Western Australia Party | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Secretary | Stephen Phelan |
| Founded | 2016; 10 years ago (2016) |
| Dissolved | 2 August 2023 |
| Headquarters | 19/4 Ventnor Avenue, West Perth, 6005 WA |
| Ideology | Regionalism |
TheWestern Australia Party (WAP) was a regional political party active inWestern Australia.
The party was founded in 2016 by Julie Matheson, a councillor with theCity of Subiaco asJulie Matheson for Western Australia to contest the 2017 state election.[1] In July 2017, the party's name was changed to the Western Australia Party.[2]
The party's ideological focus wasregionalism, drawing from the position of Matheson andJohn Forrest. Its core policies include reform toLocal Government, WA'sFamily Court, and tax reform.[3]
The party was deregistered on 2 August 2023.[4]
Matheson unsuccessfully ran for theAustralian Senate at the2016 federal election as anindependent candidate. Following her defeat, Matheson registered the Julie Matheson for Western Australia party in order to contest the2017 Western Australian state election.[5] The party received just 0.5% of first-preference votes in the Legislative Assembly, and 0.4% in the Legislative Council.[6]
In 2017, the party rebranded as the "Western Australia Party", with the aim of contesting the next federal election on a platform advocating forWestern Australia receiving more GST. The party was reported to have received financial support from a group of local businessmen, with retired barrister and judge Peter Nisbet serving as a spokesman and another retired barristerBevan Lawrence serving on the party's steering committee; Matheson also remained involved. Nisbet stated that the party's "sole objective is to get a better deal with the GST and, secondly, a better share of defence contracts".[7]
In the2018 Cottesloe by-election the new party polled 9% of first preference votes,[8] and 5.8% of first preference votes in theDarling Range by-election that same year.[9]
As the party was not registered with theAustralian Electoral Commission, Matheson contested the2018 Perth by-election as an independent candidate. After the by-election, the party applied to be registered on a federal level. This registration was granted on 30 August 2018.[10]
In 2019, the party contested its firstfederal election, running 20 candidates across Western Australia. However, the party again fared poorly, gaining only 1.8% in the House of Representatives and 1.2% in the Senate.
On 12 May 2020, the party gained its first member of parliament when formerOne Nation MP andLegislative Council member forEast Metropolitan,Charles Smith, joined the party.[11]
In August 2021 former Nationals MLCDave Grills took over leadership of the party from Julie Matheson.[12]
In 2022 former Liberal party memberAnthony Fels announced he would be running in the North West Central for WAP.[13]
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The Western Australia Party promoted itself as a centrist alternative to the major parties.[14][15] Where decisions are made based on what's in the best interests of Western Australia as opposed to party ideology. As such the party has a wide array of political ideas with members coming from many other political parties.
The party's centrist image was reinforced through preferences. The party always used a split-ticket system of preferencing, and at the2019 federal election, the party's preferences were the most evenly split of any political party in Australia.[16]
Throughout its history, the party held policies to change taxation laws in Western Australia. Including a 100% per capita share of the G.S.T., removing payroll and capital gains tax, and the removal of fringe benefits tax. Further policies include reform to the Western Australian Family Court and Local Government Systems.[17]
In 2023 the Party endorsed the No vote during the2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum.[18][19][20][dead link]
The Western Australia fielded 20 candidates in the 2019 Australian Federal Election, however none were elected.
| House of Representatives | ||||||
| Election year | # of overall votes | % of overall vote | # of overall seats won | # of overall seats | +/– | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 25,298 | 0.18 (#18) | 0 / 151 | 0 / 151 |  | |
| 2022 | 33,263 | 0.23 (#13) | 0 / 151 | 0 / 151 | | |
| Senate | ||||||
| Election year | # of overall votes | % of overall vote | # of overall seats won | # of overall seats | +/– | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 17,213 | 0.12 (#35) | 0 / 40 | 0 / 76 | | |
| Legislative Assembly | ||||||
| Election year | # of overall votes | % of overall vote | # of overall seats won | # of overall seats | +/– | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 6,145 | 0.47 (#9) | 0 / 59 | 0 / 59 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 5,276 | 0.37 (#11) | 0 / 59 | 0 / 59 | 0 | |
| Legislative Council | ||||||
| Election year | # of overall votes | % of overall vote | # of overall seats won | # of overall seats | +/– | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 5,270 | 0.39 (#14) | 0 / 36 | 0 / 36 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 10,496 | 0.73 (#10) | 0 / 36 | 0 / 36 | 0 | |
| Federalparliamentary parties | |
|---|---|
| State and territory parliaments (parties not represented federally) |
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| OtherAEC-registered parties | |
