2025 State Election: WA Nationals announce first candidates in metropolitan seats

The WA Nationals have announced their first candidates in metropolitan seats, including a Liberal turncoat who will run against her former party in one of its top targets. The Nationals’ State Council is expected to endorse candidates in five seats on Saturday, including two in the inner-city. Donna Gordin is the only Nationals nominee for the affluent southern suburbs seat of Bateman, and is part of the party’s strategy to remain a political force after the 2025 election. The State poll will be the first with a reformed Legislative Council for which 37 members will be elected Statewide — as opposed to six from six regions, including three in regional WA. The changes mean the Nationals cannot rely on disproportionate support in conservative rural areas and have to boost their usually scant support in Perth. It is hoped that by running candidates in the Lower House, the party can grow its brand recognition in the metropolitan area and also convince voters to support the party in the upper chamber. Ms Gordin, who grew up in Kalgoorlie, ran under the Liberal banner in the Federal Labor stronghold of Brand in 2010 and 2013 and helped run Liberal MP Ben Morton’s losing campaign in the Federal seat of Tangney. Bateman, which covers suburbs just south of Perth including Applecross and Ardross, is generally thought to be blue-ribbon, but in 2021 a wave of support for Mark McGowan saw it turn red. Kim Giddens is now defending it on a margin of 6.7 per cent. The Liberals have pre-selected little-known accountant Nitin Vashisht after higher profile candidates either contested other seats or decided not to nominate. In another Liberal bastion that fell to Labor in 2021, Jonathan Shack of the Shack motors family will run in South Perth. Mr Shack — whose brother, Peter, represented Tangney for the Liberals — will face Labor MP Geoff Baker and Liberal candidate Bronwyn Waugh, with tree canopy advocate Bronwyn David also mulling a run as a teal independent. In the peri-urban seat of Darling Range, which has in recent years swung between Liberal and Labor, the Nationals will preselect Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale councillor Morgan Byas. It is held by Labor’s Hugh Jones on a healthy margin of 14.1 per cent, but could swing hard against the Cook Government in the wake of the bungled Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Law that particularly angered regional voters. The party is expected to pin its hopes on long-serving member and Karratha-based engineer Kieran Dart to win back Pilbara. The seat was held by Nationals’ leader Brendon Grylls until 2017, when Labor’s Kevin Michel seized it and then increased his margin four years later. Kalamunda is the only contested preselection to be decided on Saturday, with long-serving party member and former candidate in the Federal seat of Durack, Lisa Logan, facing off against Young Nationals member Ben Simpkins. Labor incumbent Matthew Hughes is retiring after two terms and the party has preselected Shire of Mundaring councillor Karen Beale to succeed him in the Perth Hills electorate. The Nationals were reduced to four seats at the last election, giving leader Shane Love the mantle of Opposition leader after the Liberals won just two. A party switch to the Liberals by Merome Beard failed to deliver leader Libby Mettam the title, but deepened division between the parties who were in an already fractious alliance. Mr Love previously made no apologies when announcing his party would target metropolitan seats, including in Liberal heartland. “We’ll be putting forward our plan, we’ll be presenting ourselves to the electorate, and it will be up to them to make their judgment,” he said in March when revealing the first slate would set up three-cornered contests. The Nationals have not revealed how many seats in WA’s 59-member Lower House they will contest, but Mr Love previously expressed a desire to run in “as many as possible”.