Nationals WA State council picks Chapman Valley Shire president Kirrilee Warr as its Geraldton candidate

Kirrilee Warr has emerged victorious from the Nationals WA’s State Council meeting and will represent them in the battle to win the seat of Geraldton in the 2025 State Election. It was announced on Saturday afternoon that the party’s council had selected Ms Warr, a farmer and president of Chapman Valley Shire, out of the three candidates who put their hats in the ring for the preselection process. The votes saw former Geraldton mayor Shane Van Styn and Shire of Northampton vice president Rob Horstman unsuccessful in their attempted jump from local government to State politics. Born and bred in Chapman Valley, Ms Warr was confident as she entered preselection, due to her strong roots in the region. Ms Warr will most likely be running against Labor incumbent Lara Dalton — who plans to run again — for the Geraldton seat, with no candidates yet to be confirmed for the Liberal Party’s preselection process. Mr Love has already been preselected in the newly minted seat of Mid West, most likely going up against former colleague turned Liberal defector Merome Beard. Under electorate changes, the seat of Geraldton now incorporates Northampton and Chapman Valley. Nationals State president Julie Freeman welcomed Ms Warr to the team. “She has long been a passionate advocate for regional WA, through her involvement with local government, the Mid West Development Commission, and Regional Development Australia,” Ms Freeman said. “Kirrilee has more than a decade of experience in local government, and has helped to empower and create opportunities for regional women through her involvement with the Rural, Remote and Regional Women’s Network.” “Kirrilee will be a great representative for The Nationals WA and ensure families, businesses and communities across the Geraldton electorate have a strong voice.” Ms Freeman also thanked Mr Van Styn and Mr Horstman for their nominations. “It was tremendous to see a number of high-profile nominations for the electorate of Geraldton, each with strong links to their local communities, a clear indication of an appetite for change in this region,” Ms Freeman said. The Nationals also confirmed on Saturday that South Perth, Bateman, Darling Range and Kalamunda as the first wave of metropolitan seats in which they will preselect candidates, setting up three-cornered contests with Labor and the Liberals. The pivot to Perth comes as Shane Love declared his position as Opposition Leader was “settled” – shutting the door on handing the mantle to Libby Mettam prior to the 2025 election.