Mathias Cormann’s replacement: Bunbury bar owner Ben Small, ex-minister Albert Jacob in race for senate seat

A bar owner from Bunbury will face off against a former Barnett Government Minister in the race to replace Mathias Cormann in the Senate. WA Liberal party nominations for the Senate ticket closed today with bar owner Ben Small emerging as a surprise candidate. Other candidates are former WA Environment Minister and Mayor of Joondalup Albert Jacob, Chairman of the WA Liberal Party's Policy Committee Sherry Sufi and another Bunbury businessman Gabi Ghasseb. Current Senators Michaelia Cash and Dean Smith have also re-nominated. Mr Jacob, who lost the state seat of Burns Beach to Labor in the 2017 State election bloodbath, is likely to have support of the party’s conservative factions. He is closely affiliated with the Globalheart Church. Mr Sufi is also a conservative and is understood to have some support, however, party sources told The West they were concerned about previous controversies which emerged when he ran in 2016 for the seat of Fremantle. He was forced to resign from the 2016 race over past comments he had made about marriage equality and Indigenous constitutional recognition. At the time he also apologised for a 2013 video he made where he mocked his then-boss Liberal MP Michael Sutherland’s South African accent. Another party source however, told The West they felt Mr Sufi had “worked hard and kept his head down” since the controversies several years ago. Some sources said Mr Small, who they described as being “centre right”, was likely to gain support from those concerned about the fundamentalist Christian influence over the WA Liberal Party. The 32-year-old part owner of Smalls Bar had previously challenged Forrest MP Nola Marino for preselection in 2016 but was unsuccessful. It is expected Senator Cash will be given the number one spot on the Senate ticket for the next election — previously held by Senator Cormann — and that Senator Smith will be given the number two placement. Whoever wins the preselection will get the number three spot. The preselection will be held in November.