Alannah MacTiernan
Alannah MacTiernan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister for Planning and Infrastructure | |
| In office 16 February 2001 – 23 September 2008 | |
| Premier | Geoff Gallop Alan Carpenter |
| Minister for Regional Development | |
| Assumed office 17 March 2017 | |
| Premier | Mark McGowan |
| Preceded by | Terry Redman |
| Minister for Agriculture and Food | |
| Assumed office 17 March 2017 | |
| Premier | Mark McGowan |
| Preceded by | Mark Lewis |
| Minister for Ports | |
| In office 13 December 2018 – 19 March 2021 | |
| Premier | Mark McGowan |
| Succeeded by | Rita Saffioti |
| Minister for Hydrogen Industry | |
| Assumed office 19 March 2021 | |
| Premier | Mark McGowan |
| Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council for East Metropolitan Region | |
| In office 22 May 1993 – 21 November 1996 | |
| Preceded by | Kay Hallahan |
| Succeeded by | Paul Sulc |
| Member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly for Armadale | |
| In office 14 December 1996 – 20 July 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Kay Hallahan |
| Succeeded by | Tony Buti |
| Member of the Australian House of Representatives for Perth | |
| In office 7 September 2013 – 9 May 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Stephen Smith |
| Succeeded by | Tim Hammond |
| Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council for North Metropolitan Region | |
| In office 22 May 2017 – 22 May 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Laine McDonald |
| Succeeded by | Pierre Yang |
| Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council for South West Region | |
| Assumed office 22 May 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Adele Farina |
| Mayor of the City of Vincent | |
| In office 2011–2013 | |
| Preceded by | Nick Catania |
| Succeeded by | John Carey |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Alannah Joan Geraldine Cecilia MacTiernan 10 January 1953 East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party |
| Education | University of Western Australia BA LLB B Juris |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
Alannah Joan Geraldine Cecilia MacTiernan (born 10 January 1953) is an Australian politician. Since 1988, she has served in politics at a federal, state, and local level, including as a minister in the Western Australian state governments of Geoff Gallop, Alan Carpenter, and Mark McGowan. She is best known for her role as the minister for planning and infrastructure during the construction of the Mandurah line.
Early life and career
Alannah Joan Geraldine MacTiernan was born on 10 January 1953 in East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Her parents are Hugh Murrough Patrick MacTiernan and Dorothy Caroline MacTiernan (née Leahy). She attended St Bernadette's Primary School, Ivanhoe, and Our Lady of Mercy College, Heidelberg, in the north-eastern suburbs of Melbourne. Aged 18, she moved to Western Australia, where she studied at the University of Western Australia. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts, she worked in the Aboriginal Employment and Training branch of the Department of Employment. She also established and operated the Mount Lawley Maylands Express between 1981 and 1983, a local newspaper which later became the Guardian Express. In 1986, she completed a law degree. She then practised with law firm Dwyer Durack, becoming a partner there in 1992.[1][2][3]
Before her election to parliament, she was a member of several community organisations, including the Perth Theatre Trust, Rod Evans Senior Citizens Centre, the Irish Club of WA, and the Irish–Australian Congress. From 1975 to 1994, she was involved in the University Women’s Soccer Club, including as president, secretary, treasurer and patron. From 1989 to 1991, MacTiernan was an inaugural member of the Heritage Council of Western Australia.[1][3]
Early political career
MacTiernan joined the Australian Labor Party in 1976, as part of the university branch. She joined the Perth branch in 1979, and then formed the Highgate branch in 1981, where she was the secretary, vice-president, president and membership officer at various points. After forming the Inner City Residents Action Group, she was elected to the Perth City Council in May 1988. She stayed on the council until she was elected to parliament.[1][3]
Ahead of the 1993 Western Australian state election, Kay Hallahan, an incumbent Labor member of the Legislative Council, chose to instead stand as a candidate in the Legislative Assembly. MacTiernan took Hallahan's spot as a Labor candidate for the council's East Metropolitan Region. MacTiernan won, and so she took her seat on 22 May 1993.[1][3] In her inaugural speech, she criticised the existence of the Legislative Council, saying:
I propose to commence my career in this place by putting on record my belief that this House is an anachronism, and that its existence falsely suggests that important checks and balances required in the parliamentary democracy are in place. Accordingly, I take the view that this House should be abolished and that its membership and function be incorporated into an expanded Legislative Assembly... I take the view that ... this House in its very conception is undemocratic... This House has always fiercely protected property and conservative rural interests, which is hardly surprising given that it is the direct spiritual descendant of the House of Lords… [and] the Legislative Council has not during any period of conservative government this century provided any real fetter on the power of the Government of the day. Indeed, it has been the servant, or even the poodle, of the conservative Executive.[3]
She became a shadow minister in October 1994, receiving the portfolio's of productivity, and labour relations. Adding to her existing shadow ministries, she became the shadow minister for construction industry in March 1996. The construction industry portfolio was renamed to housing construction in October 1996.[1] When Hallahan announced her retirement from politics ahead of the 1996 state election, MacTiernan was selected to run in Hallahan's seat of Armadale. She resigned from the Legislative Council on 21 November 1996 and retained the seat of Armadale for the Labor Party at the election on 14 December.[1][3]
Mactiernan became the shadow minister for transport, and fair trading in January 1997, and then the spokesperson for transport, and planning in August 1999.[1] In March 1997, she joined the Public Accounts and Expenditure Review Committee.[1][3] In September 1999 after the 1999 East Timorese independence referendum, she visited East Timor as a United Nations-accredited observer and she was stationed at Liquiçá.[3][4] After returning to Western Australia, she participated in advancing East Timorese independence from Indonesia.[3] She was a founding member of the East Timor WA Association.[1]
Cabinet 2001–2008
Labor won the February 2001 state election, and the newly-appointed Premier Geoff Gallop made MacTiernan the Minister for Planning and Infrastructure. This was a newly created ministry, superseding the previous roles of Minister for Planning and Minister for Transport. She retained this role for the following eight years that Labor was in power, including when Gallop resigned and was replaced as premier by Alan Carpenter.
Soon after becoming a minister, MacTiernan had her driver's licence suspended for three months after accumulating too many demerit points.[5]
Her most important achievement during this time was overseeing the construction and initial operation of the Mandurah line.[3] The previous Liberal government had been planning for the line to run as a spur off the Armadale line at Kenwick. In July 2001, Cabinet approved the rerouting of the line as a direct route south from the Perth central business district (CBD) along the Kwinana Freeway. This made the railway more expensive than the previous plan, but resulted in a faster travel time as well as serving new areas. The scheduled opening date was delayed by a year.[6]
In addition to the Mandurah line construction, she oversaw several other public transport projects. The New MetroRail brand was formed for these projects to go under. These projects included the extension of the Joondalup line north to Clarkson station, the construction of a spur off the Armadale line to Thornlie, the building of Greenwood station and the rebuilding of Victoria Park station.[7][8]
MacTiernan led a restructuring of the government agencies that oversaw public transport. On 1 July 2003, the Public Transport Authority took over all functions relating to public transport in Western Australia from the various agencies that previously performed those functions. This included the planning, construction and management of Transperth services, Transwa services, school bus services and regional public transport.[9]
In road transport, she extended Roe Highway from Welshpool Road to the Kwinana Freeway over the course of several stages.[10][11][12] She refused to build Roe 8, an extension of the highway west of the Kwinana Freeway through the Beeliar Wetlands, however, due to the environmental impact.[13] She extended Tonkin Highway south from Albany Highway; the $140 million cost making it the single biggest road construction project in Western Australia up to that point.[14] The first stage of the extension, to Armadale Road, opened on 2 April 2005.[15] The second stage of the extension, to Thomas Road, opened on 16 December 2005.[16]
In December 2006, she approved of the awarding of a $511 million contract for the construction of the New Perth Bunbury Highway project. This involved the construction of a 70.5 kilometres (43.8 mi) dual carriageway to bypass Mandurah.[17] Construction started later that month,[18] and the road opened on 20 September 2009, with the northern part being named the Kwinana Freeway and the southern part being named Forrest Highway.[19][20] Despite not being a minister at the time, she was invited to the opening ceremony to cut the ribbon with Premier Colin Barnett, Senator Chris Evans, Transport Minister Simon O'Brien, and the member for Canning Don Randall.[19]
Resignation and local government
The Labor Party lost the 2008 state election, and so MacTiernan was no longer a minister after that.[3] She became the shadow minister for regional development, strategic infrastructure, and climate change.[1]
In early 2010, she announced her plans to contest the Liberal-held federal seat of Canning, which included her state seat, and on 26 February 2010 resigned from the shadow ministry.
She officially resigned from state parliament on 19 July 2010, two days after prime minister Julia Gillard had announced the timetable for the 2010 federal election. Despite particularly strong results in areas which she had previously represented, MacTiernan came up short of victory, only garnering a 2.16 percent swing—three points short of what she needed to take the seat from Liberal incumbent Don Randall. She was elected as the mayor of the City of Vincent in October 2011.[21]
Federal politics
After Stephen Smith revealed that he was going to retire as member for the federal electorate of Perth at the 2013 federal election, MacTiernan announced her intention to contest the seat for the ALP, and the only other candidate for Labor pre-selection Matthew Keogh withdrew his nomination.[22] At the election on 7 September, MacTiernan was successful in winning the seat despite a 1.5% swing against her.
In July 2014 it was reported that a UMR[clarify] "robo-poll" of 23 federal electorates, conducted for the National Tertiary Education Union, had found that MacTiernan was the second most popular federal MP, with an approval rating among her own constituents of +30.[23]
MacTiernan announced in February 2016 that she would not be contesting her seat at the 2016 federal election.[24] She was succeeded by Labor's Tim Hammond.
State politics again
In August 2016 MacTiernan announced she would return to Western Australian state politics, and was placed as WA Labor's first candidate for the North Metropolitan electoral region.[25] The landslide victory for WA Labor at the 2017 state election ensured her return to the Legislative Council.
MacTiernan is one of six Labor MP's in the current state parliament that is not factionally aligned as of 2021.[26]
Personal life
MacTiernan is Catholic. She has had one son and one daughter with her partner.[1]
In 2019 MacTiernan was diagnosed with breast cancer, and underwent surgery and chemotherapy.[27]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Hon Alannah Joan Geraldine MacTiernan". Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
- ^ "Q&A: Alannah MacTiernan". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 20 December 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Black, David; Phillips, Harry (2012). "Making a difference : a frontier of firsts : women in the Western Australian Parliament 1921-2012" (PDF). Parliament of Western Australia. pp. 241–247. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
- ^ Spagnolo, Joe (1 September 2019). "Alannah MacTiernan gets ready to celebrate Timor-Leste's 20th anniversary of independence". The West Australian. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ^ "Minister suspended from driving after speeding fine". Media Statements. 6 March 2001. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ^ "Gallop Government unveils vision for faster rail link to Mandurah". Media Statements. 16 July 2001. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ^ "Visionary rail expansion moves from plan to reality". Media Statements. 20 March 2003. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ^ "Perth's New Rail Network". New MetroRail. Archived from the original on 29 August 2007.
- ^ "New PTA to provide better planned and integrated services". Media Statements. 30 June 2003. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ^ "$62 million Roe Highway extension contract". Media Statements. 13 May 2001. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ^ "Roe Highway roll-out means weekend delays on Welshpool Road". Media Statements. 2 March 2002. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ^ "Roe Highway Stage 7 moves ahead". Media Statements. 21 February 2003. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ^ "Roe 8 threat to Bibra Lake confirmed". Media Statements. 5 February 2003. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ^ "Work starts on Tonkin Highway Extension". Media Statements. 27 June 2003. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ^ "Tonkin Highway extension opens to Armadale Road". Media Statements. 2 April 2005. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ^ "Tonkin Highway extension opens to Thomas Road". Media Statements. 16 December 2005. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ^ "WA Government go ahead for new Perth-Bunbury Highway". Media Statements. 7 December 2006. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ^ "Work under way on new Perth-Bunbury Highway". Media Statements. 20 December 2006. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ^ a b "Opening Ceremony". Southern Gateway Alliance. Archived from the original on 14 December 2009.
- ^ "Project Update – March 2009" (PDF). Southern Gateway Alliance. March 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2009.
- ^ Beatrice Thomas (16 October 2011). "MacTiernan makes political comeback". The West Australian. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
- ^ "MacTiernan confirmed to run for the seat of Perth". ABC News. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
- ^ Kenny, Mark (14 July 2014). "University funding cuts cause severe indigestion for government". The Age. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
- ^ Perpitch, Nicolas; Kagi, Jacob (12 February 2016). "Alannah MacTiernan to quit federal politics at next election". ABC Online. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
- ^ "McGowan backs MacTiernan's return after Travers bows out". ABC News. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
- ^ de Kruijff, Peter (15 March 2021). "What are WA Labor's factions and who sits where?". WAtoday. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
- ^ Rhiannon Shine (5 August 2019). "Alannah MacTiernan diagnosed with breast cancer but says outlook 'good' after surgery". ABC Online. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
- 1953 births
- Living people
- Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia
- Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia
- Members of the Australian House of Representatives
- Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Perth
- Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
- Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council
- University of Western Australia alumni
- Politicians from Melbourne
- Mayors of places in Western Australia
- Women members of the Australian House of Representatives
- 21st-century Australian politicians
- 21st-century Australian women politicians
- 20th-century Australian politicians
- 20th-century Australian women politicians
- Women members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
- Women members of the Western Australian Legislative Council
- Women mayors of places in Perth, Western Australia
- Perth City Councillors