Election 2025: Ex-Lib independent outspends former party in race for key marginal

Preferences of teal candidate Nathan Barton and Australian Christians are emerging as potential deciders in the race for Moore.

Member for Moore Ian Goodenough in his cowboy boots at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: Gary Ramage

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Liberal-turned-independent Ian Goodenough is outspending his former party in the first stages of the race for the marginal seat of Moore, where the preferences of teal candidate Nathan Barton and Australian Christians are emerging as potential deciders.

Mr Goodenough, the incumbent who lost the endorsement of the Liberals in 2024, has sent a detailed brochure with photos of himself and a covering letter to 70,000 voters in the northern Perth seat.

He has listed his priorities and achievements and warned voters in Moore that the party that dumped him is divided.

“It has been a great honour and privilege to represent Moore for the past 12 years.

“During that time, the Liberal Party has lost the surrounding three electorates of Pearce, Cowan, and Curtin. Moore was the only Liberal-held federal electorate in the Perth metropolitan area,” Mr Goodenough writes in his letter to constituents dated April 1, 2025.

“After 30 years with the Liberal Party, I am very disappointed not to be re-endorsed, amid internal party division.

“It may be a case of history repeating itself, as in 1996 incumbent MP Paul Filing retained Moore as an independent under similar circumstances.”

Mr Goodenough’s hopes of finishing in front of Labor and therefore receiving its preferences were buoyed last week when he was assigned first place on the ballot paper in the Australian Electoral Commission’s draw. Strategists see this as highly desirable because a portion of voters put number one next to the name at the top of the paper, number two next to the name under that and so on.

Second place on the Moore ballot paper is Labor’s candidate Tom French. Third is Mr Barton, the teal. Liberal candidate Vince Connelly is second last in a field of eight candidates.

Mr Goodenough has the ­advantage of being able to use his MP expenses to campaign for his re-election.

By contrast, the Liberals sent postal vote application forms to the people of Moore using the expenses of West Australian senator Matt O’Sullivan.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton. Picture: Thomas Lisson/NewsWire

Liberal candidate for Moore Vince Connelly. Picture: Gary Ramage/NewsWire

This was a frugal decision but meant the mail-out could promote only Peter Dutton as party leader and not the Liberal candidate Mr Connelly.

The Australian has been told the Liberals are saving their ­spending in Moore for later in the campaign.

The Liberal party’s advantage may come in the form of manpower.

Dozens of Liberal Party ­members are expected to help on pre-poll booths.

On election day, they will volunteer at the approximately 40 polling booths in Moore.

Labor candidate Mr French is also expected to have good support from party ­volunteers.

Mr Barton’s how to vote card will ask voters to put him first but he will not recommend the order in which other candidates should appear.

On social media, he has been highly critical of Liberal Party text messages to voters, which he described as data harvesting.

Sources said the preferences of the Australian Christians candidate for Moore, Trevor Bartley, could be as important as the teal preferences, given the minor party’s performance at the West Australian election in March.

Australian Christians polled more than 3 per cent of the primary vote across the state and earned an upper house seat.