Don’t repeat mistakes of the past, dumped MP Paul Filing warns Libs

Paul Filing said a protracted fight over Moore would detract from the party’s efforts to win seats in the west, which will be a central battleground in next year’s election.

Former Liberal Paul Filing.

The last incumbent Liberal MP to be rolled in the West Australian seat of Moore has warned that the party risks repeating history if it fails to endorse current MP Ian Goodenough, who is facing an ­uphill battle to secure his party’s nomination.

Paul Filing was the Liberal member for Moore in 1995 when he was dumped by factional opponents ahead of the 1996 federal election. He quit the party and then stood successfully for the seat as an independent – a path that many expect Mr Goodenough to take if he fails to see off a challenge from former Stirling MP Vince Connelly.

Mr Filing told The Australian it was critical for the Liberal Party to hold on to Moore in its own right, given it is currently the only wholly metropolitan seat they hold in Perth.

He said a bitter preselection battle that leads to the incumbent running as an independent would be a major setback for the Liberal campaign.

“What’s the sort of thing most likely to create a problem for a party wanting to get back into power? Having a preselection stoush like the Victorian Liberal Party, where you spend time looking at your navel and wondering why the Labor Party can’t be ­defeated,” he said.

In 1996, Mr Filing actually increased his two-party preferred vote when running as an independent. He said voters could see the unfairness of rolling a well-­respected local member.

“What ultimately won it for me was that people recognised it as a straight-out grab,” he said.

Liberal MP Ian Goodenough at the Perth Royal Show. Picture: Facebook

“If the likely contender, the former member of Stirling, is ­serious about contributing to a Liberal victory he should consider a seat held by Labor.”

Mr Filing – who currently maintains an office just across the road from Mr Goodenough’s electorate office – said Mr Goodenough had strong local ties.

He said a battle between a Liberal-endorsed Mr Connelly and an independent Mr Goodenough would be a distraction from a campaign that needed to focus on winning back seats lost in 2022.

“From a campaign strategy point of view, why would you want a punch-up in the only metropolitan seat that you hold at the same time when you are trying to convince the voters of ­Curtin that they should turf out (teal independent MP Kate) Chaney?” he said.

The stakes for the Liberal Party this time around are greater than they were when Mr Filing walked away in 1996. In that instance, the Coalition was overwhelmingly swept to power with John Howard subsequently enjoying a comfortable parliamentary majority.

Current polling suggests that the next election is likely to be far closer, and WA – where the Liberals lost five seats in 2022 – is likely to go a long way towards determining the election outcome.

The attempts to unseat Mr Goodenough have raised concerns among some of the party’s most senior figures, with Peter Dutton, his deputy Sussan Ley and opposition Treasury spokesman Angus Taylor all providing references for Mr Goodenough.

Ms Ley in her reference said that retaining Mr Goodenough was the outcome that would best support Mr Dutton in winning the next election.

“The last thing we can afford in a tight election is having to divert precious party resources to support new candidates in seats where we already have strong performers,” Ms Ley wrote.

Vince Connelly. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Mr Filing said he had become “persona non grata” in the Liberal Party after standing as an independent. He went on to become the WA president of One Nation, standing unsuccessfully as the party’s lead Senate candidate.

Liberal Party members will decide the Moore preselection on February 17. It is one of several tight preselections in WA ahead of twin state and federal elections in 2025.