After another year of political battles which saw all of Western Australia's major parties change leaders, it's finally the time of year where everyone at least pretends to play a little bit nicer.
David Templeman has sung his end of year song, everyone's wished each other merry Christmas, and the sometimes frenetic pace of state politics is set to slow for at least a few weeks.
But don't be fooled – it's the calm before the storm of the 15-month run to the next state election, with a federal election to be held sometime around then too.
Roger Cook
It's fair to say Roger Cook had a rocky start to his time in the top job after the shock resignation of Mark McGowan in May.
Controversy around the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage laws – led by the opposition, alongside farmers' groups like WAFarmers and the Pastoralists and Graziers Association – dominated the agenda in his first few weeks.
Initially, he went in hard on the attack.
"Every time, like a dog returning to its vomit, these guys trot out their straw man arguments to simply distract members of the community," Cook thundered to the opposition in parliament as debate raged.
But within weeks he and his team, including Aboriginal Affairs Minister Tony Buti, realised defending the laws had been a major miscalculation and the best course of action was to scrap them.
"I understand that the legislation has unintentionally caused stress, confusion and division in the community and for that I am sorry," began Cook's backflip.
The saga coincided with the Voice referendum and the controversy became ammunition for the No camp.
In the months since though, Cook seems to have settled into his premiership, steering his team through other controversies.
None were greater than the death of Cleveland Dodd a week after he attempted to take his own life inside the problematic Unit 18.
It must have been hard news for Cook and newly-minted Corrective Services Minister Paul Papalia to hear, after so publicly attempting to shift their approach from that of their predecessors.
Improving conditions in youth detention generally, hanging onto the gains already made at Banksia Hill and working quickly towards their goal of closing Unit 18 will be a priority for both next year, after nearly 24 months of constant media coverage.
Treasurer Rita Saffioti has the task of keeping the state's finances tight, even as Metronet sucks in more money as projects approach delivery.
Public sector pay negotiations (which got ugly last time), tackling the public housing waitlist in a tight construction market and handling the transition to net zero carbon will also take attention away from the government's messaging.
On top of running the state, there's an election to prepare for – made somewhat easier by the Labor Party's massive war chest and investment in "data and digital tactics".
But that money can't help with the economic pressures hurting people now, which could make cost of living a key issue in the campaign.
The third term in office is a tricky time for any government.
Being a relative fresh face compared to McGowan could be a help or a hindrance for Cook, depending if people feel like they know him and like what they see.
At least factional issues within the party seem to be mostly under control, despite the internal fights that preceded his appointment.
Libby Mettam
For Libby Mettam and her team, 2024 will be crunch time.
She had a strong start after taking the leadership off David Honey, and together with the Nationals helped add pressure to the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage laws debate.
Individually, Mettam has been doing a fair bit of heavy lifting to keep attention on issues like health, crime and cost of living.
She's often in battle with Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson, including over what Mettam hopes will be an election issue: the location of the new women and babies hospital.
The government insists it's necessary to build the facility at the Fiona Stanley site in Murdoch, while the Liberals have pledged to focus on the original site at the QEII campus in Nedlands.
But with the possible exceptions of shadow treasurer Steve Thomas and Police and Corrective Services spokesperson Peter Collier, most of her team has struggled to attract much attention.
One potential roadblock, as party president Caroline Di Russo put it to party members, is whether they can "keep the toys in the cot, or at the very least keep your tantrums out of the media".
Much of the first part of the year will be taken up with the party's preselection process, which risks exposing fractures between powerful groups and revealing candidates with less-than-ideal backgrounds.
Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas could be among those putting his hand up, telling Nine Radio last week there were "considerations" about a move.
"I'll have a little bit of time over Christmas and New Year with my family, we'll unwrap some presents and we'll see what Santa brings, shall we?" he teased.
In short, it's make or break for the party's recovery.
Shane Love
For all the attention on the Liberals' rebuild process, the Nationals have been forced to undergo their own as well.
The abolishment of all upper house electorates for one state-wide region arguably hit the Nationals the hardest and has pushed them to look to the city for inspiration.
"As we have developed relationships with communities, businesses and stakeholders, they have indicated there is a clear appetite from Perth voters to have alternatives to the two major parties when they go to the polling booth in March 2025," Nationals state president Julie Freeman said in a statement earlier this month.
"Local candidates in Perth will also help to bolster recognition for our Legislative Council candidates, which is critical to reducing Labor's stranglehold on both houses of parliament."
Depending on who you ask, the election has either been made easier or will be unaffected by rank-and-file Liberals voting against a partnership with the Nationals, effectively blocking any prospect of the two working closely on their campaigns.
A key moment of the year was North West Central MP Merome Beard defecting to the Liberals.
It wasn't all bad news for Love and his team, despite his disappointment and shock at the move.
While messy, it did remove the prospect of a fight between Beard and Love when their seats merge at the next election.
But with the Nationals almost certain to lose their status as the main party of opposition after the 2025 poll, decisions will have to be made about whether it would be prudent to hand over the reins earlier to Mettam and the Liberals.
The year will have plenty of big choices, with potentially big consequences, for the Nationals.
And all of that is without mentioning the prospect of a federal election being held within weeks or months of WA's poll.
To say it's shaping up to be a big year would be an understatement.
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