Andrew Hastie downplays impact of Liberal leadership spill on Canning by-election
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The Liberal candidate for Canning, Andrew Hastie, has dismissed the potential impact of the party's leadership ballot on his by-election chances, but declined to answer questions about who he would like to see as leader.
Mr Hastie and his Labor opponent, Matt Keogh, spoke about the Liberal leadership spill ahead of a community forum in Champion Lakes, in Perth's southern suburbs.
Mr Hastie said he was not concerned about how it would affect his chances of being elected on Sunday.
"People have called me today worried about this by-election, that somehow events in Canberra have made my job more difficult," Mr Hastie said.
"Believe me, in my previous (military) career I've experienced much worse.
"This by-election is not about political gains, it's about the people of Canning, and they're losing faith in the political class.
"This morning when I was asked 'do I support the PM?', I said I do. I support the Prime Minister.
"Throughout this campaign I've enjoyed the support of Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull, Julie Bishop, Mathias Cormann, Michael Keenan, Bruce Billson and my good friend David Johnston. I stand before you as a candidate who enjoys the support of the Liberal Party, and they know full well that the people of Canning come first.
But Mr Hastie did not say who he backed in the leadership spill.
"I stand before you as a candidate seeking office. I'm not elected, I hope to be on Saturday. I'm not a parliamentarian and I don't enjoy the privileges of the Liberal parliamentary team," he said.
"The decision on the leadership tonight is for them and for them alone. It is their responsibility and their privilege and I ask them to consider carefully the decision they make."
When asked directly who he would like to see lead the Liberal Party, Mr Hastie did not answer
Government dysfunctional, Keogh says
Arriving before Mr Hastie, Mr Keogh said the leadership challenge showed the dysfunction of the Government.
"It's a Government of broken promises and cuts and Mr Turnbull's been part of it," Mr Keogh said.
"He signed up to the two budgets of this Government. It's been dysfunctional.
"We've seen that even under his own portfolio area where the cost of his second-rate NBN has been doubled.
"What we're seeing here is really about Mr Turnbull. If people want to see a better government that this though, they need to elect a Labor government and that's what we're about."
Earlier, before Mr Turnbull announced his challenge, Mr Hastie and Mr Keogh appeared at seniors' forum in Mandurah and disputed the impact Mr Abbott would have on the by-election.
Analysts discuss impact on by-election
ABC election analyst Antony Green said the leadership spill meant it would now be difficult for any of the Canning by-election candidates to gain attention.
"It was always going to be a tough by-election," he said.
"The question is now if they lose the seat, is it because they changed leader, is it because it's Malcolm Turnbull?
"If they hold the seat is it because they changed leader?
"I think to some extent the decision to go now with this challenge is really got not much to do with the Canning by-election and more with the fact that the Parliament is sitting this week."
"So there's going to be an awful lot of politics being run out of Canberra over the next few days, [it will] be very hard for anyone in Western Australia in the Canning by-election to get much attention."
Political analyst William Bowe, from the University of Western Australia, said the leadership uncertainty would have a big impact on the Liberals' prospects in Canning.
"If at the end of the week we have still got a crippled Tony Abbott as Prime Minister, if he somehow manages to hold off the move against him, I think that will have quite disastrous consequences for the Liberal Party in Canning," he said.
"But if the Liberal Party presents a new face to the electorate by the end of the week, that is then a fascinating story in how will voters in Canning react to Malcolm Turnbull?
Fellow political commentator Peter Kennedy said Mr Hastie would be watching on concerned.
"[He] would be even more nervous as a result of what's happened today," Mr Kennedy said.
"Only on the weekend he had Mr Abbott campaigning with him and Mr Abbott has been in the electorate I think three times."
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