Liberals set to retain WA by-election seat
October 19, 2014, 12:57 pm
The Liberals have declared victory in the West Australian seat of Vasse, although there has been a significant swing against the party.
Libby Mettam, a journalist-turned-media adviser for MP Barry House, currently holds 44.36 per cent of the vote, after 81.21 per cent was counted on Saturday night.
Her closest competitor was Busselton businessman Peter Gordon from the Nationals who secured 28.53 per cent from the early count.
In the two-candidate preferred vote, Ms Mettam secured 53.45 per cent while Mr Gordon held 46.55 per cent.
It was a 14 per cent drop for the Liberal Party since the 2013 election.
Since postal votes can be accepted until Thursday, counting will resume then.
Ms Mettam campaigned that she wanted to see local health and education services upgraded in line with the region's growing population, while also protecting natural assets.
She told a public forum in the lead-up to the election that she was willing to cross the floor on the issue of fracking in the South West region if it was what people in her electorate wanted.
The other four candidates in the by-election were structural engineer Michael Baldock for the Greens, Wayne Barnett for the Australian Christians, and independents Peter Johnson and Teresa Van Lieshout.
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Liberals set to retain WA by-election seat