David Littleproud: ‘Nothing will stop’ Nationals running WA lower house candidates in Federal election

Nationals leader David Littleproud has vowed that nothing will stop his party from running candidates against their Coalition counterparts in WA, paving the way for three-cornered contests in the regions. Speaking in Perth on Tuesday, Mr Littleproud also targeted the Federal Government on the issue of live exports, calling out animal activists for being “ignorant and condescending” to Middle Eastern cultures on the calls to ban the trade. Under the Coalition agreement, Liberals and Nationals are only able to contest electorates where there is no incumbent member. Ahead of the next election in WA, Nola Marino has already announced her retirement from the regional seat of Bunbury, opening the seat up to a three-cornered contest. The Liberals have preselected former Senator Ben Small to replace Ms Marino in the seat, held by the party for more than 50 years. The other vacant Liberal seat is likely to be Moore, where sitting Liberal MP Ian Goodenough was dumped by preselectors last month, in favour of former Stirling MP Vince Connolly. It comes as the State Nationals make moves into metropolitan Perth, holding preselections for the seat of Bateman in Perth’s southern suburbs, in a bid to stave off looming Upper House reforms under which the country-focussed party is set to struggle. Asked whether the Nationals would consider running candidates in either Forrest or Moore, Mr Littleproud said the process was being worked through the party’s State division. “There’s nothing stopping us having three-corner contests anywhere in the state if we determine we’ve got a good candidate, and if we believe we have a candidate with a chance, we’ll do it,” he said. “We already have three-cornered contests in some parts across this country, but that’s determined state by state, division by division and obviously where we’ve undertaken some polling to appreciate the opportunities that are there. “The National Party here has been dealt one of the cruelest blows not only to them but to democracy in the way that the redistribution has been done and the way that you are now going to treat the Upper House with absolute contempt for regional Western Australians. “The National Party here under Shane (Love) and the membership have determined the decision to run in Perth to make sure that the common sense that comes from the bush here in Western Australia can permeate through the suburbs of Perth, and you actually get some common sense in this place and some fairness and some equity for all Western Australians.” Mr Littleproud called on both the Prime Minister and Premier Roger Cook to show support for the live export industry, describing calls for local processing of meat before export as failing to understand Middle Eastern customs. I don’t think you’ve got a Prime Minister or Premier who understands what’s at play here and to think that we can process them all here is folly,” he said. “This is about food security, and it’s also about (Middle Eastern) culture and we are being ignorant and condescending to think that we are going to change their culture. “They actually want to process their sheep on country and because we’re there, we get to enforce the standards in which they process them.” Mr Littleproud said he would meet with both WA Farmers and the Pastoralists and Graziers Association while in Perth.