DEAN NALDER has reclaimed Alfred Cove for the Liberal Party, scooping up more than 64 per cent of the primary vote.
He demolished former independent MP Janet Woollard whose vote dived from 23 per cent to 10, putting her well behind Labor (16.8) and just ahead of the Greens (7.9). Dr Woollard’s preferences helped push Mr Nalder’s two-party preferred tally to a giddy 73.7 per cent.
The former ANZ executive and footy player’s result was up 20 per cent from Chris Back’s attempt in 2008.
In the past, the Liberal primary vote had topped out in the high 40s with Dr Woollard able to leapfrog into the seat courtesy of strong Labor and Green preference flows.
The inclusion of Liberal-voting Bicton at the most recent boundary distribution had most tipping a win for Mr Nalder, but no-one predicted the thumping win he ended up with.
“It was bigger than what I expected,” Mr Nalder told the Herald. “I was surprised on the night. Our polling had suggested we were going to do okay, but it was a lot further than our polling suggested.”
Despite confidence, he says he never took victory for granted.
“I’ve played in footy teams that had that expectation and then nothing happens: Your team goes in complacent and you get rolled. So I was always worried about that, so we kept working hard all the way through.
“The sense was, and the feedback during the day at the polling booths was, everybody wanted [local] change.”
Dr Woollard says she would have liked to have served another term but, “sadly that hasn’t happened so I guess I’ll move on”.
Asked whether she thought her adult son’s boat crash legal battle—and the subsequent public fallout—had affected her vote, she said, “no, I think that issue was resolved”.
She believes conservative voters wanted to back premier Colin Barnett, whom they regard as a strong leader.
“The main issue in the election was the Liberal landslide. I think Colin did a great job and the Liberals did a great job, and I wish Dean Nalder all the best.”
In a post-mortem piece, Murdoch university’s Ian Cook observed “the collapse of Janet Woollard’s vote might be of concern to independents everywhere”.
Formerly independent Churchlands returned to the Liberals following Liz Constable’s retirement while Adele Carles failed to hang on in Fremantle.
Prominent independent candidates like Max Hipkins and Kevin Morgan only just made double digits.
Dr Woollard believes independents will make a resurgence: “I wouldn’t rule it out, I hope very much that we will see independents once more in the future in the WA parliament.
“As an independent, it’s a great way to work in parliament, you really can represent your local community.”
With a background in nursing, education, medical research and public health, Dr Woollard says she’s keen to use her law degree and win admission to the bar so she can practise.
“The last 12 years I have enjoyed the opportunity I had to work with community groups, and I think when I practice law I’ll be able to do the same.”
by DAVID BELL