Senator Smith censured in WA Libs factional war

The factional civil war within Western Australia’s Liberal Party has led to recently re-elected senator Dean Smith coping a censure motion against him.

Coalition Senator Dean Smith. Picture: AAP Image/Lukas Coch

The factional civil war within Western Australia’s Liberal Party has led to recently re-elected senator Dean Smith coping a censure motion against him, with his senior Liberal figure Michaelia Cash opting against voting in support of her Senate colleague.

The vote against Senator Smith was part of an eventful meeting of the Liberal Party’s state council meeting on Saturday, which also saw delegates vote to push ahead with disciplinary proceedings against prominent Perth property developer Nigel Satterley.

A contentious proposal to require party candidates to sign undated letters of resignation was pulled at the eleventh hour, after Senator Smith secured written advice from the Clerk of the ­Senate advising that it could be fraudulent and might amount to improper interference with a senator.

The censure motion against Senator Smith related to comments he made at a state council meeting in the wake of the recent federal election, in which he was critical of a review of the party’s campaign by committee chairwoman Michelle Hofmann.

The motion was prepared by Tim Houweling, head of the party’s appeals and disciplinary committee, who wrote that Senator Smith raised his voice, slowed his speech and waved his finger at Ms Hofmann, behaviour he described as “entirely unacceptable”. A formal letter advising Senator Smith of the reprimand will be sent to him on Monday.

Both Mr Houweling and Ms Hofmann are aligned with The Clan, a conservative faction that has been battling the likes of the Liberal Reform Coalition and Senator Smith, who are pushing to diminish their influence.

Sources close to The Clan said the censure motion and the move to require candidates to submit undated resignation letters were designed to improve the party’s standards and its standing with women.

Supporters of Senator Smith described the motion as a witch-hunt designed to isolate a factional rival. Some believe the motion will eventually pave the way for his expulsion, although others believe such a move – which would send Senator Smith to the crossbench for the balance of his new six-year term – would invariably be blocked by the federal party.

Those sources say the vote against Senator Smith brings into stark relief the factional influence of the Clan, with one describing the vote as “the most blatant abuse of their power thus far”.

The censure motion vote was understood to be 47-63 against Senator Smith. Senator Cash, the most senior WA Liberal in the Senate, opted not to cast a vote.

A spokesman for Senator Cash said she abstained from voting “as she was not at the relevant meeting where the conduct occurred as she had Covid”.

Sources at the meeting said no one spoke in support of the censure motion, although several people including former Curtin MP Celia Hammond and former WA Liberal leader Bill Hassell publicly expressed their support for Senator Smith.

Mr Satterley, meanwhile, is a step closer to expulsion from the party he had supported for years after delegates voted to refer him to the appeals and disciplinary committee. The property developer has been a staunch critic of The Clan and its perceived influence in recent years, while he has also hosted several high-profile functions with WA Labor Premier Mark McGowan and the successful teal candidate for Curtin, Kate Chaney.

The motion calling for candidates to pre-sign letters of resignation as part of an effort to improve the performance of MPs, which was also drafted by Mr Houweling, was pulled from a broader motion aimed at formalising performance review practices for MPs.

It followed Senator Smith’s receipt of a letter from Clerk of the Senate Richard Pye in which he said it was “difficult to think of circumstances where it would not be considered fraudulent for someone to submit a purported resignation against the wishes of the senator in question. Mr Pye also said the escrowed resignation letters might amount to improper interference with a senator.

The amended motion was comfortably passed.