Re-elected Curtin MP Kate Chaney has called on the Liberal Party to return to more moderate politics in the wake of its blowout election loss.
Re-elected Curtin MP Kate Chaney has called on the Liberal Party to return to more moderate politics in the wake of its blowout election loss.
Ms Chaney, first elected to the seat in 2022, was declared the winner of the Curtin electorate on Sunday.
She currently holds a 2.86 per cent margin over Liberal candidate Tom White on a two-party preferred basis. That represents a swing of 1.54 per cent in Ms Chaney’s favour on her 2022 election result.
Speaking in Scarborough on Monday morning, Ms Chaney attributed her win to the positive campaign she ran, and said she focused on policy, rather than attacking her opponents.
“The Liberal Party now will need to take a long, hard look at what it is that they stand for and it would be good to see that being driven not by thinking about how they can win power, but working out what it is that they actually stand for,” she said.
“And I think that's really important now that the Liberal Party listens to the message that was sent to them in 2022 and again at this election and arrests that pathway towards being purely conservative and come back to the centre to represent moderate electorates like the one that I represent.
“And I think there was a dearth of policy in this election. People I speak to around Curtin knocking on doors ... actually want to see leaders who have ideas for addressing the long-term fundamental challenges we face around housing, around climate, around productivity, managing the economy, all the things that actually take more than three years to address.”
Ms Chaney attracted $1.46 million in donations since the beginning of 2024.
Responding to criticism of the amount of funding used in the Curtin, Ms Chaney said it was unfair to focus on funding of independent or teal candidates.
“I don’t know who spent more money in this campaign, because even though I’ve got every donation on my website in real time, we don’t have any transparency from the Liberal Party,” she said.
“So even after the disclosure date, we still won’t know how much money was spent in Curtin, because even then it will be disclosed on a party basis, not on an electorate basis.”
With Labor now holding at least 85 seats, negotiations with the crossbench won’t be necessary to pass legislation, but Ms Chaney said that didn’t matter for her role in parliament.
“I will keep doing this job the same way no matter what the makeup of parliament is, and that is taking my job very seriously as representing the values of the electorate and voting on every piece of legislation on its merits,” she said.
“In this parliament, Australians have chosen to give the ALP a big majority, and time will tell whether that delivers ambition or arrogance. Either way, I will continue to push the major parties on longer-term thinking, keep the issues on the agenda that people care about, and really work as an effective opposition.”
Liberal candidate for Curtin Tom White released a statement earlier today congratulating Ms Chaney on her win.
“Kate and I have many differences, but this is not the time to dwell on them. She has been an impressive and formidable opponent. I admire her team and the sincerity they have broughtt to the campaign, even when we’ve disagreed strongly,” Mr White said.
“The Curtin electorate has never seen a contest like this one. Both sides threw everything at it. I am at peace knowing there’s virtually nothing more I could have done.
“Defeat stings, but it’s much less painful than the permanent, dull ache of wondering what might have been had I never tried. I have no regrets.”
It was the northern part of the Curtin electorate – encompassing Scarborough, Churchlands, Doubleview and Innaloo – that delivered victory for Ms Chaney.
Mr White was the preferred candidate in the affluent suburbs of Mosman Park, Dalkeith, Cottesloe and City Beach.
Ms Chaney put a callout to those who didn't vote for her.
"For the two out of five people who voted for the Coalition here in Curtin. I represent you, too, and I really invite you to come along to all the community events that we have and make sure that your voice is heard," she said.
"One of the things that we are missing in Australian politics is the ability to disagree civilly and to do the hard work of taking conflicting perspectives and finding a path through them."
Ms Chaney also took aim at the Liberal Party's treatment of women.
"I don't think the Coalition has done much to prove that it is a good place to be if you're a woman in politics. And certainly, I look at some of my female colleagues in the Coalition, and I think they've had a really tough time," she said.
"I certainly think that when the Liberal Party knocked back Julie Bishop and chose Scott Morrison [to become leader] instead, I think that was a sliding doors moment for for the Australian Liberal Party.
"And a lot of women looked at that point and thought, 'this does not look like the party that that represents me'.
"I hope that the Coalition can have a good look at what a pathway into politics looks like for women and avoid becoming irrelevant by ensuring that it can represent the full gambit of people that it's supposed to."
Ms Chaney's comments seemed to echo that of outgoing Liberal Senator Hollie Hughes, who today made scathing comments about the party; and particularly about shadow treasurer Angus Taylor, who many tip to be the next opposition leader.
"I have concerns about his capability. I feel we have zero economic policy to sell," Senator Hughes said.
"I don't know what he's been doing for three years. There was no tax policy, there was no economic narrative."
She added said that a "huge" number of her Coalition colleagues shared her sentiment.
