Attorney-General Michaelia Cash backs WA Libs to win federally despite damning state poll review

Michaelia Cash urges WA Liberals to focus on safeguarding federal seats, after a damning review into the state poll wipe-out.

Attorney-General Michaelia Cash in the Senate at Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday. Picture: Martin Ollman

Attorney-General Michaelia Cash has called on West Australian Liberals to unite and focus on safeguarding seats for Scott Morrison at the next election after a damning review of the party’s state poll wipe-out.

The review of the March election loss to Labor Premier Mark McGowan – which saw the Liberals reduced to two seats in the state parliament – delivered a scathing assessment of the party’s finances, campaigning prowess and factional infighting.

Senior WA Labor sources say Anthony Albanese is on track to gain as many as four seats from the Liberals, including those of ministers Christian Porter and Ken Wyatt, amid Mr McGowan’s sky-high popularity and concerns over borders and vaccines.

Senator Cash – now the most senior West Australian in the Morrison government – said the review showed the need for significant change in her state Liberal branch, but the party should take its time and focus on the federal election.

“It’s very humbling to be ­reduced to two seats in WA and to lose opposition status,” she said. “These need to be constitutional changes (to the party) and those constitutional changes should be considered at a special constitutional state conference in July 2022. First and foremost, we have a federal election next year and we should not lose sight of backing our federal team.”

After a disastrous 29 per cent primary vote in the 2019 federal poll in WA, senior Labor sources believe getting to 35 per cent will win the party three seats.

The ALP’s main targets are Mr Porter’s northern Perth suburbs seat of Pearce and long-time MP Steve Iron’s northeastern seat of Swan. There are also hopes to win the northeastern electorate of Hasluck off the Indigenous Australians Minister, Mr Wyatt.

ALP figures also believe they have an outside chance to gain Assistant Defence Minister ­Andrew Hastie’s seat of Canning and Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister Ben Morton’s electorate of Tangney.

The WA federal Liberals also face an election without former ­finance minister Mathias Cormann – revealed in leaked text messages between a group of WA Liberals to be an influential member of a factional group called The Clan. Mr Cormann was the most prominent WA minister and a key fundraiser.

WA Liberals are hopeful Mr Morrison – who was popular in Perth during the last election – will lift the vote and a wider vaccine rollout will change the election ­dynamic in the state.

Senator Cash said the federal Liberal team could also hold on to its 11 seats off the back of Covid-19 economic support, its success in changing the GST to benefit WA, and its backing of the mining ­industry. “In Western Australia, we have a good story to tell. In particular, in terms of our economic delivery to the state during Covid-19 … on any analysis, they did enable Mr McGowan to keep the borders closed.

“And I’ll never forget how hard we fought as a team to get rid of that inequity in the GST … (and) Labor fought us tooth and nail on the (industrial relations) omnibus bill in relation to extending greenfield agreements.”