GROWING up with four brothers in a small country town in Victoria has helped prepare Lisa O’Malley for the rough and tumble of WA politics — and a late career in footy, if she should choose.
As Labor’s candidate for the new state seat of Bicton the 47-year-old will need to draw on all she’s learned to snag the prize, which comes with a nominal Liberal margin of 10 per cent. That happens to be the average statewide swing Mark McGowan must achieve to wrest government from Colin Barnett next year: if Ms O’Malley can take Bicton, Labor will probably take the state.
There are a few things in her favour: she’s a new Melville city councillor for the Palmyra-Melville-Willagee ward, so already has a bit of a local profile, she’s opposed to the Perth Freight Link — as are many who live in affected suburbs like East Fremantle and Palmyra — and she’s carved out a reputation as a schools campaigner.
Prior to joining the ALP three years ago the Palmyra resident was heavily involved in community and educational groups, serving two terms as president of Palmyra primary P&C and as a state councillor on the WA council of state schools organisation.
Formerly the owner of an embroidery business, she has worked for 20 years in the fitness industry and teaches water aerobics at Fremantle pool.
“My opposition to the PFL is one of the main reasons I joined council and a big motivation in me wanting to be an MP,” she says. “Several suburbs in the electorate of Bicton will be severely impacted if the second stage of the PFL were to proceed.
“I’m also big on stopping cuts to education, especially after I saw the impact they had on local schools attended by my children.”
Despite the seat’s nominally safe Liberal status, local Libs aren’t keen to contest it. Born out of last year’s major redistribution, it’s essentially the old Alfred Cove, but without Applecross and Mt Pleasant, and with Palmyra and East Freo chucked in. The changes shrunk its margin from 26 to 10 per cent.
Alfred Cove incumbent Dean Nalder would rather contest neighbouring Bateman, an uber-safe Liberal seat that now includes Applecross and Mt Pleasant. Trouble is, Matt Taylor, the Liberal incumbent for Bateman (same name but very different boundaries) wants it too. The loser of that stoush will probably end up contesting Bicton as a consolation.
Notre Dame politics lecturer Martin Drum agrees Bicton is a key seat for Labor.
“The margin is right on the edge of the swing which the ALP needs to win government,” he says. “Expect this seat to be a high priority target for Labor in 2017.”
Ms O’Malley joined the ALP after campaigning on the Save our Schools program, where she rubbed shoulders with local Labor MPs Simone McGurk and Peter Tinley.
“A light bulb went off and I realised that all my core values aligned with what Labor wanted to achieve,” she says.
“I got more involved and one day Peter Tinley phoned me and recommend that I go for pre-selection.”
Another reason she decided to stand was her brother’s recent death by suicide: “It taught me to take nothing for granted and to go for things in life,” she says, her voicing quavering. “It’s one of the reasons I decided to try and get elected and make a difference in areas like mental health.”
by STEPHEN POLLOCK
