42 Facts About Libby Mettam

Libby Mettam was the leader of the Western Australian Liberal Party from January 2023 to March 2025 and the member for Vasse in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly since 18 October 2014.

Libby Mettam grew up in Kalgoorlie and Geraldton, moving to Perth to study broadcasting at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.

Libby Mettam then worked as a news producer between 1999 and 2005 for Channel 7, Channel 9 and the ABC and as an electorate officer for Liberal MP Barry House from 2005 to 2014, having moved to the town of Dunsborough in 2003.

Libby Mettam was elected to Parliament in a 2014 by-election resulting from the resignation of Troy Buswell.

Libby Mettam was re-elected in the election in her own constituency.

Libby Mettam grew up in Kalgoorlie briefly and Geraldton for most her childhood, having to move due to her father's work as a biochemist.

Libby Mettam attended Bluff Point Primary School from 1982 to 1989 and Geraldton Senior High School from 1990 to 1994.

Aged 17, Libby Mettam moved to Perth to study at Edith Cowan University's Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, majoring in broadcasting.

Libby Mettam paused her degree to spend a year in Melbourne with him, and they soon had two daughters together.

Libby Mettam later studied at Curtin Business School, earning a masters in public administration.

Libby Mettam was a freelance journalist for Instyle Publishing from 2007 to 2010, and a seasonal publicist for CinefestOZ from 2008.

Organisations that Libby Mettam has been a member of include the Dunsborough Yallingup Chamber of Commerce and Industry, of which she was vice president for a time; the Busselton Chamber of Commerce; the Our Lady of the Cape Primary School board, and the MacKillop Catholic College Interim School Board.

Libby Mettam joined the Dunsborough branch of the Western Australian Liberal Party in 2006, becoming branch secretary from 2012 to 2014 and branch president in 2014.

Libby Mettam's parents had been Liberal supporters, but were not members of the party, and Mettam herself was not interested in politics during her early 20s.

Libby Mettam was a committee member of the party's campaign for the electoral district of Warren-Blackwood for the 2013 state election and the secretary of the Forrest Division Women in 2014.

Libby Mettam soon emerged as the leading contender to be the Liberal Party's candidate for the upcoming Vasse by-election; after Liberal Party nominations closed later that month, Libby Mettam was the sole nominee.

Libby Mettam campaigned on improvements to local health and education due to the region's growing population and protecting natural assets.

Libby Mettam said she would be willing to cross the floor on the issue of fracking.

Libby Mettam ultimately won the by-election on 18 October 2014, albeit with a swing against the Liberal Party.

Libby Mettam received 44.3 percent of the first-preference votes and 53.0 percent on a two-party-preferred basis versus the Nationals.

Libby Mettam was described by WAtoday and The West Australian as one of the biggest winners out of the cabinet reshuffle.

Libby Mettam backed Kirkup along with a majority of Liberal MPs, resulting in the withdrawal of Nalder and the election of Kirkup to the leadership unopposed.

Libby Mettam was elected deputy leader unopposed as well, making her the deputy leader of the opposition.

Kirkup and Libby Mettam were both the first Liberal leader and deputy leader since the 2017 state election to not be former members of cabinet.

Libby Mettam retained the portfolios of transport, ports and fisheries in Kirkup's shadow cabinet.

Libby Mettam was one of two lower house Liberal MPs to retain their seats, the other being David Honey.

Libby Mettam declined to stand for Liberal leader due to not having enough support within the party, resulting in Honey becoming leader unopposed.

Libby Mettam was given the portfolios of health, mental health, disability services, and prevention of family and domestic violence.

Libby Mettam had gained a higher profile than Honey through her position as shadow health minister.

An opinion poll conducted by Painted Dog Research on 5 January 2023 showed that ten percent of respondents believed that Honey was the right person to lead the Liberal Party and that 29 percent of respondents believed that Libby Mettam was the right person to lead the party.

On Friday, 27 January 2023, Libby Mettam revealed her intention to challenge Honey for the leadership at a special partyroom meeting the following week.

Honey initially said that he would contest the leadership spill, but pulled out on the morning of the partyroom meeting, allowing Libby Mettam to be voted in unopposed.

Libby Mettam retained her existing portfolios and gained one new portfolio, child protection, within the new shadow cabinet.

Libby Mettam requested that Nick Goiran apologise for messages he wrote in a WhatsApp group called "The Clan".

Libby Mettam refused to apologise, resulting in him becoming the only Liberal MP not in the shadow cabinet.

Libby Mettam dropped the portfolios of disability services and child protection in November 2023.

In February 2024, Libby Mettam requested the resignation of deputy Liberal leader and shadow treasurer Steve Thomas from the shadow cabinet after it was revealed he had been in contact with disgraced former premier turned lobbyist Brian Burke.

Tjorn Sibma had contacted Burke to discuss "electoral, legislative or policy" matters, but Libby Mettam refused to demote him as well.

Three days later, Thomas was readmitted to the shadow cabinet with his former roles except tor treasurer and deputy leader, despite Libby Mettam saying that any Labor minister who is in contact with Burke should be removed from the cabinet.

Libby Mettam declined to take the offer, saying that she should be opposition leader because "there are more Liberals the Nationals in the opposition now, and there will be more Liberals than Nationals after the next election".

In January 2025, Libby Mettam declared that she would not stand in front of the Aboriginal flag at press conferences if she became premier, following federal Liberal leader Peter Dutton's stance on the Aboriginal flag.

Former Liberal minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt said that her stance was "short-sighted" and "divisive", and pointed out the hypocrisy of Libby Mettam being fine with standing in front of flags with the Union Jack on them.