Kyran O’Donnell announces he will contest the seat of Kalgoorlie in next State election as an independent

Throwing away his Liberal Party hat in exchange for an independent one, Kyran O’Donnell has confirmed he will contest the seat of Kalgoorlie in the upcoming State Election. Announcing his run on Friday, the former WA Liberals Member for Kalgoorlie and current Kalgoorlie-Boulder councillor, said making the local seat an independent one would be a game-changer for the Goldfields region. “We have an opportunity to change the whole dynamic of this seat,” he said. “If we make it independent ... Labor will spend a s… load of money, if they’re in government, to promise the world to us — same as Liberal — to get it back the next election. “Money would just be poured into us … and we would have that direct voice because ... I don’t have to ask for permission to speak on things, I just speak for Kalgoorlie. “The other thing could be if the Liberals and Nationals win more than they are expected to, and I win this way, if it came down to a balance of power ... then either party would definitely be promising us the world from day one.” Having spent 34 years protecting the community as a police officer, serving four years as the Member for Kalgoorlie from 2017 to 2021, as well as two different stints on the council, Mr O’Donnell said people knew him and trusted him to get the job done. Fighting for improvements to Great Eastern Highway and better tactics against antisocial behaviour would be at the top of his list, as would improving the reliability of power supply in the region. His announcement may bring a sense of deja vu for local voters, with Mr O’Donnell joining Labor’s Member for Kalgoorlie Ali Kent and Liberals contender Rowena Olsen on the card. It was the same line-up in the 2021 election, with Mr O’Donnell the then-Liberal incumbent and Ms Olsen standing for the Nationals. Shutting down rumours his run was purely to feed preference votes to the Liberals to nudge Labor out of the seat, Mr O’Donnell said he would be nobody’s “puppet”. “I’m doing it to win and to improve the seat of Kalgoorlie and help all the (Goldfields) towns get more funding, and find out exactly what each of these towns wants,” he said. “There is no way in the world I am a puppet or trying to prop anyone up. “The Liberal Party has not approached me to say ... ’you can give us preferences to try and help Rowena’, that’s never been discussed, never been mentioned. “I’m not there to do that. I‘m there to win the seat, to get benefits for the people of the city and that’s the priority.” However, he did admit that if you “boiled it down” he would rather see the Liberals in the seat over Labor, if it was not him. “What we know is that Labor is going backwards, but what we don’t know is how much the Liberals and Nationals are going forward,” he said. As he would not have the backing of the government that is in power, Mr O’Donnell said he would only make one promise in his campaign — to be a voice for the city. He said making sure the priorities of the community were being fought for was more important than “ribbon cuttings and photo opportunities”. “It’s not ‘Ali am-I-in-the-picture Kent, no, it will be a lot of behind the scenes work and being the voice for what is going on and what we want,” he said. “What’s happening, or not, with the Laverton hospital — disgraceful, power — disgraceful. Eight years they’ve been in government and antisocial behaviour is still bad. “Has (Ms Kent) gone on the front page saying ‘I’m not putting up with this anymore, this is disgraceful and this is what the Government needs to do’? No, it’s been crickets. “If you want a member in government who just goes with the flow, then do that. But if you want change and benefits — which no, won’t happen overnight, it will be gradual, but it will improve everything — then you have to make a stand.” Mr O’Donnell said he had initially approached the Liberal Party to run for the seat of Kalgoorlie, but was encouraged to instead nominate for the Upper House. “I was told they wanted a female to do the Lower House, and (WA Liberals MLC) Neil Thomson ... suggested I nominate for Upper House ... and he gets the number one ticket and I get number two,” he said. “I had no interest in the Upper House ... but I was a team player. “But those who voted picked somebody from Perth. They disregarded the fact I spent ... 45 years in the mining and pastoral region. “So when I decided to become an independent, I rang the Liberal head office and said I no longer wish to proceed on the Upper House ticket and cancelled my membership.” However, he said he held no grudges against the party, or Ms Olsen who they backed for the Lower House. “I was disappointed, but I am thankful to the Liberal Party for giving the opportunity to run for Parliament and get elected,” he said. “There’s no witch hunt. There’s no one I want to go after. That’s just how it played out and it didn’t work out for me and that’s OK. “If you have vindictiveness or vengeance in your heart, your life is not going to be good.” As a Kalgoorlie-Boulder councillor, Mr O’Donnell would need to vacate his seat if he was successful in the upcoming election. However, he says he is confident it will not cost the ratepayers money for a re-election, as his seat could remain vacant until the next local election which was set to follow six or seven months after the State election. Mr O’Donnell said he was partly funding his own campaign, while also hoping for donations from supporters.