WA Liberal president declares factional 'Clan' consigned to history
WA Liberal president Caroline Di Russo steps down after four years, declaring the Clan faction is now history.
Caroline Di Russo is stepping down as WA Liberal president after serving four years and declaring the Clan, a powerful faction exposed in a 2021 WhatsApp leak, is now history. The Clan had included MPs counting Nick Goiran and former MP Peter Collier, plus current OECD chair Mathias Cormann, and tried to stack office-bearing roles with allied members.
Di Russo took over in October 2022 after Richard Wilson resigned, frustrated by toxic infighting. Di Russo banned payments for memberships outside immediate families, limited branch transfers to once per year, and doubled membership fees from $25 to $50 to slow factional games.
She said the party's culture is now unrecognisable from when she arrived. Her successor, economist Aiden Depiazzi, will be elected unopposed next month, though Depiazzi was himself a Clan member.
- two dozen people
- Clan size
- 700-page WhatsApp leak 2021
- Clan exposed
- 25 dollars to 50 dollars
- Membership fee increase
- 4 years maximum allowable
- Di Russo tenure
Why it mattersHow a fractured party rebuilds trust and shifts culture after a major scandal shapes its ability to govern and compete.
AustraliaWA Liberal faction battles affect the state's political stability; a cleaner party structure could change how Western Australia's parliament functions.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 4 d ago
