2022 North West Central state by-election

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.

2022 North West Central state by-election

← 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
Map showing the electoral district of North West Central within Western Australia
MP before election Vince Catania National Elected MP Merome Beard National

Background

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

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

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

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. 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. 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. 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. "2022 North West Central By-election". Western Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
15. 2022 North West Central By-election, WAEC