Liza Harvey has resigned as leader of the opposition, just months before the state election.
Liza Harvey has resigned as leader of the opposition, just months before the state election.
Mrs Harvey told her Liberal colleagues of the decision today after months of speculation that she would not see the party through to March.
Announcing the news this morning, she said her decision would give clean air and opportunities to a new generation of Liberal Party WA candidates.
Shadow treasurer Dean Nalder and shadow health minister Zak Kirkup have announced they will contest the leadership this coming week, with Mr Kirkup widely considered the frontrunner for the job.
He is currently serving out his first term in state parliament, having narrowly won the seat of Dawesville in 2017.
Mr Nalder meanwhile bring ministerial experience to the race, and unsucessfully contested the leadership in a spill in 2016.
Shadow corrective services minister Sean L'Estrange has yet to declare his intentions, while shadow industrial relations minister David Honey has withdrawn his name from contention.
Bill Marmion, who has served as deputy leader since 2017, may also be considered a chance, but is generally not thought of as a future leader.
Shadow transport minister Libby Mettam and shadow tourism minister Alyssa Hayden are among likely candidates for the deputy leadership.
It's understood party powerbrokers feared the Liberals would be decimated at the election in March, with one insider saying it was possible they could have fewer MPs than The Nationals WA.
Public polling since the start of the year has consistently shown the state government with a double-digit lead, which could result in an even larger swing towards Labor than was recorded in 2017.
At least one party member was attempting to engineer a leadership spill last month in an effort to instal Mr Nalder as leader, but Mr Nalder ruled out any challenge to Mrs Harvey at the time.
Today, Mrs Harvey sent a statement to Liberal MPs to announce her decision.
“I feel privileged to have been the leader of this great party and thank my parliamentary colleagues for the opportunity they gave me to lead the party," she said.
“Given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our community, it has been extremely difficult for our message to resonate.
“I’m standing aside to give the Liberal Party ... the opportunity to reset our election strategy and give the public a real choice at the March election."
Mrs Harvey has fought an uphill battle to eat into Labor's lead in the polls, with premier Mark McGowan proving popular for his management of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Liberals, meanwhile, came in for criticism for changing its position on borders during the early days of the crisis.
Mrs Harvey's tenure as opposition leader lasted 17 months, having replaced Mike Nahan in June of last year.
She had previously served as deputy premier between 2016 and 2017.
Despite her difficulties, Mrs Harvey consistently enjoyed the public support of friends and colleagues, and she survived a possible threat to her leadership at the final party room meeting of the year earlier this month.
She will recontest the seat of Scarborough in March.
READ LIZA HARVEY'S STATEMENT IN FULL:
“I’m making the decision today to stand aside as the Parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party.
"I feel privileged to have been the leader of this great party and thank my Parliamentary colleagues for the opportunity they gave me to lead the party.
“Given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our community, it has been extremely difficult for our message to resonate.
“I’m standing aside to give the Liberal Party - with a new leadership team - the opportunity to reset our election strategy and give the public a real choice at the March election.
“I’m also standing aside to give our very fine candidates the opportunity to be elected as the new generation of members representing the Liberal Party.
“Many of them have resigned from their permanent jobs to campaign strongly in their communities.
“This decision will give them clean air.
"They are energetic young men and women who will be strong, hard-working members for their communities.
“To all Western Australians, my message to you is clear. When you vote on March 13th, remember that you will be voting for a party to govern for the next four years.
“Prior to the onset of COVID-19, the Labor Government was a do nothing government. While they have done a good job of closing the borders initially, the difficult part is coming out of the lockdown.
"It is clear the Labor Government has no plan to manage this.
“I will use the next 111 days to campaign for re-election in my seat of Scarborough and hope to be a senior member in a future Liberal government.”
