Bunbury MLA Don Punch ‘very keen to stick around’ as Heather Reid set to lock in Liberal preselection

Bunbury MLA Don Punch says he is keen to continue his work in the electorate as the WA Liberals prepare to lock in their candidate for the seat. Environmental compliance adviser Heather Reid is almost certain to face off against the second-term MP in March after she was the only person to nominate for the party’s preselection, which closed last week. Her endorsement still needs to be approved by the Liberal State Council but is unlikely to be knocked back, setting up a showdown between her and the Cook Government minister at next year’s State Election. When asked about Ms Reid’s impending endorsement on Thursday, Mr Punch highlighted his work in the community. “I’m focused on doing the job that I’ve done for the last seven years, which is to make Bunbury and Dalyellup absolutely fantastic places to live,” he said. “We’re doing that by making sure that we’ve got a broad economic base, we’ve got access to good quality social infrastructure, and we’ve got a great living environment and doing as much as we can to support our health and education sectors. “I think Bunbury has come a long way over the last seven years. I’m very keen to stick around and continue that work.” Ms Reid is involved in a number of groups in the Bunbury area, currently serving on the South West Football League executive and as treasurer of the South West Indian Group. It is not her first attempt to run for public office, vying for Liberal preselection to replace the retiring John Castrilli at the 2017 state election before being defeated by lawyer Ian Morison. She will be attempting to take the seat back from Labor, which has held it since the Barnett Government was defeated seven years ago. While a swing away from Labor is expected next year after historically high support for former premier Mark McGowan in 2021, Mr Punch has sat on a comfortable margin since he was elected. He gained Bunbury with a 10.5 per cent margin in 2017, before extending it to 22.5 per cent at the landslide vote.