Liberals' WhatsApp messages to feature in report

The Liberal Party is bracing for the release of a review into its near-wipeout performance at this year's state election, with a long-running WhatsApp discussion involving party powerbrokers expected to come under scrutiny.

The conversation, between members of a group dubbed "The Clan", runs to several hundred pages when printed and is understood to demonstrate the way in which the likes of Matthias Cormann, Peter Collier and Nick Goiran organise branches and pre-selection battles.

About 60 witnesses have provided their evidence and thoughts to the review panel, which consisted of former state president Danielle Blain and high-profile lawyer Mark Trowell.

It's not known how the WhatsApp discussion came to the panel's attention, but membership of "The Clan" is understood to stretch to more than a dozen people.

Business News has also learned that no federal Liberal MPs made submissions to the review, depite efforts by WA Liberal Senator Dean Smith to be appointed to the panel.

The report will be presented to State Council next Saturday, and will be released publicly at the same time.

While the findings have been kept from party members, including state Liberal leader David Honey, it's expected to focus on the appointment of Zak Kirkup as leader just weeks before the election and the failure of the party to provide any other alternative when Liza Harvey resigned from the role.

It's also expected to critique the party's controversial energy policy, which was released late in the campaign and included a radical plan to close the state's coal-fired power stations by 2025.

The Liberal Party was left with just two members in the lower house, with Labor taking 53 of the 59 seats.