MELBOURNE, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- West Australia's Premier Colin Barnett is locked in a battle to retain his leadership following the resignation of two of his ministers at the weekend.
Dean Nalder, former minister for transport and agriculture, and Tony Simpson, former local government minister, both said that Barnett had lost their support.
The latest Newspoll had Barnett trailing opposition leader Mark McGowan 55-45 as the state prepares to go to the polls in March.
In a column for The West Australian newspaper on Monday, Nalder said he would challenge Barnett for leadership of the West Australian (WA) division of the Liberal Party if a spill motion was put forward by a colleague.
"The Premier is not listening. Not to me, not to his Cabinet colleagues, not to his party room and certainly not the community," Nalder wrote.
"As a result, the community has stopped listening to him.
Barnett responded to Nalder's impending challenge by saying that he had no plans to stand down as leader.
"I am the leader, I am the premier of Western Australia and I intend to stay there," Barnett told press on Sunday.
A vote on the leadership is expected on Tuesday after Nalder's supporters introduce a spill motion to the party room meeting.
