Perth Voice Interactive

PERTH lord mayor Basil Zempilas has announced he’s seeking to become Liberal candidate for Churchlands, aiming to wrest the electorate back from Labor.

Churchlands was previously held by Liberal MP Sean Lestrange until 2021 when Labor’s Christine Tonkin was narrowly elected with 50.8 per cent of the two-party preferred vote. 

Mr Zempilas was first elected as lord mayor in 2020 and was re-elected in 2023. 

During that campaign he steered clear of speculation he might not fulfil his four year term in favour of a Liberal candidacy. 

The possibility was repeatedly raised during the election, with rival candidate Sandy Anghie saying she was the only contender who’d committed to being a “full term” mayor. 

Speculation

Mr Zempilas ended the speculation on January 27, holding a press conference in Churchlands and confirming he’d seek pre-selection by the Liberal branch members.

Mr Zempilas said his interest in politics had been boosted by his stint as lord mayor, and he now wanted to bolster the Liberal numbers in the lower house. The Liberals currently have three MPs, plus three Nationals to make up the coalition against 53 Labor members.

“One of the things I’ve observed very closely from a front row seat, if you like, is the effect of a lack of balance on our political system in how this government has operated,” Mr Zempilas said at his January 27 conference.

“And more balance, I think, in opposition, is going to help produce a better government, whichever way it is. We want it to be closer, we want a more fierce, even contest, and that’s something I want to be a part of.”

He said there had been “no encouragement” to run from his employer Kerry Stokes who runs SevenWest media, and “no endorsement”. “Didn’t ask for one, and didn’t get one.” But he had told Mr Stokes of his interest in running around October last year, just after the election. 

Preselection candidates have to be a member of the party for a month before the branch members vote, and Mr Zempilas’ announcement came a day before the cutoff. 

State Perth MP, Labor’s John Carey, was critical of Mr Zempilas for leaving the city centre and running in another seat.

Mr Carey told us: “I’m not criticising him for running for higher public office, or for running for a political party,” noting other members including himself and Fremantle’s Brad Pettitt had also made the jump from mayor to MP.

“My argument [is]: He said he was committed to the city and to Perth residents, and so surely he would then fight here in Perth if he’s been so committed?”

Mr Carey suggested that the reason Mr Zempilas was running in Churchlands was because too many Perth residents were angered by the lord mayor’s track record on issues like closing the council-owned childcare centre and ending funding for the Safe Night Space for Women. 

Mr Zempilas noted at his candidacy announcement that during the October 2023 election “there was lots of discussion and speculation about what my future might or might not be”.

Next tier

He said at his candidacy announcement: “I didn’t rule anything out, but I did say that my focus was very clearly on the October lord mayoral election. And I think people understand my desire to take what I’ve learned as lord mayor, to take the learnings about how this state government operates, to the next tier.

If Mr Zempilas is successful in being pre-selected by Churchland’s Liberal branch members, he says he’ll stay working as lord mayor until the election writs are issued, which happens between 33 and 58 days ahead of the March 8 polling day. 

That’s too late to avert a by-election. Recent provisions in the Local Government Act, introduced by Mr Carey ahead of the last election, allow the runner-up in a race to “backfill” a position if the winner resigns within the first year. 

If Mr Zempilas were to resign before October 2024, that’d hand the lord mayoral chains to second-in-place contender Sandy Anghie instead of forcing a by-election.

by DAVID BELL