WA election: Record number of women set to claim seat in Parliament following landslide
Posted
MonMonday 15
updated
MonMonday 15
MarMarch 2021 at 4:47am
Lisa Munday, who unseated Opposition Leader Zak Kirkup in Dawesville, is one of the three MPs named Lisa who have claimed seats for Labor.
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After a Liberal party wipe-out, WA s Lower House will end up with more female MPs elected in 2021 than the total number of Liberal women, 25, to have ever sat in the WA Parliament.
There may also end up being more Lower House MPs named Lisa than Liberal party members.
Key points:
The polling was conducted early this week before Kirkup on Thursday announced his intention to quit politics if he lost his seat, and held a disastrous press conference on his party’s costings.
The 34-year-old pinned much of his campaign as opposition leader on his lifelong ambition to be in politics – an ambition which could be over by 6pm. He would be the first WA Liberal leader to lose his seat in 88 years. The Liberal party has held Dawesville since it was created in 1994.
As of Friday, 653,457 votes – 499,226 pre-poll and 154,231 postal – had already been cast. That’s 38% of total votes, the highest number of pre-poll votes in WA history.
Last modified on Sun 21 Feb 2021 21.02 EST The decision that cemented Mark McGowanâs extraordinary popularity came three weeks into the coronavirus pandemic. On 2 April, when the Ruby Princess outbreak was reaching its peak and Australia recorded its 24th death from Covid-19, the premier announced he would introduce a hard border banning all travel into Western Australia, with limited exemptions, turning the state âinto its own island within an island â our own countryâ.
The border was criticised outside WA, but that seemed to only increase its popularity within the state. WA had recorded relatively few cases of Covid-19, and most had been imported via the Ruby Princess and other cruise ships. By closing the bulkhead door, WA was able to make a swift return to normal life. And, with the exception of a five-day lockdown this month, during which Perth residents became one of the last groups in the world to scramble to buy face masks, normality has reigned.
One tool to rule them all: The WA state election 2021 promise tracker
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One tool to rule them all: The WA state election 2021 promise tracker
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2021 has only just begun, but the COVID-safe elbow bumps with voters and pork-barrelling have been building up for months.
To date, the four major political parties have made more than 200 commitments on how to improve the lives of West Australians ahead of the March 13 state election.
But if you were more preoccupied with working on the perfect hotdogs or legs beach photo over the holidays than what election promises were made, fear not.