Voters in Western Australia's largest electorate are still weeks away from finding out when they will head to the polls, despite their local member announcing his retirement more than a month ago.
Long-serving Nationals MP Vince Catania announced on June 10 that he would be leaving politics and his seat of North West Central, saying he did not "have anything left in the tank".
Since then, both his party and the Liberals have announced their candidates for the by-election, but without a date for when it will be held.
That is because the process of holding the election can only begin once Mr Catania formally hands his resignation to the speaker of the Legislative Assembly, which is yet to happen.
The delay between Mr Catania's announcement and his formal resignation is something veteran political commentator Peter Kennedy described as practically unprecedented.
"It's almost without precedent, and one can only wonder just what his motive is."
This was the plan all along, say Nationals
In a statement, the WA Nationals said it was always Mr Catania's plan to retire at the beginning of August.
"[He] continues to be committed to his role as the member for North West Central until this time," a spokesperson said.
"When he formally resigns, setting the date of the by-election will be the responsibility of the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly."
It means Mr Catania will continue to receive a $173,495 a year salary as the Deputy Chair of the Economics and Industry Standing Committee.
Mr Kennedy said one possible reason for Mr Catania not resigning earlier was to push out the date of the by-election.
"No one really knows the motive behind Mr Catania's decision to announce his resignation and then stay on," he said.
"But the fact is that it does give his own party a good chance to select a suitable candidate.
"Bearing in mind that the date of the by-election is really, officially, with the Speaker, but formally lies in the hands of the government."
Based on the timing of previous by-elections, there would be at least a one-month gap between Mr Catania's formal resignation and the election being held.
That could place the date of the poll around the beginning of September.
Local businesswoman steps up as Nationals candidate
The Nationals were the first to announce their candidate for the by-election, revealing Merome Beard had been preselected two weeks ago.
Ms Beard is a Carnarvon local and runs one of the town's major pubs with her husband.
Prior to putting her hand up for the by-election, she had been working in Mr Catania's office for a number of months.
The Liberal Party threw its hat in the ring yesterday, announcing Will Baston would stand as its candidate.
Mr Baston runs Jimba Jimba station on the Gascoyne River with his parents.
He previously worked as a manager for the conservation group Partnership for the Outback.
Result could affect opposition alliance
Although unlikely, a Liberal win in North West Central could put the party on a level footing with the Nationals in the lower house, as they would each have three seats.
That would almost certainly create tension in the current Opposition Alliance arrangement, which has Nationals leader Mia Davies at the helm, given she leads the dominant opposition party.
It is understood there is no precedent for the two opposition parties having an equal number of seats in the lower house.
That could mean the Liberals and Nationals would have to reach a fresh agreement about the arrangement.
At this stage, it is unclear what that would look like.
Labor has not entered contest
Premier Mark McGowan said yesterday no decision had been made on whether Labor would contest the seat.
But Mr Kennedy said there was little upside to them doing so, particularly because by-elections are rarely won by incumbent parties.
"[A loss] would be seen as a blow to the McGowan government," he said.
"The Labor Party could stand back and let the Liberal Party and the National Party fight it out, and it won't make any difference to the overall numbers in the Legislative Assembly."
The Nationals currently hold four seats in the lower house, compared to the Liberals' two.
Mr Catania has held the seat since 2008, after initially being elected to the upper house in 2005.
At the 2021 election, his margin was reduced from 10.1 per cent to just 1.7 per cent, making it one of WA's most marginal seats, with just 259 votes deciding the winner.
North West Central is WA's geographically largest electorate, taking in towns like Carnarvon, Coral Bay and Exmouth.
Mr Catania gave his valedictory speech when WA Parliament last sat on June 23, which could suggest he is unlikely to return when Parliament resumes on August 9.
