Federal Liberal issues blamed for poor WA result as party concedes defeat to Kate Chaney in CurtinBy WA state political reporter Keane Bourke and Grace Burmas Topic:Elections1h ago1 hours agoSun 4 May 2025 at 3:11amLiberal candidate Tom White failed in his bid to unseat Independent Kate Chaney in Curtin. (ABC News: Courtney Withers)In short:Liberal candidate Tom White has conceded defeat in the traditionally blue ribbon seat of Curtin, with independent Kate Chaney retaining the seat.WA's sole Labor cabinet minister Madeleine King says her party's growing dominance in the state is a direct result of the Coalition's policies and "staggering" backflips.What's next?Counting continues in all seats in Western Australia, with the winners of Bullwinkel, Fremantle and Forrest yet to be determined.abc.net.au/news/what-went-wrong-for-the-liberals-in-wa-after-labor-wins/105249948Link copiedShareShare articleThe Liberals have conceded defeat in what was meant to be one of their best chances of winning back their former heartland in Western Australia.Teal independent Kate Chaney has held Curtin, which encompasses Perth's affluent western coastal suburbs, on a slim 1.3 per cent margin, after being won by the Liberals for all but one election since it was created in 1949.Teal independent Kate Chaney has been re-elected as the member for Curtin. (ABC News: Keane Bourke)The ABC has called the seat for Ms Chaney with a two per cent swing in her favour.Election essentials:Federal election updates and live resultsHow Labor carved a path to a landslide victoryWhat was the result in your seat? Look up the map of your regionLiberal candidate Tom White conceded defeat on his social media pages on Sunday morning."The Curtin electorate has never seen a contest like this one. Both sides threw everything at it," he wrote."Defeat stings, but it's much less painful than the permanent, dull ache of wondering what might have been had I never tried."I have no regrets."Attacks and point scoringMs Chaney said she was relieved voters saw through a "negative" campaign from the Liberal Party."It was really tough, the level of negativity and personal attacks that came out of the liberals was pretty intense," Ms Chaney told ABC Radio Perth."We really stuck with the positive message and I'm so relieved to see that people see through the negative campaigning."Kate Chaney says the personal attacks against her by the Liberals were intense. (ABC News: Courtney Withers )Ms Chaney said the Coalition failed to learn from mistakes made in the 2022 election, when she first picked up the blue-ribbon seat."The 2022 election sent a message to the Liberal party that they were moving too far to the right and away from moderate voters in places like Curtin," she said.Liberals fail to learn from catastrophic WA electionsPhoto shows Despondent Liberal party members at Tom White's election night function.In March the Liberals suffered an ignominious defeat at the WA election — yet Saturday's result shows they're still not listening to voters, writes Keane Bourke."That message has been reinforced last night."I really hope that the Liberal party spends less time thinking about attacking and point scoring and more time thinking about what the country actually needs."Federal issues problematicFormer state Liberal leader, Zak Kirkup said the WA result was dictated by "what happened over east, and probably a lot of unforced errors and policy positions that the party took federally that was problematic here".Zak Kirkup has blamed federal issues for the Liberals' result in WA. (ABC News: Kenith Png)Among those policies, he said, was the party's initial pledge to force public servants to work from the office, before backing down."Why were we spending days explaining that?" Mr Kirkup told ABC Radio Perth."Some unforced errors there that I think had an impact, unfortunately, on very hard-working local campaigns here."WA's sole Labor cabinet minister Madeleine King agreed, suggesting Labor's growing dominance in the west was a direct result of the Coalition's backflips and "lack of spine".Madeleine King, the member for Brand, says she was staggered by how often the coalition backflipped. (ABC News: Keane Bourke)Labor's result going into the election — having won four traditionally Liberal seats at the 2022 election — had been considered a high water mark in the west.But it went one better last night, wresting the traditionally conservative northern coastal seat of Moore from the Liberals.Labor also increased its margin in each of the four seats it picked up last time, despite a significant focus from the Liberals and multiple visits from leader Peter Dutton.Ms King said Moore was not a seat the party had expected to win, but indicated it was in large part thanks to internal issues within the Liberals.The party had chosen not to pre-select incumbent MP Ian Goodenough, instead putting forward former MP Vince Connelly who was running for this third seat.Mr Goodenough had warned that could ignite a "civil war" within the seat and ran as an independent, a move which Ms King said helped Labor."[Labor candidate Tom French] capitalised on that confusion in the electorate," Ms King said.How are the key seats faring?LoadingPosted 1h ago1 hours agoSun 4 May 2025 at 3:11amShare optionsCopy linkFacebookX (formerly Twitter)Top StoriesLabor victory a 'win for the ages'Topic:ElectionsPhoto shows Smiling Albanese with a coffee at a table with trees behindLiberals begin dissection after ruinous lossTopic:Federal GovernmentPhoto shows Liberal Party launch in SydneyYour 4-minute guide to the federal election resultsTopic:ExplainerPhoto shows Anthony Albanese holds up his hands to calm the crowd.Labor set for easier Senate as Pocock, Lambie risk being sidelinedTopic:ElectionsPhoto shows David Pocock sits behind Jacqui Lambie while she speaks in the senateWhat was the result in your seat? 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