Thomas, Boylan in box seat for Upper House seats in next election

Steve Thomas has finished on top of the WA Liberals’ South West preselection ballot, meaning he is set to return to the State’s Upper House in 2025, despite being dumped from his deputy leadership position following contact with disgraced former premier Brian Burke. The former shadow treasurer stayed top of the ticket and will be third on the Statewide ballot meaning he will be all but a certainty to be elected. Shire of Harvey councillor Michelle Boylan finished second in the vote and will appear ninth on the State ballot. Cr Boylan unsuccessfully contested Robyn Clarke in the last election for the seat of Murray-Wellington. Both positions should lead to a surefire spot in the Upper House given the changes to the house’s voting system. Parties will get a seat for every 2.7 per cent of the vote they secure so if 24.3 per cent of the votes fall to the Liberals, Cr Boylan will be elected. Despite the one Statewide electorate for the Legislative Council the WA Liberal Party has decided to conduct preselection based on a regional model, similar to the previous six-electorate system. In a more precarious position is Xavier Garbin who will be hoping for a strong swing for the Liberals after he finished third in the South West vote. Fourth on the list and in a near-impossible spot is Bunbury city councillor Gabi Ghasseb. Despite outbidding his fellow councillor Michelle Steck, his position on the ballot will make it extremely unlikely for him to be elected come March 2025. Alongside Cr Steck in failing to make it into the top four was former Warren-Blackwood candidate Marie O’Dea and Mandurah branch president Nigel Irvine. Some of Mr Irvine’s 103,000 tweets were revealed by the South Western Times in recent weeks, many of which featured posts targeting multiculturalism and transgender people and used anti-vaccine rhetoric. The order still needs to be officially confirmed by the Liberal State Council.