Peter Dutton regards jilted Liberal Ian Goodenough as ‘mate’ despite election threat

Peter Dutton says he still regards jilted Liberal Ian Goodenough a “friend” despite the member for Moore now threatening to run as an independent at the next Federal election. But Mr Dutton has made it clear that his friendship with Mr Goodenough will count for little as the Liberals go all-out to retain Moore at the next poll, in what is shaping as a bitter contest in the must-win seat. In an interview with The Sunday Times, the Opposition Leader said WA could well decide the result of the next election — and retaining Moore was vital to the Liberals’ chances of winning back government. Mr Goodenough announced on Saturday that he was now “90 per cent sure” he would run as an independent after being dumped by the Liberals at pre-preselection. “Ian Goodenough is a friend of mine and he is a good person but he is understandably upset because he lost the pre-selection for the Liberal Party,” Mr Dutton said. “I don’t have any ill-will towards Ian, but we have to win this seat to win government from Labor and stop a Labor-Greens government at the next election.” The Labor-held WA seats of Tangney, Pearce Swan and Hasluck — as well as the Teal-held Curtin — are all must-wins for Mr Dutton if he is to have any hope of toppling Mr Albanese. Moore was one of just five WA Liberal Federal seats the conservatives clung to at the 2022 election. Forrest, O’Connor, Durack and Canning were the others. Mr Dutton said retaining those seats and winning back those the Liberals lost was the game plan. He was also confident the Liberals would win the new Federal seat of Bullwinkel. “We need to win all of them (WA seats) back,” Mr Dutton said. “There are none we are giving up on. “My judgment is that both the Prime Minister and I will be sweating on the results coming in from WA on election night.” Former Stirling MP Vince Connelly has been pre-selected as the Liberal candidate for Moore, with Mr Goodenough jettisoned after nearly 11 years as the member and 30 years as a member of the Liberal Party. His likely run as an independent as an independent would make it much harder for the Liberals to keep the seat. To make things worse for the Liberals, the Teals are also looking to run a candidate in Moore. Just a week ago, Mr Goodenough turned up to a Liberal State Council meeting with a metre-high sign reminding his colleagues that the last time a sitting Liberal member, Paul Filing, lost preselection he ran as an independent and won. On Saturday, Mr Goodenough held a community barbecue in Warwick with 300 supporters, showcasing new placards — minus the Liberal Party logo. “I am 90 per cent sure (I will be running as an independent),” he said. “When I make the announcement, I will leave the party.” Mr Dutton, accompanied by his wife Kirrily, started a five-day-tour of WA on Friday, which has already included visits to Curtin and Hasluck, with a community barbecue with Tangney Liberal candidate Howard Ong scheduled for Sunday. He plans to visit Kalgoorlie on Monday. In a clear insight into what WA Federal Liberals would campaign on in the lead-up to the election, Mr Dutton nominated cost-of-living pressures as the number one issue worrying West Australians, ahead of an RBA meeting this week that will decide whether interest rates rise for a 14th time since 2022. “Interest rates are going down in comparable economies and we know that the Reserve Bank governor here has said that the inflation problem is home grown,” Mr Dutton said. “The Government has now been in power for two years — they have had 12 interest-rate increases. And as every Labor government does, they have spent like crazy which has fuelled inflation. “Most of the decisions that have made have not helped families, they have hurt families.” He also continued to push nuclear power as a the way of the future for power generation, with Collie nominated as one of several locations across the nation where he would build nuclear power station — if he becomes PM. “65 per cent of people aged 18-34 now support nuclear power, because they know what’s happening in Europe, they know what’s happening in Asia and North America,” Mr Dutton said. “I think WA has a higher energy IQ than the rest of the country. They understand that wind and solar can’t work 24/7. “We need to firm up electricity (supply). Green hydrogen is not a proven technology and likely to be delivered longer further into the future than nuclear – at a much higher cost.”