Overview

• WA Liberal leader Libby Mettam survived a leadership challenge during a party room meeting, maintaining her position ahead of the March 2025 state election.
• Leaked polling, funded by unidentified private business interests, suggested the Liberal Party could gain a 7% primary vote boost with Basil Zempilas as leader.
• Mettam dismissed the polling as flawed and biased, stating it was designed to destabilize her leadership and calling on internal critics to be transparent.
• Basil Zempilas, a Perth media personality and Liberal candidate for Churchlands, denied involvement in the polling and expressed support for Mettam while not ruling out a future campaign leadership role.
• The WA Labor government criticized the Liberals' internal divisions, describing the situation as chaotic and highlighting their struggles to rebuild after the 2021 electoral defeat.