Liberal Party's Matt Moran concedes defeat in new WA seat of Bullwinkel
The Liberal candidate for Western Australia's new federal seat of Bullwinkel, Matt Moran, has officially conceded defeat.
The Army veteran released a statement to his followers on social media on Saturday night, a week after the federal election.
"The result in Bullwinkel is now clear, and while it's not the outcome we had hoped for, I called Trish Cook today to congratulate her," he wrote on Facebook.
It was a tight race in the newly formed electorate on Perth's eastern fringe, with Labor's Trish Cook winning the seat by just 990 votes.
Bullwinkel is made up of parts of six existing electorates and covers suburbs in eastern Perth and rural areas of the Avon Valley.
Western Australia now has 16 federal seats in the House of Representatives.
Mr Moran thanked his supporters and said he was proud of his campaign, which attracted a swing of 2.9 per cent towards the Liberal Party in the notionally Labor held area.
"To my campaign team, thank you for your tireless dedication and belief in me," Mr Moran said.
"It was an honour to be the first Liberal candidate for Bullwinkel and a pleasure to meet passionate people in our community, listen to your concerns and offer pragmatic solutions.
"Thank you to the Liberal Party for backing me."
Mr Moran ended the post alluding to a future in politics, adding that he would "continue to fight for the people of Bullwinkel".
"I will remain active in the community, and I hope to seek elected office again in the future."
Labor claimed victory in Bullwinkel on Friday.
Ms Cook had been neck-and-neck with Mr Moran for much of the count, and at one point there were fewer than 100 votes separating the front-runners.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
25 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Mat Ryan positive about chances of securing another club contract in Europe
Mat Ryan's club career is again in limbo, but the Socceroos captain isn't concerned, confident he will secure a contract in Europe next season. The 33-year-old goalkeeper's contract with French club Lens expires this month and he's 'waiting' for news about his future. Ryan only joined Lens in January from Roma, where he only made one competitive appearance in a tough six-month spell at the Italian club. The former Central Coast Mariners custodian has bounced around Europe in recent seasons, with Lens – where he made 14 appearances – having been his fifth club in four years. However, as he prepares for the Socceroos' FIFA World Cup qualifier in Perth on Thursday night against Japan, Ryan is 'feeling at ease' about his future. 'I'm just waiting,' he said. 'We're in that period now where the transfer window opened on the first of June, so I'm not too worried. 'I go out there and try my best, and everything sorts itself out at the end of the day. That's been the trend throughout my career, so I'm feeling quite at ease about that, and just focused on the job at hand with the Socceroos. 'I'm feeling good, and I'm feeling still quite young. I've just got to continue to do the job and prove that I'm a world-class goalkeeper through my performances, and the rest will take care of itself. 'I'm hungrier than I've ever been before. I want to live the best life possible, and I want to have the best career I can possibly have, and I dedicate my life to that.' Ryan was also positive about the Socceroos' chances of beating Japan for the first time in 11 matches, with Australia's most recent win over the Samurai Blue being a 2-1 victory in Melbourne in June 2009. Depending on the result of Saudi Arabia's away clash with Bahrain on Friday morning (AEST), a Socceroos win, or even draw., on Thursday night could be enough to secure 2026 World Cup qualification. Perhaps helping Australia's cause will be the decision of Japan – who have already qualified for the World Cup – to leave a host of its best players at home. 'Anything that they do doesn't impact my confidence,' Ryan said. 'I'm just focused on what we do here and focused on what we can control. 'You've got to go out there and believe that you can overcome whatever challenge is in front of you, and obviously there's a fine line without being arrogant and being complacent. 'In my eyes, we're the best in Asia. If you don't believe you're the best, then you're failing at the first hurdle.'
AU Financial Review
an hour ago
- AU Financial Review
Kennett issues 11th hour plea to save Pesutto from bankruptcy
Former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett has issued an 11th-hour plea to the Liberal Party's powerful administrative committee to save ex-leader John Pesutto from being bankrupted by a multimillion dollar defamation debt to colleague Moira Deeming. Kennett's letter to the 19-member committee came as Deeming reportedly filed a creditor's petition with the Federal Court on Monday after Pesutto failed to pay her $2.3 million in legal costs following her successful defamation case against him.
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Anthony Albanese says action on climate targets ‘not ideological' but based on reality
Anthony Albanese says Labor was 'not being ideological' on its climate change target, but being 'real' on the need for immediate and long-term strategies to tackle climate change. The Prime Minister made the comments while visiting drought affected farming communities in Fischer, about 96km from Adelaide, where he was asked about the impact of climate change and how he plans on achieving bipartisan support on Labor's net zero targets. While former Liberal prime minister Scott Morrison initially committed Australia to reaching net zero by 2050, the topic has become a point of political argy-bargy, with some members of the Coalition calling on the party to abandon the promise. However, Mr Albanese said science had shown that extreme weather events were becoming more common, and said climate wars were 'pretty pointless'. 'Getting in a debate about whether, you know, any specific event is because of climate change is, in my view, a cul-de-sac that leads you back to the same place,' he said alongside SA Premier Peter Malinauskas and Agriculture Minister Julie Collins. 'The place is that climate change is real and we need to respond to it.' He said government had a 'responsibility' to tackle both the immediate and long term issues related to climate change, and that the response was not political. 'We're not being ideological about this, we're being real about this … the farmers that I meet know there's something going on with the weather,' he said. 'That's why we engaged in the lead up to setting those emissions targets that were going forward.' Labor has so far committed to reaching net zero by 2050, while also reducing emissions by 43 per cent by 2030. The government has also been under pressure to release the 2035 target, however it is waiting on further consultation with the Climate Change Authority, headed by former NSW Liberal minister Matt Kean. Speaking on Sunday, Energy and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen said he believed Australia was 'by and large on track' to meet the 43 per cent 2030 emission reduction targets, despite figures released on Friday revealing that emissions had increased year-on-year by 0.05 per cent. On Monday, Mr Albanese also announced that the 2025 National Drought Forum will be held in nearby town of Gawler, with the state experiencing some of the driest conditions on record. Mr Albanese also committed an extra $2m to the Rural Financial Counselling Service, on top of the $36m in previous funding for the Future Drought Fund Communities Program to bolster social resilience among agriculture-dependent communities. The funding pledge has been welcomed by the National Farmers Federation president David Jochinke who said farmers were facing conditions which 'have to be seen to be believed'. 'Things are really tough right now in large parts of South Australia and Victoria, as well as areas in Tasmania, NSW and Western Australia,' he said. 'We're not just talking about dry paddocks and low rainfall. For some regions, there's been multiple bad seasons and entire communities are under pressure. 'We thank Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Minister Julie Collins for showing up and listening. We hope the visit will help them see the urgency of the situation and the need for action.'
