2022 North West Central state by-election

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| <- 2021 | 17 September 2022 | 2025 ->

|
|

Registered| 11,189
Turnout| 42.2%
|  | First party  | Second party  | Third party

|
|
|

|  |  |
Candidate  | Merome Beard | Will Baston  | Niels Glahn-Bertelsen
Party  | National | Liberal | Greens
Popular vote  | 2,042 | 1,353  | 635
Percentage  | 40.2% | 26.6%  | 12.5%
Swing  |  0.4  |  18.7  |  8.4
2CP | 60.5% | 39.5%  |
2CP change  |  8.8  |  39.5  |

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Map showing the electoral district of North West Central within Western Australia

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| MP before election

Vince Catania
National

| Elected MP

Merome Beard
National

|

A by-election for the electoral district of North West Central in Western Australia took place on 17 September 2022 following the resignation of the sitting member, Nationals MP Vince Catania, on 8 August 2022. The election was won by National Party candidate Merome Beard.

## Background[edit]

Vince Catania was initially elected to the electoral district of North West Central in 2008 as a Labor Party candidate, but he defected to the National Party in 2009. He had since won the 2013, 2017 and 2021 state elections as a National Party candidate. His margin at the 2021 election was only 259 votes, making it one of the closest seats in the state. In June 2022, Catania announced his intention to resign from Parliament in August 2022.[1][2][3] At the time, he was one of four National Party members in the Legislative Assembly. As the Liberal Party only had two members in the Legislative Assembly, the National Party was the senior party in the opposition alliance.

Catania tendered his resignation to the speaker on 8 August 2022. The election was scheduled to occur on 17 September 2022.[4][5]

## Candidates[edit]

The National Party chose Carnarvon hotel and pub owner Merome Beard as their candidate in late June. She was the only person nominated for preselection.[6][7]

The Liberal Party chose Will Baston as their candidate on 13 July. He is the nephew of Barnett government minister Ken Baston and manager of the family's Jimba Jimba Station, a cattle station 150 kilometres (93 mi) east of Carnarvon. He was the only person nominated for preselection. If he were to win the by-election, the National and Liberal parties would have three seats each, making it unclear which party would be the opposition party. The opposition leader and deputy opposition leader are determined by who is the leader and deputy leader of the opposition party. The opposition party also gets additional staff and resources. There is no known precedent or tiebreaker for when multiple parties have the same number of seats.[8][9]

Labor was yet to decide if it will put forward a candidate as of mid-July, with there being little upside to winning considering the party already had 53 out of 59 seats in the Legislative Assembly.[9] Premier Mark McGowan was opposed to fielding a candidate, whereas cabinet minister Alannah MacTiernan was strongly in favour. By 8 August, Labor had decided not to field a candidate, with McGowan saying that by-elections historically have been difficult for governments to win.[4][10] Out of the 11 by-elections from 2008 to 2022, incumbent governments have not contested five.[11] The opposition used Labor's lack of candidacy to suggest that the government doesn't care about regional areas.[12]

The Greens preselected Exmouth local Niels Glahn-Bertelsen, an educator and environmentalist.[13]

In total, there are 12 candidates, a record number for North West Central. Out of those candidates, three live in the electorate: Beard, Baston and Glahn-Bertelsen.[11] The full list of candidates, in ballot order, is as follows:

Party[11][14] | Candidate[11][14]

|

| The Greens (WA) | Niels Glahn-Bertelsen
| Western Australia Party | Andrea Randle
| Small Business Party | Peter Baker
| The Nationals | Merome Beard
| Pauline Hanson's One Nation | Gerald Laurent
| Legalise Cannabis Western Australia Party | Leanne Lockyer
| Liberal Democrats | Jake Adkins McCoull
| Western Australia Party | Anthony Fels
| No Mandatory Vaccination | Aaron Horsman
| Independent  | Peter D Dunne
| Independent  | Tony Stokes
| Liberal Party | Will Baston

## Election results[edit]

Main article: Electoral results for the district of North West Central

2022 North West Central state by-election[15] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| National | Merome Beard | 2,042  | 40.2  | +0.4
| Liberal | Will Baston  | 1,353  | 26.6  | +18.7
| Greens | Niels Glahn-Bertelsen  | 635  | 12.5  | +8.4
| Legalise Cannabis | Leanne Lockyer  | 269  | 5.3  | +5.3
| Western Australia | Andrea Randle  | 202  | 4.0  | +4.0
| One Nation | Gerald Laurent  | 197  | 3.9  | +0.9
| Western Australia | Anthony Fels | 108  | 2.1  | +2.1
| No Mandatory Vaccination | Aaron Horsman  | 82  | 1.6  | +0.6
| Independent | Peter Dunne  | 55  | 1.1  | +1.1
| Small Business | Peter Baker  | 55  | 1.1  | +1.1
| Independent | Tony Stokes  | 44  | 0.9  | +0.9
| Liberal Democrats | Jake McCoull  | 42  | 0.8  | +0.8
Total formal votes  | 5,084  | 95.3  | −0.2
Informal votes  | 251  | 4.7  | +0.2
Turnout | 5,335  | 47.7  |
Two-candidate-preferred result
| National | Merome Beard | 3,071  | 60.5  | +8.8
| Liberal | Will Baston  | 2,008  | 39.5  | +39.5
| National hold |

## References[edit]

1. ^ Hastie, Hamish (10 June 2022). "Nationals MP Vince Catania announces retirement from WA parliament". WAtoday. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
2. ^ Spagnolo, Joe (9 June 2022). "Vince Catania announces shock resignation from politics creating a by-election bombshell". The West Australian. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
3. ^ Bourke, Keane (10 June 2022). "Nationals MP Vince Catania quits state politics, sparking West Australian by-election". ABC News. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
4. ^ a b Law, Peter (9 August 2022). "WA Labor to skip North West Central by-election amid tension between Mark McGowan and Alannah MacTiernan". The West Australian. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
5. ^ Bourke, Keane (9 August 2022). "Nationals MP Vince Catania hands in resignation for WA seat of North West Central". ABC News. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
6. ^ Hastie, Hamish (29 June 2022). "Carnarvon pub owner picked to defend Nationals' most marginal WA seat". WAtoday. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
7. ^ Pin, Phoebe (29 June 2022). "Carnarvon businesswomen Merome 'Mem' Beard endorsed as Nationals WA candidate for North West Central". The Geraldton Guardian. West Australian Newspapers. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
8. ^ Ramsey, Michael (13 July 2022). "Libs pick candidate to challenge Nats in regional WA by-election". WAtoday. Australian Associated Press. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
9. ^ a b Zimmerman, Josh; Campbell, Kate (8 July 2022). "Will Baston, nephew of ex-Barnett Minister Ken Baston, to contest North West Central by-election". The West Australian. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
10. ^ Ramsey, Michael (9 August 2022). "WA premier defends by-election no show". The Canberra Times. Australian Associated Press. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
11. ^ a b c d Ferguson, Kate (10 September 2022). "Voters in North West Central still want to know why WA government isn't fielding a candidate". ABC News. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
12. ^ Carmody, James (17 September 2022). "How the North West Central by-election could shake up politics in Western Australia". ABC News. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
13. ^ "North West Central". WA Greens. 10 August 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
14. ^ a b "2022 North West Central By-election". Western Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
15. ^ 2022 North West Central By-election, WAEC