New Liberal MP Honey denies leadership aspirations

New MP David Honey has dismissed suggestions he wants to lead the West Australian Liberals.

David Honey, the new Liberal member for Cottesloe in Western Australia.

Mining executive David Honey has dismissed suggestions he aims to lead the West Australian Liberal Party following his landslide victory in the Cottesloe by-election forced by the retirement of former premier Colin Barnett.

Dr Honey, a former Liberal state president, has about 60 per cent of the primary vote in counting so far, with almost two-thirds of eligible ballots counted. With Labor choosing not to field a candidate, Dr Honey has made Cottesloe an even safer seat for the Liberals with a two-party-preferred vote (over the Greens) of 70 per cent.

Dr Honey, 59, denied he had ambitions to lead the weakened Liberal Party at the next state election in 2021. “No, I’m someone who hopes they can do a good job for the residents of Cottesloe as a representative and can do everything in parliament to maximise the outcomes for the opposition,” he said on Saturday Dr Honey, a scientist, was the global residue manager for Alcoa’s refining operations, with responsibility for ­operations in the US, Spain, Brazil and Australia.

He is expected to be given a frontbench position in opposition and will be one of several MPs, ­including Sean L’Estrange and Dean Nalder, in line to replace Mike Nahan as leader before the election.

Dr Nahan yesterday credited the swing in Cottesloe to the quality of Dr Honey as the candidate along with voter dissatisfaction with the McGowan government.

“I think it shows concern with the McGowan government — high taxes, broken promises and failure to govern,” he told the ABC. “It’s positive for the Liberal Party because we have a new, ­excellent member for Cottesloe and, second, we have a result that shows we’re taking it to the McGowan government.

“They didn’t bother to run a candidate, they relied on the Greens. But this was, make no bones about it, an assessment of them.”

Mr Barnett held the seat for more than 27 years before his ­retirement last month.