Labor settles Upper House ticket, as four MPs face tough chances of re-election

Labor is set to cast out four sitting Upper House MPs to unwinnable spots on its Legislative Council ticket after the party’s factions settled the final order ahead of the March State election. After months of negotiating with MPs, Unions, and factional powerbrokers, Labor’s ticket will be ratified by the party’s State Executive on Monday night, with former State Secretary Mat Dixon set to take up a difficult-to-win spot near the bottom. Two-thirds of those nominated for winnable spots are women, as Labor seeks to maintain gender parity in its ranks after the election. Labor members backed a move to endorse candidates for the Upper House in blocks of seven, with the right faction taking the second, fourth, and sixth places in each group — enshrining a four-to-three split between the left and right of the party. Left-affiliated United Workers Union candidates secured the first and fifth slots, and the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union, received the third and seventh place in each round. The preselections are the first to be held after the State Government’s electoral reforms abolished Upper House regions, opting for 37 Statewide representatives. As revealed by The West in February, Agricultural Minister Jackie Jarvis will take out the top spot on Labor’s ticket, with backing from the United Workers’ Union. Parliamentary Secretary Matthew Swinbourn takes out second spot while Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson is in third. Long-standing MP Kate Doust, Government Whip Pierre Yang, Parliamentary secretary Samantha Rowe and Council president Alanna Clohesy finish out the first group of seven. The Right have selected three newcomers for its second block of candidates — Andrew O’Donnell, a staffer for Balcatta MP David Michael, Labor’s assistant secretary and former Belmont councillor Lauren Cayoun and University of WA associate professor Parwinder Kaur. Sitting Nedlands MP Katrina Stratton, who announced last week she would seek Upper House preselection following the retirement of Sally Talbot, has taken 10th on the ticket. Other Labor MPs calling time on their political careers include minister Sue Ellery, Agricultural Region MP Darren West and Right-aligned MP Martin Pritchard. The United Workers Union has backed three sitting MPs —Ayor Makur Chuot, Klara Andric, and Sandra Carr — for its spots in the second group. Incumbent MP Dan Caddy, aligned to UWU, has secured 15th position — considered to be the last winnable spot on the ticket. The final group to be settled on Monday night sees CFMEU-aligned Klasey Hirst — a staffer for Reece Whitby — in 16th, while Mr Dixon is in 18th, and Labor’s finance and operations director Henny Smith gets the nod for 21st. Sitting MPs Peter Foster, Lorna Harper and Rosie Sahanna have all landed in difficult spots — and would likely only win if the 2021 landslide result was repeated. The only other sitting MP, CFMEU-aligned Kyle McGinn, has nominated for preselection for the proposed federal seat of Bullwinkel. However, under the new Statewide system, those candidates not elected in March will sit on the political reserves bench, and could be elected in the event of a vacancy in Labor’s ranks via resignation or death. While Monday’s meeting is set to confirm the first three groups of seven, first-term Agricultural Region MP Shelley Payne will be given the 22nd position on the ballot. Sitting MPs not elected in the March ballots will be eligible for a $40,000 “transition allowance” when they leave Parliament in May, assisting former members with resettlement advice and services, financial counselling, re-employment counselling, training, and any other costs. Those elected at the March election will not take their seats in the Upper House until May 21. Labor won 23 positions in the 2021 landslide result — a record level that gave the Government a rare double majority — which led to its proposal to overhaul the Upper House into one Statewide electorate. The Liberals and the Nationals — who opposed the changes — have completed their preselections, with the Liberals opting to maintain the current regional structure. After the election, the Nationals are set to have a whole new class of MPs in the Upper House, with the retirements of Martin Aldridge and Colin de Grussa, and the recent departure of Louise Kingston, after she was dropped to an unwinnable fifth position. LABOR’S UPPER HOUSE TICKET