Former Liberal MP Goodenough may send preferences to Labor in key WA seat

The fallout from the Liberal Party’s decision not to preselect incumbent MP Ian Goodenough is set to lead to a preferences stand-off that could jeopardise the Coalition’s last seat in metropolitan Perth.

Moore MP Ian Goodenough, who will run as an independent after missing out on Liberal preselection, says it will be ‘very difficult’ to direct preferences to Liberal candidate Vince Connelly. Picture: Gary Ramage

The fallout from the Liberal Party’s decision not to preselect incumbent MP Ian Goodenough is set to lead to a preferences stand-off that could jeopardise the Coalition’s last seat in metropolitan Perth.

Mr Goodenough told The Australian he acknowledged it would be “very difficult” for him to direct his preferences to Vince Connelly, who won Liberal endorsement for the seat of Moore in Perth’s northern suburbs after a bitter preselection battle last year.

If, as appears increasingly likely, Mr Goodenough directs his preferences to Labor over Mr Connelly or leaves his preferences open, it could hurt the Liberals’ chances to retain the seat.

Mr Goodenough told The Australian a primary vote of 10 per cent for him would likely leave the Liberals in “quite a difficult position”.

But he said he was intent on winning the seat in his own right as an independent.

“I’ve got the enthusiasm and the drive to keep achieving for the electorate with the development vision and a few of the projects that I’m still pursuing very heavily,” he said.

“I do have a constructive agenda for running, it’s not just to cause trouble.”

He said he had also had some “general discussions” with Labor. A final call on his preferences will be made closer to the election.

Liberal Party insiders believe the expected swing against the Albanese government in Western Australia will temper any issue with Mr Goodenough’s preferences. There is also a belief that Mr Goodenough’s primary vote is unlikely to be of sufficient magnitude to sway the contest.

Mr Connelly told The Australian a vote for any other candidate in Moore was a vote “for a weak Albanese Labor government”.

“Locals in Moore tell me they expect an MP who works hard for them in Canberra, delivering results locally and helping ease cost-of-living pressures, especially for families,” he said.

Vince Connelly, the federal Liberal candidate for Moore, and Simon Brown of Roy Hill at last years’s bush summit at Port Hedland. Picture: Colin Murty

“They want an MP who’ll be part of a team that has a plan to get Australia back on track.”

Mr Goodenough in recent days emailed his supporters informing them his Liberal Party membership had lapsed and confirming that he would run for preselection as an independent.

He attributed his decision to abandon the party of which he had been a member for 30 years to the “dysfunctional infighting within the local Liberal Party”. The internal political manoeuvring, he said, had taken a toll on his health, putting him in hospital with severe pneumonia over the festive season.

Despite the uncertainty around his preferences, Mr Goodenough says he will continue to support the Coalition if elected as an independent.

Mr Goodenough was overlooked for preselection despite Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, deputy Sussan Ley and shadow treasurer Angus Taylor all writing letters of support for him.

He had also argued that choosing Mr Connelly for the seat would deprive the party of the resourcing available to incumbent MPs.

Mr Goodenough recently began distributing the latest iteration of his famous glossy calendar, with the Liberal blue colour scheme replaced by a green and gold layout.

Ian Goodenough has ditched the Liberal blue colour scheme for green and gold for the latest instalment of his famous calendar.

The seat of Moore is also being targeted by a teal campaign, with a Voices for Moore community group still working on identifying a candidate.

Retaining Moore is vital to the Coalition’s hopes at the next federal election. The party will likely need to regain at least some of the five seats it lost in 2022 if it is to return to government.

Mr Goodenough retained Moore in 2022 after narrowly winning the seat, with less than 1400 votes separating him from Labor candidate Tom French. That same election saw higher-profile Liberals including Ben Morton and Ken Wyatt lose their seats to Labor, while Celia Hammond lost the blue-ribbon seat of Curtin to teal candidate Kate Chaney.

Moore has been held by the Liberal Party since 1990, with the exception of a period in which Paul Filing successfully held the seat as an independent after losing Liberal Party endorsement.