Perth lord mayor Basil Zempilas ‘not the answer’ to WA Liberals’ woes

Basil Zempilas, feted as a potential saviour for the parlous WA Liberals, faces resistance from party heavyweights who consider him out of touch.

Perth lord mayor Basil Zempilas. Picture: Colin Murty

Seven broadcaster and Perth lord mayor Basil Zempilas, feted as a potential saviour for the parlous West Australian Liberals, faces resistance from party heavyweights who consider him out of touch with a membership no longer anchored in Perth’s wealthiest suburbs.

Liberal insiders from across the party are disgruntled that Mr Zempilas’s boosters are promoting him as perfect to lead the party and turn its fortunes around, ­despite what they consider his limited knowledge of how the party works and its rank and file members.

They have rallied around state Liberal leader Libby Mettam amid speculation she could ­return controversial clan leader Nick Goiran to the frontbench. This move could protect her from any challenge from Mr Zempilas, her supporters say, because Mr Goiran maintains control of seats in Perth’s south and has influence over others.

A spokeswoman for Ms Mettam said on Monday that a reshuffle was not being considered.

State Liberal leader Libby Mettam.

Mr Zempilas’s predicted ascent to parliament is still more than a year away – the next state election is in March 2025. The 52-year-old wants to run for the seat of Churchlands in the garden suburbs of Perth where he lives with his wife Amy and their school-aged children.

Mr Zempilas is a household name in Western Australia, where he was a popular breakfast radio host for years, remains a sports presenter on Seven, a columnist with the Seven-owned West Australian newspaper and the lord mayor since 2020.

However, some of Mr Zempilas’ critics inside the Liberals told The Australian on Monday that they believed he could struggle in a party that had been forced to shift its focus from voters in some of Perth’s most expensive suburbs because the Liberals had lost key seats in the 2022 federal election that were once considered blue ribbon, including Curtin, where Mr Zempilas lives, to teal Kate Chaney.

“Basil will be attempting to take over an increasingly working class party of outer metro and ­regional voters from (his position in) teal heartland,” one Liberal ­insider said.

Mr Goiran, who was dumped from the state Liberal frontbench by Ms Mettam as she tried to break his hold on the party, did not speak to The Australian on Monday. He has offered no views on Mr Zempilas’s candidacy.

A Zempilas supporter inside the party said he did not need Mr Goiran or his forces to succeed.

“Who and what is the future of the Liberal Party? Well it’s not the people who have been running it for the past two decades, who ­refuse to take responsibility for their failures and for getting the party into the predicament we are now in,” the source said.

They said the West Australian Liberal Party was “broken organisationally” and “run by a small cabal”. This was one reason why it ended up with just two seats at the 2021 state election.

Mr Zempilas was too smart to attempt an early leadership bid and should wait until some time after the 2025 election, the source said.