Basil Zempilas appointed WA Liberal Party leader

New WA Libs leader Basil Zempilas said his immediate target would be the Cook government’s spending record as he attempts to turn around the party’s fortunes.

Basil Zempilas and Libby Mettam arrive at Parliament House to elect their new Leader. Picture: Colin Murty

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Basil Zempilas says he will be a leader who listens and col­laborates as he tries to “reset” the West Australian Liberal Party after three consecutive election thrashings.

The media personality and former City of Perth lord mayor was elected unopposed as the party’s new leader on Tuesday morning, with former leader Libby Mettam similarly appointed deputy leader without opposition.

Speaking after his appointment was confirmed, Mr Zempilas said he expected the Liberal Party to work hard and cohesively to hold Roger Cook’s Labor government to account.

“It is hugely important to all of us, as the reset of the Liberal Party in Western Australia begins, that our priority is to be amongst the community, to go out into the community and to walk side-by-side with the community and to listen,” he said.

“It is clear that our messaging did not resonate the way we would have hoped at the previous election, and the way to step forward, the way for the reset of the Liberal Party in Western Australia, to really begin to gather momentum … is to be out in the community and listening.”

The WA Liberal Party has a history of churning through leaders – he is the seventh person to hold the role in eight years – but Mr Zempilas said he was confident both in the support of his colleagues and in his ability to work hard. “My view on those sorts of things has always been the same, work hard today and tomorrow will take care of itself. That’s the personal philosophy that I am bringing to this role,” he said.

While Mr Zempilas had long been seen as the great hope of the WA Liberals, his entry into parliament was marred by a much tighter than expected race for the seat of Churchlands. He could only manage a 2.2 per cent swing from Labor, well short of the 12.2 per cent swing across the state.

Asked about those baked-in negative views held about him in some parts of the community, Mr Zempilas said he was looking forward to showing those doubters how hard he could work for them.

Ms Mettam will act as Mr Zempilas’s deputy.

“What a wonderful opportunity to have been elected as a member of parliament, to work hard every day for the people of Churchlands and to demonstrate what I am about and what my representation for them is about. And now what a wonderful opportunity as leader of the opposition to demonstrate my fight for the people of Western Australia, together with my team, every single day,” he said.

“And I’m confident that as I get to work with my team, people will see what I am about, what I plan to bring to this space, the vigour, the energy, the professionalism, the fight for the people every ­single day.”

He said an immediate target would be the Cook government’s spending record, headed by its proposed development of a $220 million racetrack next to Optus Stadium and a bid for a Perth-based rugby league team that was previously reported to be worth more than $300m. “Wasteful government spending is on the minds and on the radar of everyday Western Australians,” he said.

Mr Zempilas’ ascension to the party leadership came just hours after the Liberals were confirmed as the official opposition party of WA.

The Nationals had held that title in the previous government and looked like they could retain it when both parties were tied on six lower house seats each, but the Liberals clinched a decisive seventh seat on Monday night when Adam Hort was declared the winner of Kalamunda.

That tips the scales firmly in the Liberals’ favour in ongoing negotiations with the Nationals over how to carve up the resources of opposition and the allocation of shadow portfolios.

Mr Zempilas revealed that his formal employment with Seven West Media – owner of WA’s highest-rating television station and only daily newspaper – had formally ended earlier this month after more than 30 years.

But he and deputy premier Rita Saffioti are expected to continue writing their side-by-side weekly columns in The West Australian.

He denied that Seven West Media major shareholder Kerry Stokes or Hancock Prospecting chairman Gina Rinehart – whose Rossi Boots company has used Mr Zempilas’ wife Amy as a social media influencer – had any sway over him.

“[Mr Zempilas’ time working for Mr Stokes] was an employer/employee relationship, and I don’t expect anything from that ­relationship will enter into my new role.

“In regards to Mrs Rinehart, I’ve attended a number of functions that she’s been at, but to suggest that our relationship is anything other than somebody high profile in Perth who might MC events or be at public functions … with that person – to suggest that anything beyond that would be inaccurate.”

The WA Liberals. Picture: Colin Murty

As Mr Zempilas flagged a “reset” of the party, some of his new colleagues called for sweeping changes to the way it operates.

Upper house MP Steve Thomas told reporters before the party room meeting that the party needed “to do everything differently” if it was to turn its fortunes around, pointing to a lack of developed policies and poor communication in the past.

“We have just had the three worst elections in a row that the Liberal Party has ever experienced. We need to deliver something different,” he said.

“It cannot be recycled and more of the same. I want to see a seismic shift in the way the Liberal Party does business in Western Australia.”

Peter Collier – who will formally retire as an upper house MP when the new Legislative Council is sworn in in late May – said Mr Zempilas would add “enormous” value to the party.

“He’s got tremendous life skills, he’s got the media smarts. He’s a doer basically. He’s an achiever in life,” Mr Collier said.

“And as well as that, he fund­amentally believes in what we ­believe, in limited government and that the individual is paramount.”