WA Liberal leadership: Mike Nahan says party learned lessons of election decimation – ABC Online

Updated March 21, 2017 21:29:43

Former WA treasurer Mike Nahan says the Liberals have learned the lessons from their landslide election loss, after officially taking on the party leadership.

Dr Nahan was appointed Liberal leader unopposed this morning, with Liza Harvey maintaining the deputy role she also held before the election.

The former treasurer's appointment for the Liberals came after Colin Barnett's resignation as leader, which followed his party's heavy election loss 10 days ago.

In the aftermath of that defeat, Dr Nahan said he was the person to rebuild the Liberals and hold the new Labor Government to account.

"We are a small, but very experienced and unified team; you will see an aggressive, unified Liberal Party going forward," he said.

"We were sent a message by the public, a very big one, we have learned it."

The partyroom meeting marked Mr Barnett's first official address to MPs since the election and brought to an end his eight-and-a-half years as party leader.

The former premier left without speaking to waiting media but made brief comments on the way in.

"I will simply, as I have said, return quietly to the backbench as the Member for Cottesloe," Mr Barnett said.

Ahead of the meeting, Dr Nahan made clear his desire for Mr Barnett to resign from Parliament and spark a by-election in the near future.

But the new leader would not be drawn on Mr Barnett's future following the meeting.

"He is an elder statesman, I seek his advice and ideas and he will, no doubt, depart from Cottesloe on his own time," he said.

Labor holds a huge parliamentary majority after the election landslide, having possession of 41 of 59 Lower House seats, but Dr Nahan insisted he could lead the Liberals to victory in 2021.

"We were at the mountain, we are in a gully but the gully is not as deep as the mountain was high," Dr Nahan said.

"We can come back and that is my task I am not here for the short term."

He said the allocation of shadow portfolios would be completed in the coming days, saying every MP staying for the long-term would be given a role.

Dr Nahan was non-committal about whether a partial sale of Western Power would remain part of the Liberal platform, saying he would talk to his colleagues about policy matters.

Peter Collier was re-appointed the Upper House Liberal leader, despite a push by some within the party to replace him.

Topics: government-and-politics, liberals, wa

First posted March 21, 2017 13:56:56

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WA Liberal leadership: Mike Nahan says party learned lessons of election decimation - ABC Online