Libs settle on top Upper House ticket spots

The Liberal Party of WA has finalised the top 18 spots on its Legislative Council ticket, as the state approaches its first election without multi-member electoral regions in 2025.

Placement on the Liberals' upper house ticket has been decided by the party’s regional divisions, despite the shift to a single-ballot system at next year's vote.

Moore division president and party powerbroker Simon Ehrenfeld (North Metro region) will lead the ticket after winning preselection preference over the incumbent, Tjorn Sibma, who sits in seventh spot.

Sole shadow backbencher Nick Goiran (South Metro) and former party deputy leader Steve Thomas (South West) hold second and third place, ahead of former Australian Christians candidate Phil Twiss (East Metro) in fourth spot.

The party’s recently appointed deputy leader Steve Martin (Agricultural) sits fifth ahead of Neil Thomson (Mining and Pastoral) in sixth.

Michelle Hofmann, Michelle Boylan, Anthony Spagnolo, Kathryn Jackson and Dean Wicken occupy places eight to 12 behind Mr Sibma, having been preferenced in second place by their respective electoral divisions.

Current Legislative Council members Peter Collier (North Metro) and Donna Faragher (East Metro) will retire following the ballot.

Earlier spots on the ticket are most winnable, as a result of the statewide system adopted as a result of electoral reform passed by the McGowan government in 2021.

Those from 13^th place onwards – Amanda-Sue Markham, Ka-Ren Chew, Xavier Garbin, Suzanne Migdale, Randall Starling and Kyran O’Donnell – are expected to have their work cut out.

Places 19-37 will be selected by the party’s state council at a later date.

The ticket has potential to fuel discussion over the lingering influence over the Liberals of 'the Clan': the WhatsApp group called out in a review of the party’s disastrous 2021 state election performance for its behind-the-scenes factional preselection influence.

The scathing review, prepared by the party’s Constitutional and Drafting Committee in 2022, claimed the actions of the group had shamed the party and trashed its reputation and called for unity ahead of 2025. While he was not part of the group, Mr Twiss is understood to have links to the Clan, as is Mr Spagnolo.

The retiring Mr Collier was a central figure in the scandal when it broke, while Mr Goiran retained strong support despite being stood down from the shadow cabinet by party leader Libby Mettam early in 2023 after refusing to apologise for his involvement.

Federal member for Moore Ian Goodenough, also part of the Clan, lost his preselection battle to former Stirling MP Vince Connelly earlier this year and has since warned of the potential for “civil war” to break out in the party as he mulls an independent run.

His warning included a dig at Mr Ehrenfeld, first on the upper house ticket, who is president of the party’s Moore division and a factional rival to the Clan.

Among elected state members, former deputy leader Steve Thomas recently temporarily resigned from the shadow cabinet following the revelation he had contacted disgraced former Labor premier Brian Burke. The scandal cost Dr Thomas the shadow treasury, the party’s deputy leadership and his place as Liberal leader in the upper house.

He retained a prime spot on the Liberal ticket.

In its wake, Mr Sibma – the deputy leader of the party in the upper house – was revealed to have responded to an email from Mr Burke’s secretary, welcoming the former premier to reach out as constituent in his electorate. 

Mr Sibma did not lose any responsibilities in the shadow cabinet reshuffle, but the party’s Legislative Council leadership was given to the retiring Mr Collier. He sits further back on the ticket after his division preferenced Mr Ehrenfeld with its first spot. 

The party’s ticket order was settled as Opposition Alliance coalition member, The Nationals WA, unveiled its candidates for key regional seats over the weekend.

The Nats have plans to field metropolitan candidates in the seats of Bateman, Darling Range, Kalamunda and South Perth, with the intention of preferencing the WA Liberals.

Key Liberal preselection nominations to date:

Closed February 28
Nedlands: Brent Fleeton, Hugh Sheddon, Jonathan Huston, David Dwyer, Sasha Epps
Churchlands: Basil Zempilas
Hillarys: Lisa Olssen
Scarborough: Damian Kelly, Lidia Kukulj
Tangney: Patrick Hall (dropped out), Jesse Jacobs, Jennifer Spanbroek, Mark Wales, Sean Ayres, Bill Koul, Howard Ong

Closed February 14
Legislative Council regions
North Metropolitan: Tjorn Sibma* (second on ticket), Simon Ehrenfeld (first on ticket), Richard Evans, Michelle Sutherland, Amanda-Sue Markham, Melinda Harris
South Metropolitan: Nick Goiran* (first), Michelle Hofmann (second), Ka-ren Chew
East Metropolitan: Phil Twiss (first), Anthony Spagnolo (second), Suzanne Migdale
South West: Steve Thomas* (first), Michelle Boylan (second), Xavier Garbin, Gabi Ghasseb, Nigel Irvine, Murray O’Dea, Michelle Steck
Mining and Pastoral: Neil Thomson* (first), Kyran O’Donnell, Dean Wicken (second)
Agricultural: Steve Martin* (first), Kathryn Jackson (second), Randall Starling
Federal Senate: Slade Brockman, Matt O’Sullivan, Jennifer Mathews, Trish Botha

Murray-Wellington: David Bolt
Forrestfield: George Tilbury
Mount Lawley: James Fairbairn 

Closed January 31
Bateman: Nitin Vashisht
Curtin: Matt Moran, Tom White (recommended)
Dawesville: Owen Mulder
Forrest: Ben Small
Jandakot: Nicole Robins
Riverton: Amanda Spencer-Teo
South Perth: Bronwyn Waugh (recommended), Hayley Cormann, Greg Milner

Closed January 18
Cottesloe: Sandra Brewer (recommended), Richard Evans, David Honey*
Moore: Ian Goodenough*, Vince Connelly (recommended)
Vasse: Libby Mettam*
Canning: Andrew Hastie*
Durack: Melissa Price*
O’Connor: Rick Wilson*

*incumbent MP