Former WA Nationals leader Mia Davies will on Friday confirm a switch to federal politics.
The 45-year-old member for the state seat of Central Wheatbelt had announced her intention to retire from politics at the next WA election, due in March next year.
Mia Davies.Credit: Peter de Kruijff
However, the creation of the new federal seat of Bullwinkel – which takes in her Wheatbelt power base - and lobbying from senior federal Nationals – has tempted her to change course.
Radio 6PR revealed last month that powerbrokers including federal leader David Littleproud and senator Bridget McKenzie had been lobbying Davies to throw her hat in the ring.
The Nationals have only sent one member to the House of Representatives from WA in the past four decades.
Tony Crook was elected in 2010 for one term, replacing retiring Liberal Wilson Tuckey. He famously sat outside the Nationals party room for the first two years of that term as an independent member of the cross bench.
The new seat of Bullwinkel has been carved out of existing portions of Hasluck, Canning, Durack and O’Connor.
Its boundaries will stretch from the Perth hills around Mundaring, Kalamunda and Roleystone north beyond Toodyay, east beyond York and south beyond Beverley.
Davies was first elected to the WA upper house in 2008 before switching to the Legislative Assembly at the 2013 election.
She was a minister for water, sport and recreation and forestry in the Barnett Government then became leader of the Nationals after Brendon Grylls lost his bid to win the seat of Pilbara at the 2017 election that saw Mark McGowan become premier.
After the wipeout 2021 COVID-19 election that saw the WA Liberals reduced to just two seats, Davies found herself as leader of the opposition, a position she held until declaring in January 2023 she had “no fuel in the tank” to go beyond the 2025 election.
“I’ve been very upfront throughout my parliamentary career that I was determined not to be a career parliamentarian and 17 years I feel is enough for me,” she said.
Last month she confirmed the approach from Mr Littleproud about running for Bullwinkel, saying she was “pretty busy” with her current role.