WA Nationals call on ‘local leaders’ to fill Perth metro seats in historic bid to ‘broaden representation’

The WA Nationals are looking for “local leaders” to fill seats across Perth after green-lighting a plan to run candidates in the metropolitan region for the first time in the party’s 110-year history. It comes after a special meeting of Nationals State Council endorsed a motion to open preselections in all 59 seats in the Legislative Assembly on December 16. State President Julie Freeman said the break with tradition was an opportunity for The Nationals to broaden their representation after sweeping electoral reforms endangered the country party’s future. “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,” she said. “We are calling on individuals who are passionate about their communities, irrespective of location, to join us in building a stronger future for Western Australia.” Ms Freeman said The Nationals had, over the past three years, held the WA Government accountable across various shadow portfolios — including transport, mining and education — that had “relevance to all people across WA”. She confirmed WA Labor’s recent electoral reforms were “a factor” in the decision to run metropolitan candidates. “As a result of these changes, the 2025 State election will see the lowest number of regional seats contested in WA’s history — with just 15 regional seats in the Legislative Assembly, and no dedicated regional seats in the Upper House,” Ms Freeman said. “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.” It is the first time the Nationals have even contemplated contesting the 43 Lower House seats that fall within the boundaries of metropolitan Perth. Nationals leader Shane Love — who is also the Opposition Leader — said it was unlikely his party would ultimately run in every city seat but intended to cast a wide net for prospective MPs. “Where seats are found to have a plan, where there’s a synergy between our values and the candidate and the community that is represented in that seat, then we’ll certainly consider that application,” he said. The Nationals established their first-ever Perth branch in late October in the riverside seat of Bateman, which Mr Love confirmed was one of the electorates his party was likely to contest. “One would expect that seeing as there is a branch active down there that there would be somebody,” he said. He added that some electorates on the outskirts of the city also loomed as natural fits for the Nationals. “I don’t think it’d be outrageous to contend, for instance, that those outer urban seats in the Hills, the Darling Range seats, would certainly be ones where you would expect that there probably would be somebody running,” Mr Love said. “Those are certainly areas where we seem to be getting indications of support.” Darling Range was held by what was then known as the Country Party from 1950-1962 but has not been contested by the Nationals for more than 50 years. Other peri-urban seats like Kalamunda, Swan Hills and Wanneroo have also not featured a Nationals candidate for decades — if at all. As is customary, Mr Love confirmed the Nationals would run in every regional seat in WA. The country party’s foray into Perth comes after the McGowan government abolished the Legislative Council’s previous six regions — half of them in the country — in favour of a single Statewide electorate. That change, designed to ensure every vote carries equal weight, has smashed the Nationals prospects of maintaining healthy representation in the Upper House without raising the party’s profile in Perth.