WA Nationals prepare to open preselections in every seat in Perth as fight for survival moves into the city

The WA Nationals are poised to seek candidates in every seat in Perth, breaking decades of tradition in pursuit of continued relevance following sweeping electoral reforms that endanger the future of the country party. A special meeting of Nationals State Council on Saturday will vote on a motion to open preselections in all 59 seats in the Legislative Assembly. If the motion is endorsed as expected, it would mark the first time the Nationals have even contemplated contesting the 43 Lower House seats that fall within the boundaries of metropolitan Perth. Nationals Leader Shane Love – who is also the current Opposition Leader – said it was unlikely his party would ultimately run in every city seat but intended to cast a wide net for prospective MPs. “Where seats are found to have a plan, where there’s a synergy between our values and the candidate and the community that is represented in that seat, then we’ll certainly consider that application,” he said. The Nationals earlier this year established their first-ever Perth branch in the riverside seat of Bateman, which Mr Love confirmed was one of the electorates his party was likely to contest. “One would expect that seeing as there is a branch active down there that there would be somebody,” he said. He added that some electorates on the outskirts of the city also loomed as natural fits for the Nationals. “I don’t think it’d be outrageous to contend, for instance, that those outer urban seats in the hills, the Darling Range seats, would certainly be ones where you would expect that there probably would be somebody running,” Mr Love said. “Those are certainly areas where we seem to be getting indications of support. “We’re a party that’s community based, we’re a party that springs from the local communities. “If a local community comes forward with a plan, or local members come forward with a plan, for an area in Perth and they can show the reasonableness of that prospect, then we’ll certainly look at it.” Darling Range was held by what was then known as the Country Party from 1950-1962 but has not been contested by the Nationals for more than 50 years. Other peri-urban seats like Kalamunda, Swan Hills and Wanneroo have also not featured a Nationals candidate for decades – if at all. As is customary, Mr Love confirmed the Nationals will run in every regional seat in WA. The country party’s foray into Perth comes after the McGowan Government abolished the Legislative Council’s previous six regions – half of them in the country – in favour of a single statewide electorate. That change, designed to ensure every vote carries equal weight, has smashed the Nationals prospects of maintaining healthy representation in the Upper House without raising the party’s profile in Perth. “By running candidates in the city we’re trying to garner support across the metropolitan area for those (Legislative Council) opportunities as well,” Mr Love said. Earlier this year, the Nationals proposed entering into a formal coalition with the Liberals which would have seen the mantle of Opposition Leader transferred to Libby Mettam. In return, the Nationals demanded a joint ticket in the Legislative Council that would place country party candidates in every third slot – a trade-off balked at by the Liberals. Absent a deal, the Nationals are now likely to create three-cornered contests – in a raft of Perth seats, with the party’s preferences potentially playing a role in deciding the outcomes.