Local government

Goodenough was an unsuccessful candidate for the Town of Vincent's Mount Hawthorn Ward in December 1997, placing third of three candidates with 19.40% of the vote.^[11] In 1999, after the City of Joondalup's separation from the City of Wanneroo necessitated new elections for both councils, Goodenough was elected to the City of Wanneroo's Coastal Ward. He remained a councillor until his election to federal parliament in September 2013.^[12]

Federal politics

A "longstanding member of the Liberal Party",^[13] Goodenough was president of the party's branch in the Division of Moore from 2007 to 2011, replacing Michaelia Cash following her election to the Senate at the 2007 federal election.^[14] He was preselected for Moore in July 2012,^[15] and won the seat at the 2013 federal election with 53.08 percent on first preferences (and 61.86 percent of the 2PP vote), replacing the retiring Mal Washer.^[16] Goodenough has been described as a member of the conservative faction of the Liberal Party,^[17] in particular, belonging to the "National Right" faction, headed by Peter Dutton.^[18] Goodenough sits on the Standing Committees for Procedure and Tax and Revenue, and on the Joint Standing Committee for Electoral Matters. He also sits on the Speaker's Panel, whose members chair the house in the absence of both the Speaker and Deputy Speakers.^[7]

Goodenough was re-elected as the member for Moore at the 2022 federal election, but suffered a -11.0% swing in the two-party preferred vote. He finished with 50.7% of the two-party preferred vote, compared to Labor candidate Tom French on 49.3%. Moore is now Western Australia's most marginal Liberal-held seat.^[19]

Political positions

Goodenough is a member of the National Right faction of the Liberal Party.^[20][21]

In 2018, Goodenough supported Peter Dutton's call to treat white South African farmers, who are sometimes targets of attacks, as refugees.^[22]

Goodenough is an opponent of same-sex marriage. In 2016, he wrote an article for Yahoo!, which was also published in The West Australian newspaper, entitled, "The complexities of gay marriage are too risky", in which he claimed that legalising same-sex marriage would create, "an enormous cost to society in terms of dealing with social dysfunction, psychological and mental health issues", implying that children raised by same-sex couples would suffer mental illness.^[23][24] Notably, such claims have been thoroughly disputed by the Australian Psychological Society.^[25] Additionally, Goodenough also stated that civil unions, which were already legal, implying that legalising same-sex marriage was redundant, saying: "The proponents of same-sex marriage are yet to provide a compelling argument as to why civil unions are inadequate in protecting their legal rights."^[23] In Parliament, Labor member Terri Butler responded to Goodenough's comments, stating, "I do think we may have found an explanation for [Goodenough's] bachelor status, given his description of marriage being not romantic, but a social construct important for progeny. If I was to counsel the member for Moore in his quest for love, I would say, maybe don’t roll that one out on the first date."^[26] Goodenough's voting record also indicates that he believes civil celebrants should be allowed to refuse to marry same-sex couples.^[27] Goodenough falsely claimed that Anglicare would face federal funding cuts if same-sex marriage was legalised - a claim that was dismissed by Anglicare WA's chief executive officer, Ian Carter.^[28] Goodenough's electorate of Moore voted 68% in favour of same-sex marriage during the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey.^[29]

In October 2017, it was reported in The West Australian that a Year 12 student from Duncraig Senior High School, Grace Gouldstone, had refused to accept an award sponsored by Goodenough due to his beliefs over same-sex marriage.^[30] She wrote, "I feel strongly that the sponsor of the award... does not support the values of that particular award and does not reflect the values of our school as a positive and inclusive environment... As such, I reject his award."^[30] The event received significant national media coverage, including on The Project.^[30][31]

Controversy

In February 2016, former Liberal MP for Hillarys, Rob Johnson claimed that Goodenough had encouraged members of non-mainstream, evangelical Christian church groups to "takeover" branches within the electorate of Moore, including the Globalheart Church in Joondalup, of which Goodenough is a member.^[32] Johnson argued that "religious cults" were "bombing [his] branches", alleging that Goodenough had "signed up people from a religious sect in Quinns Rock and stuck them in [his] Padbury branch which is about 25 miles away."^[32] Johnson also alleged that Goodenough had set up "employment bureaus" to find job positions for members of the Globalheart Church in his electorate office.^[32] Goodenough refused to respond to the comments, stating only that it was "not appropriate for a Member of Parliament to comment about the personal affairs of his staff, such as religion."^[32]

In 2019, claims emerged that Goodenough had "[taken] a group of overseas visitors to local businesses while being the director of a company that is paid for striking export deals". Goodenough denied the conflict of interest claims and blamed them on "tall poppy syndrome".^[33] Goodenough also admitted that he "spoke briefly" with self-proclaimed neo-Nazi Neil Erikson in 2018.^[34]