The woman set to succeed Troy
A former journalist and long-time electorate staffer to South West Liberal MLC and President of the Legislative Council Barry House has emerged as the leading contender to win Liberal Party pre-selection in Troy Buswell’s vacated seat.
WA Academy of Performing Arts and Curtin Business School graduate Libby Mettam, 37, is a former producer with Channel 9 and the ABC and has worked in Mr House’s electorate office for 10 years.
A mother of two daughters, she lives in Dunsborough and is the vice president of the Dunsborough Yallingup Chamber of Commerce. Her husband is a winemaker in the region.
Senior party sources have quickly swung in behind Ms Mettam in the wake of Mr Buswell’s resignation yesterday from the seat of Vasse.
Liberal Party State president Norman Moore and Premier Colin Barnett both stressed this morning that the party was likely to select a candidate for Vasse who had strong connections to the local community.
“Troy will leave big shoes to fill, but I am confident the Liberal Party will select an exceptional local candidate, with strong local credentials, to carry on the good work for the community,” Mr
Moore said in a statement this morning.
Mr Barnett said it was early days in the process and while he might be asked for his opinion, it ultimately would be a selection of the local branch and State Council.
“I would imagine people from Vasse will look for a local person, a local member,” he said.
Vasse has had just four members since its creation and all were long-serving locally-based members elected as Liberals.
Sir William Stewart Bovell held the seat from 1950 to 1971, Barry Blaikie held it from 1971-1996, Barry Masters held it as a Liberal from 1996-2004 and as an independent from 2004-2005, when Mr Buswell beat him for preselection.
In an exclusive interview with The West Australian yesterday, Mr Buswell said he would not involve himself in the preselection process but he expressed a strong desire that it be a local person.
“That (pre-selection) is really a Liberal Party process; that will be up to them,” he said.
“My hope is that they pick a good local candidate who represents our community. We’ve had terrific local candidates – Stuart Bovell and Barry Blaikie.”
An influential Liberal source said Ms Mettam, who is also president of the Liberal Party's Dunsborough branch, was in the box seat.
"Libby has certainly done the hard work and logically, she has put herself in the best position.
"Others might throw their hat in the ring."
Other names mentioned in Liberal circles this morning are Steve Thomas, a staffer to Federal MHR for Forrest Nola Marino, Dunsborough real estate agent Joe White and Shire of Busselton Grant Henley.
But Mr Thomas lives outside the electorate, and Mr White and Mr Henley are not actively involved in the local Liberal Party.
