WA election 2025: Liberal leader Libby Mettam vows to restore representations in regions to Upper House

Liberal leader Libby Mettam has promised to ditch Labor’s one-vote, one-value Upper House system and go back to having MPs chosen from six regions. In Sunday’s address to the party faithful at the Liberals’ official launch of the election campaign, Ms Mettam will promise that within her first 100 days as Premier, she will “restore representations in the regions”. “The mining and pastoral, agricultural and the southwest regions are the backbone of the West Australian economy where the wealth of the state is generated,” Ms Mettam will say. “We believe under the new boundaries these regions have been disenfranchised by the Cook Labor government and the Liberal Party will restore regional representation. “Twenty per cent of the State’s population have lost representation because of Labor’s grab for power. “We will fix that and not add to the city-country divide at a time when regional Western Australia needs support.” Under Mark McGowan, Labor changed the Upper House model of six MPs, chosen from six regions throughout the State, and replaced by a single electorate electing 37 members. The Liberals and Nationals feel that under this model, the 37-member Upper House will be city-centric. In her speech, Ms Mettam will paint Labor as an administration flush with money, but one that had squandered billions and left many West Australians worse off over their eight-year-rule. Well and truly behind in the polls and facing a heavy defeat on March 8, Ms Mettam will tell voters Labor “had failed miserably” to vastly improve their lives despite “$114 billion in GST grants” and billions more in iron ore royalties since coming to power in 2017. Ms Mettam will re-commit to a $2.1 billion new Royal Perth Hospital if the Liberals win the election, and locating the new $1.8 billion women’s and babies hospital at QEII, instead of near Fiona Stanley Hospital. She has also re-committed to building a new 300 megawatt gas-fired power station.