WA Liberals in battle to replace Christian Porter

Liberal hopes of an uncontested preselection for Christian Porter’s former seat have been dashed after a veteran councillor stepped in to make a contest.

Miquela Riley. Picture: Tony McDonough

Liberal hopes of an uncontested preselection for Christian Porter’s former seat have been dashed after a veteran councillor stepped in to make a contest.

Linda Aitken, who has stood unsuccessfully for the seat of Butler at the past three state elections, will challenge favourite Miquela Riley in a battle that pits a long-term local against the pick of the party’s key powerbrokers.

Ms Aitken’s nomination complicates what was shaping as a likely rubberstamping of Ms Riley’s nomination at this weekend’s state council meeting of the West Australian Liberal Party.

The contested nomination means the state council will have to decide on an appropriate method for preselection, including whether to go ahead and award the nomination to Ms Riley.

Both Ms Riley and Ms Aitken are seen as having similarly strong conservative views.

Ms Riley has been earmarked as a rising star of the party in WA and is considered a raging favourite to win a contest with Ms Aitken. A former navy officer, Ms Riley has won backing not only from influential fundraiser Danielle Blain but also former party president Fay Duda and the powerful factional group now known as The Clan.

Ms Riley has little to no ties to the Pearce region. She contested the seat of Fremantle at the March state election, finishing third behind Labor and the Greens, and recently relocated to the inner-city branch of Subiaco.

In contrast, Ms Aitken – a nurse – has strong links to Pearce, having served as a councillor at the City of Wanneroo for the past eight years. That role has seen her go toe-to-toe with Labor’s high-profile candidate, City of Wanneroo mayor Tracey Roberts.

Her best result in a state election came in 2013 when she lost by just over 800 votes. Pearce is one of the Liberal seats in WA most at risk, with electoral boundary changes narrowing the margin from 7.5 per cent to 5.2 per cent.