New WA Liberal Party leader Zak Kirkup faces more divisions

Any semblance of a smooth transition of power in WA has been scuttled amid calls for two senior figures to resign.

New WA Liberal Party leader Zak Kirkup. Picture: Colin Murty

Liberal wunderkind Zak Kirkup has inherited a bickering, broke party rattled by the prospect of seeing its already diminished numbers further wiped out in Western Australia’s March election.

The 33-year-old university dropout and career political staffer was confirmed as the Liberal Party’s third leader in 18 months, after opposition Treasury spokesman Dean Nalder withdrew his candidacy to replace Liza Harvey just hours before a vote.

The Liberals hold just 13 of the 59 seats in WA’s Legislative Assembl­y and are at real risk of losing more, given the strong popular support for Premier Mark McGowan’s handling of the coronavirus crisis.

While Mr Kirkup walked on to the steps of WA’s parliament after his appointment with his 22 Libera­l colleagues behind him, it was clear before his leadership was announced that he would be taking control of a divided party.

Former opposition leader Mike Nahan — who is leaving parliament at the next election — told reporters before the meeting that he was “despondent” over the position of the party and blamed the situation on powerbrokers who had lost touch with their base.

He called for influential party figure Peter Collier and long-serving Nedlands MP Bill Marmion to retire from their safe seats in an effort to bring new blood into the partyroom.

“They need to look at their future­: this is a rebuilding exercise and they need to not contest the next election,” Mr Nahan said. “They need to allow Zak and a young crew to come through and rebuild the party.”

Former WA Liberal leader Mike Nahan. Picture: AAP

He warned that the party had no new policies and “no money” to contest the election with.

Mr Kirkup has long been seen as a future leader of the Liberal Party — in 2004, he famously gave John Howard a business card describing himself as a future prime minister — but as the youngest Liberal leader in WA’s history, will be targeted over his relative lack of experience.

The son of a retail assistant and a tradesman, and a product of the state school system, he is proudly from outside “the establishment” and has been a prominent progressive voice in a party where socially conservative factions wield significant influence.

He is in his first term in parliament and has never been part of a government, although he did work in the office of then premier Colin Barnett.

Labor plans to attack Mr Kirkup over his youth and the open dissent within the Liberal Party.

“The Liberal Party is now a big risk to the state. They are in­experienced, risky and divided. They are not ready to govern,” Mr McGowan said.

In his first press conference as leader, Mr Kirkup said the McGowan government had done a “good job” of keeping West Australians safe during the pandemic but it lacked a plan for the state.

He said the party’s first policy under his leadership would be to support the advice from the Chief Health Officer around WA’s ­contentious border closure and ensure it was made public.