cowan was succeeded as leader by max trenorden who led the party for the next four years in coalition with the liberals. at the 2005 state election the nationals retained the same number of seats but the labor party retained power and came close to a majority in the legislative council and successfully implemented the ending of a malapportionment that had given the non-metropolitan parts of the state fewer voters per electorate than in the metropolitan parts; the national party had long benefited from this arrangement. in may 2005 legislation was passed to remove the malapportionment in the legislative assembly (though rural areas remain significantly overrepresented in the legislative council) and shift to a system of one vote one value. the change was widely expected to devastate the national party, leading to many questioning whether it would survive the coming election.