compromise which the government and the opposition could both support.{{sfn|De Garis|1962|p=33}} One bill that Colebatch was especially interested in was the Water Rights and Irrigation Bill. The bill was referred to a [[Select committee (parliamentary system)|select committee]] that he was the chairman of and he introduced many of the amendments that the committee recommended. The amendments were not accepted by the Legislative Assembly though and the bill did not pass.{{sfn|De Garis|1962|p=34}} The following year, the bill was introduced again, but it failed to pass again.{{sfn|De Garis|1962|p=39}} It eventually passed in 1914.{{sfn|De Garis|1962|p=47}}

By 1913, Colebatch had gained a prominent position in the Liberal Party's governance. In February 1913, he was elected as a vice-president of the party's executive committee.{{sfn|De Garis|1962|p=36}}<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article26866418 |title=The Liberal League |newspaper=The West Australian |date=8 February 1913 |access-date=26 January 2023 |page=11 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> His opponents used this to attack his claimed position of being above party politics.{{sfn|De Garis|1962|p=37}}

One of the bills the government introduced in 1913 was the Electoral Districts Bill,{{sfn|De Garis|1962|p=39}} which proposed having commissioners design the electoral districts rather than parliament and introduced equally-populated constituencies for all of Western Australia except for three seats in the north of the state. This would have increased the number of metropolitan districts at the expense of rural districts. Colebatch opposed having equally-populated constituencies, saying that "it seems to be utterly unfair that huge districts with great interests and scattered population should be put in the same position as closely congested and settled communities".{{sfn|De Garis|1962|p=40}} He proposed seven amendments, including that rural districts should have 20 percent fewer voters and metropolitan districts should have more voters. The Legislative Council accepted these amendments but the Legislative Assembly did not, meaning the bill was unable to pass.{{sfn|De Garis|1962|p=34}}

[[Matthew Moss]], the unofficial leader of the opposition in the Legislative Council, retired at the 1914 election, enabling Colebatch to take the position.{{sfn|De Garis|1962|pp=42–43}} During 1914, Colebatch lead the opposition to the Income Tax (War Emergency) Bill, which was to raise taxes mainly to support farmers during the drought which was occurring at the time. Colebatch attacked the government for introducing the bill so late in the session, just before the [[1914 Western Australian state election|1914 election]], without the presentation of estimates, and for only one third of the money raised going to the farmers.{{sfn|De Garis|1962|p=45}} The bill was defeated by the Legislative Council by eighteen votes to six.{{sfn|De Garis|1962|p=46}} The following year, Colebatch opposed the Income and Public Entertainments Taxation Bill, which was expected to increase taxation so that money could be spent on public works to create jobs. He believed that the money would better off with private enterprise, which would be able to provide more jobs and greater benefits to the state.{{sfn|De Garis|1962|p=49}}