A man once labelled a traitor by the Victorian Liberal Party has been appointed to lead the WA branch of the party, but says he's grown and matured in the years since.
Simon Morgan was last night chosen as the WA Liberal Party's new state director, a position responsible for leading the party's headquarters.
An email sent to Liberal members by recently appointed state president Caroline Di Russo said Mr Morgan had "strong high-level campaign experience and a deep understanding of the current political landscape in WA".
It said Mr Morgan had previously worked for the party's federal arm, and in its Victorian and WA divisions.
But the email did not mention he was sacked from the Victorian party in 2008 after using a work computer to run an anonymous and scathing blog, aimed at then-Victorian opposition leader Ted Bailieu and other prominent Liberals.
Morgan 'treacherously undermined' leader
"This is a matter of paid party officers treacherously undermining the people who they are paid to support," Mr Bailieu said at the time.
Four years later, Mr Morgan was preselected by the WA party to run against now-Attorney-General John Quigley in the seat of Butler.
Mr Morgan acknowledged the blog posts as "silly and stupid" and said he regretted making them.
The WA Liberal premier at the time, Colin Barnett, backed Mr Morgan, saying while he did not know him personally, he looked forward to working with him on the campaign.
By the time election day came though, Mr Morgan was no longer the Liberals' candidate in Butler, having been replaced by Linda Aitken.
Mr Morgan said that was because he voluntarily stepped aside to avoid "distractions" from his past impeding the party's campaign.
'Serious error of judgement'
In response to questions from the ABC, he said a person's "perspectives and capacity for empathy are vastly different at the age of 43 compared with when you're in your 20s."
"I made a serious error of judgement 15 years ago, which I know caused hurt and embarrassment for people," Mr Morgan wrote.
"Having had the opportunity to reflect on those events at length I think they show someone who lost sight of the bigger picture for a time."
"But in the years since I feel I've grown, matured and come to appreciate the importance of respecting people's contributions and keeping the focus [on] strategic objectives without being distracted by petty squabbles."
Ms Di Russo said in the time since, Mr Morgan had held senior roles at industry lobby groups the Australian Logistics Council and Roads Australia.
"He has recent and cutting-edge private sector experience which refines his Liberal Party campaign experience and further enhances the value that he will bring to the party organisation," she said.
"We very much look forward to Simon coming on board and helping to drive our efforts as we prepare for the next state and federal elections in 2025."
Mr Morgan said the Liberals had a "tremendous opportunity" to build a fresh team for the 2025 polls.
"I want to help the party recapture its rightful position as a mainstream party that reflects community values, respects individuals for their capacity to contribute and articulates a practical policy agenda that helps families and businesses thrive," he said.
Mr Morgan will replace outgoing state director, Stuart Smith, who is taking up the same role in the party's Victorian branch.
Morgan has paid his penalty, says Mettam
WA Liberal Leader Libby Mettam said Mr Morgan had "paid the price" for his past comments.
"He certainly has my support, he has apologised for those matters, which took place 13 years ago, and has paid the penalty for making those comments," she said.
"He has learnt some lessons along the way and – in apologising but also acknowledging the error of his ways – he has certainly moved on, and we should all have the opportunity to do that.
"Moving forward, our focus is on issues affecting Western Australians."
