John Day has lost his seat of Kalamunda.
Camera IconJohn Day has lost his seat of Kalamunda. Credit: Supplied/Sarah Brookes

WA Election: John Day to lose Kalamunda to Matthew Hughes; Stephen Price and Labor wins Forrestfield

Sarah BrookesMidland Kalamunda Reporter

AFTER 24 years in parliament Kalamunda MP John Day has conceded it is virtually impossible he will retain his blue ribbon seat after strong polling by Labor candidate Matthew Hughes.

After a State Election that saw a huge swing towards Mark McGowan’s Labor Party, Mr Day said in a speech to his party faithful at the Jack Healey Centre in Kalamunda that the overall result was very disappointing.

“We have had so many things going against us,” he said.

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“The change in the economy, the relatively small share of the GST and the significant deficit to deal with which has created a very difficult narrative for our government.

“We have also had to deal with the time factor. We have been in government for eight-and-a-half years, which has led to a restlessness out there in the community and a desire for change and a desire for new faces.

“On top of that the longer you have been in government the more negatives you accumulate.

“Difficult decisions that have to be made as a government between competing interests played out during this election campaign.”

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Mr Day added One Nation had clearly produced a negative result for the Liberal Party.

“One Nation has been difficult for us in the last few weeks,” he said.

“The preference deal has consumed a lot of the airspace and has been a major distraction.

“I understand why the Liberal Party put it in place, to avoid what happened in 2001 when One Nation put Liberal candidates last on the ballot which helped Labor get elected.

“Pauline Hanson really created havoc for the conservative side of politics in 2001 and she has done the same thing in 2017.”

Meanwhile in the seat of Forrestfield, the victory balloons were ready early at the Woodlupine Community Centre as predictions Labor’s Stephen Price would record a comfortable victory against Liberal first-timer Nathan Morton were realised.