Preselection disharmony has reared its head in the Liberal ranks of the once-blue electorate of Curtin, where a former division treasurer is accused of lashing the candidate selection process.
Preselection disharmony has reared its head in the Liberal ranks of the once-blue electorate of Curtin, where a former division treasurer is accused of lashing the candidate selection process.
An internal document obtained by Business News alleges Ryan Fernandes, who until September was treasurer of the Curtin division of the Liberal Party, emailed scathing critique of the party’s candidate selection process to another member.
“We talk about policy, we talk about candidates, but unless we undergo more reform to ensure every candidate who puts their hand up gets a fair go we will not get the best and brightest but merely lac[k]eys and sycophants as nobody with any gravitas would subject them[selves] to the Mickey Mouse show that is our current process,” the email allegedly said.
Mr Fernandes’ tenure as treasurer of the division ended on September 6. Its leadership is understood to have requested an apology in relation to the alleged comments.
Mr Fernandes declined to comment, referring Business News to the Liberal Party WA.
The critique comes despite the fact the party has yet to select its candidates for the next election, a point highlighted by a Liberal Party WA spokesperson when approached by Business News.
The spokesperson said it was disappointing that private correspondence was supplied to media and that the party “would not be responding to intemperate criticisms of candidate selection processes which have not yet occurred”.
A review of the Liberal Party’s performance at the 2022 federal election identified issues with vetting of preselected candidates, flagging concerns around outsourcing of candidate vetting to third-party companies and the adequacy of pre-selection timelines.
That performance followed a wipeout at the 2021 state election, where the party was left with two representatives in the Legislative Assembly; a figure increased to three following the recent defection of former WA Nationals member Merome Beard.
Earlier this year, the party launched its Blueprint 2025 program, designed to identify and develop the next generation of Liberals for public office and senior campaign roles within the party.
The preselection process is likely to be intensive across state and federal ballots in WA, with the two elections slated to take place within months of one another in 2025.
While preselection in Curtin is yet to take place, Barnett-era policy adviser and former Uber South Korea chief executive Tom White has been reported by some media outlets to be in contention for the candidacy.
Mr White announced through LinkedIn two weeks ago that he had resigned from his position at the rideshare service and would return to WA to take up a “fresh and important challenge” waiting for him in Perth.
No more information was provided.
The Curtin electorate is historically a Liberal stronghold and is expected to be hotly contested in 2025.
The seat was held for more than 20 years until the retirement of Julie Bishop, but was lost in 2022 in a tight battle between the Liberal incumbent Celia Hammond and teal independent Kate Chaney.
The Curtin division of the Liberal Party WA covers City Beach, Claremont, Cottesloe, Crawley, Dalkeith, Floreat, Hackett, Hollywood Monash, Mount Claremont, Nedlands, Peppermint Grove, Subiaco, Wembley and Wembley Downs branches.
