New WA Liberal leader Libby Mettam has tied her leadership to quashing the influence of the factional group known as ‘The Clan’ and its powerbroker Nick Goiran, declaring it “a line in the sand” for the party.
Key points:
- Libby Mettam became WA Liberal leader on Monday
- She staked her leadership on curtailing the influence of ‘The Clan’
- She described it as a ‘line in the sand’ for the WA Liberals
Ms Mettam took over the Liberal leadership from David Honey in an uncontested spill today and vowed the internal dysfunction caused by The Clan, which she said had turned voters off the party, would not be a feature of her time at the helm.
Ms Mettam asked the party room to remove Mr Goiran, who denies the existence of The Clan or his part in it, as the Liberal Party parliamentary secretary.
But the majority of Liberal MPs voted against it.
Ms Mettam denied she had failed in her first attempt to reduce the influence of The Clan and said she would renew her efforts at another party room meeting on Thursday.
She has also asked Mr Goiran to relinquish his shadow portfolios of attorney general, child protection and industrial relations “in the best interests of the party”.
“We will be having another party room meeting on Thursday, and what I can say is I will be using the means I have available to illustrate that I take the issues that have been raised in relation to internal matters of the party seriously,” she said.
“In terms of the secretary role it is disappointing that it did not receive the support of the party room, and at this stage he remains in that position.
“But I have illustrated my intention to Nick Goiran, that I will be raising with the National Party leader, that the Liberal Party team going forward will not include Nick Goiran in his shadow capacity.
‘Tough decisions’
“This is a line in the sand, this is a reset for the Liberal Party, this is the reset that the Liberal party desperately needs, and I would not be putting my hand up for this job if I was not prepared to make tough decisions.
“While I was unsuccessful with the motion I moved today, what I [say] to the people of Western Australia is that I hear you.
“The issues that have dogged the party surrounding the so-called Clan will not be part of my leadership going forward.”
Mr Goiran declined to comment on the issue following Ms Mettam’s elevation to the leadership, but pledged his “one hundred per cent unconditional and unequivocal” support.
Upper house MP Peter Collier, another member of The Clan, has apologised for his comments in private chat messages between members of the group.
“Given the ongoing commentary of the private chat messages, I have expressed my apology to the WA Liberal Party leader, Libby Mettam, and I also sincerely apologise to Liberal Party members, and the people of Western Australia for the inappropriate language that I used on several occasions,” Mr Collier said.
Ms Mettam indicated she would not be asking Mr Collier to relinquish his shadow portfolios.
Chat messages leaked
The messages detail how The Clan prided themselves on their ability to legally stack party branches with people they called “solid citizens”.
In a 2017 message, Mr Goiran wrote: “I’ve just realised that despite the fact we’ve never had so many channels, there is literally nothing to watch.
“Tomorrow I’m going to find a branch to stack, this is driving me crazy.”
In a 2017 message, Mr Collier derided Liberal Women’s Committee (LWC) president Robyn Nolan, suggesting a talking point for the LWC’s next meeting be: “Robyn Nolan is a prize bitch and everyone hates her.”
New deputy Liberal leader Steve Thomas, who is not factionally aligned, said the best way to beat Clan members was to outperform them.
Rather than party members being rewarded for their factional loyalty, he said it had to be a merit-based approach.
“This has to be a meritocracy for the Liberal party to ever be successful at all,” Mr Thomas told Perth ABC Radio.