O’Connor electorate: Two farmers in six-way contest with Liberal incumbent Rick Wilson

A seven-way contest in the agricultural and mining electorate of O’Connor will pit two farmers from Amelup and Manjimup against Liberal incumbent Rick Wilson as he chases a fourth term. Amelup broadacre grain farmer Darren Moir was this week announced as the Labor candidate, joining a line-up that already included Manjimup farmer and school teacher Heidi Tempra for the Nationals. Shire of Esperance councillor Gemma Johnston has put her hand up for One Nation, while Pinjarra-based Deonne Kingsford has nominated for the Australian Christians. Perth-based Morris Bessant has nominated for the WA Party. Former Greens leader Giz Watson, who lives in Albany, is hoping to reignite her political career, putting her hand up as a candidate for O’Connor for the third time after previously serving in the Legislative Council from 1997-2013. Mr Wilson came out swinging at WA Labor last week, slamming the party for dragging its feet in announcing a candidate and saying the people of O’Connor deserved to be taken seriously. “If they were serious about the seat, if they were serious about people in regional seats in WA — which drives our economy — they would have had a candidate three months ago,” he said. “No day is ever the same in this job, I’ll never get bored doing it. I’ll never get jaded. “There are so many challenges but we’ve been able to resolve some of those challenges, and we’re still working on others. “I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of this job because . . . there are so many wonderful people that I deal with on a daily basis and there’s still plenty of challenges, like the live export trade, that we need to continue to fight for.” Mr Moir was announced as the Labor candidate just hours later, with the party describing him as “a born-and-bred O’Connor local raising his family in this community, and he is an active member of his local grower organisations”. “I am standing with the rest of the Labor team against Peter Dutton and the Liberals, because they won’t come clean on their plans for the future — they won’t come clean on Collie, and they won’t come clean on cuts,” Mr Moir said. “Peter Dutton is threatening to cut so many of the critical services O’Connor residents rely on, all to fund his expensive nuclear scheme for Collie. “I won’t let that happen.” Nationals candidate Ms Tempa, who was in Albany recently to celebrate new Albany MLA Scott Leary’s win at the State election, said she was looking forward to a short but intense campaign. An educator with decades of experience, Ms Tempra has taught students from age three to adults. She lives on a farm outside Manjimup with her husband and children, and ran in the State election as the fourth on the Nationals’ Upper House ticket. Ms Tempra said she was acutely aware of the pressures of living outside the metropolitan area, and wanted to make sure regional voices were heard. “I’m determined that proposals are put into action so that the benefits are accessible and available for all, irrespective of where they live,” she said. A safe Liberal seat, O’Connor is geographically the second-biggest Federal electorate in WA, in the southern Wheatbelt and mining districts, as well as inland parts of the South West across more than 1,000,000sqkm. It has only been held by another party once, from 2010-2013 when WA Nationals candidate Tony Crook toppled Wilson Tuckey by a large swing. Kalgoorlie-Boulder and the southern mining districts were added to the electorate in 2010, and Collie in 2016. The Nationals did not run a candidate for O’Connor in the 2022 Federal election, which Liberal incumbent Rick Wilson won for the fourth time with 56.97 per cent of the two-party-preferred result.