WA Liberal reformers call party to arms

WA Liberal Party elders have called on the party’s membership base to mobilise or risk seeing the party tumble to even more ‘humiliating’ election defeats.

Norman Moore. Picture: AAP

WA Liberal Party elders Norman Moore and Mike Nahan have called on the party’s membership base to mobilise or risk seeing the party tumble to even more ­“humiliating” election defeats.

An estimated 6000 WA Liberal members received an email from the pair on Tuesday night, after Mr Moore used a little-known law to lodge an application to access the contact details of the membership.

The “call to action” from the pair urged those in the party who were not always active in organisational affairs to push for their branch and divisional represen­tatives to push for a major overhaul of the party, amid an ongoing factional civil war ­between Mr Moore and Dr Nahan’s Liberal Reform Coalition and a group of perceived conservative power­brokers now known as the Clan.

“We want real reform – not half-baked reform that will leave the party in the hands of the Clan and on the path to further humiliating electoral defeats,” they wrote.

The latest missive comes ahead of the party’s state conference later in July, where party president Richard Wilson will present a suite of reforms aimed at overhauling some party ­practices.

Mr Moore told The Australian that the rank and file of the party needed to ensure their voices were heard.

“We wanted to say to those people who generally don’t get involved in the day-to-day machinations of the political world but who are members of the party (that) they need to take an interest and be aware that change is necessary,” he said.

“The Clan doesn’t represent the 6000 members – they are 20 or 30 people working their butts off to protect their interests.”

His group would send another message to the membership base in August with instructions on how to vote on resolutions and the elections of party office bearers.

The Liberal Reform Coalition is concerned that dozens of recommendations put forward from the review into the state election disaster have been watered down or discarded all together and may not deliver the changes needed to stop manipulation of party appointments and preselections.

“A lot of what was recommended is not being dealt with,” Mr Moore said. “This should be seen as just the beginning of the reform process, not the end of it.”

He said WA was virtually a “one-party state” in the wake of the McGowan government win at last year’s election, which reduced the Liberals to two lower house seats, and said the party needed to restore its integrity if it were to again become a political force.

Mr Wilson would not be drawn on the contents of the letter. “I am completely focused on gaining consensus for reform at next week’s state conference and leading a united Liberal Party ­organisation, and will not comment on any faction’s ­attempts to discredit their opponents,” he said.