Tracey Roberts
MP
Member of Parliament
for Pearce
Assumed office
21 May 2022
Preceded byChristian Porter
Mayor of City of Wanneroo
In office
17 October 2011 – 21 May 2022
Preceded byJon Kelly
Succeeded byBrett Treby (acting)
Personal details
BornManchester, England, United Kingdom
CitizenshipAustralian
British (until 2021)
Political partyLabor
Children2
OccupationPolitician
Websitetraceyforpearce.com.au

Tracey Roberts is an English-born Australian politician. She was elected to the Division of Pearce in the Australian House of Representatives at the 2022 Australian federal election, succeeding Christian Porter. She was a councillor for the City of Wanneroo from 2003 to 2022, and mayor from 2011 to 2022. She was also the president of the Western Australian Local Government Association from March 2020 to 2022, a vice president of the Australian Local Government Association.

Early life

Tracey Roberts was born in Manchester, England.[1][2] In the mid-1980s, she emigrated from the United Kingdom to Australia.[3]

Career

Roberts was first elected to the Coastal Ward of the City of Wanneroo council in May 2003.[4][5] She was elected Deputy Mayor in 2009, and Mayor in 2011,[5][6] receiving 37.72% of the vote.[7] She was elected to a second term as Mayor in October 2015, receiving 67% of the vote.[8] In October 2019, she was elected to a third term as Mayor, with 68.82% of the vote.[9] Her term expires in October 2023.[10]

In September 2015, she was elected Deputy President of the Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA).[11] She was elected Vice President of the Australian Local Government Association in 2018.[12] In 2019, she was awarded life membership of WALGA.[13][14] Roberts was elected President of WALGA on 4 March 2020, following the expiration of previous president Lynne Craigie's four-year term.[15][16][12][17]

She was appointed by the state government to the State Recovery Advisory Group in May 2020 as a representative of WALGA, to guide the state's economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.[18][19]

In August 2021, Roberts was endorsed by the Australian Labor Party as their candidate for the division of Pearce at the 2022 Australian federal election. The division of Pearce covers much of the same area as the City of Wanneroo. This came as the seat's incumbent, Liberal Party MP Christian Porter, faced controversies, including a rape allegation and legal action against the ABC. Porter won the seat with a margin of 7.5% at the 2019 election, but a redistribution between the two elections removed all of the seat's rural territory, reducing the Liberal margin to 5.3%. The seat has never been won by the Labor Party in its 31 year existence. The West Australian said that "the battle for Pearce will be one of the most highly scrutinised during the next Federal election".[20][3][21] Roberts was not a Labor member until shortly before being endorsed by the Labor Party, instead being picked by the party due to her high profile in Pearce.[22][23] She has said that she has always endeavoured to be apolitical as mayor.[5]

On 1 December 2021, Porter announced he would not contest the seat of Pearce at the 2022 election, and he will retire from politics.[24] On 20 December 2021, City of Wanneroo councillor Linda Aitken was chosen to be the Liberal Party's candidate for Pearce.[25][26]

At the 2022 election on 21 May, Roberts won the seat of Pearce on 59.4 percent of the two-party vote, a swing of 14.6 percent.[27] She is part of the Labor Left faction.[28]

Personal life

Roberts renounced her United Kingdom citizenship in 2021 ahead of the 2022 election in order to comply with Section 44 of the Constitution of Australia.[1] In 2008, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.[3] Her first husband died of Hodgkin's disease in 1995. She has since remarried. She has had one son with each husband.[5][29]

References

  1. 1 2 "Qualification Checklist: Tracey Roberts" (PDF). Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  2. ↑ Donaldson, Mark (4 April 2016). "City of Wanneroo Mayor Tracey Roberts passionate in support of local footy". Perth Now. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 "Local Champion to Fight for WA as Labor Candidate for Pearce". Mirage News. 12 August 2021. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  4. ↑ "Annual Report 2006/2007" (PDF). City of Wanneroo. 2007. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 March 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 McInnes, Anita (20 September 2021). "Tracey Roberts on her move to win the seat of Pearce". Yanchep News Online. Archived from the original on 21 September 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  6. ↑ Jarvis, Lucy (5 September 2019). "Nominations open for Wanneroo council candidates". Perth Now. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  7. ↑ "Local Government Postal Elections Election Report 2011" (PDF). Western Australian Electoral Commission. 30 April 2012. p. 134. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  8. ↑ Jarvis, Lucy (20 October 2015). "Cities of Wanneroo and Joondalup welcome new councillors after local government elections". Perth Now. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  9. ↑ "New Councillors welcomed to City of Wanneroo". City of Wanneroo. 22 October 2019. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  10. ↑ "Mayor Tracey Roberts JP". City of Wanneroo. Archived from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  11. ↑ "City of Wanneroo Mayor elected Deputy President of the "voice" of WA". City of Wanneroo. 3 September 2015. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  12. 1 2 "City of Wanneroo Mayor announced as new WALGA president". City of Wanneroo. 5 March 2020. Archived from the original on 2 April 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  13. ↑ "Mayor awarded lifetime WALGA honour". City of Wanneroo. 9 August 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  14. ↑ Jarvis, Lucy (7 August 2019). "Mayor honoured for service to local government". Perth Now. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  15. ↑ "About WALGA". WALGA. Archived from the original on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  16. ↑ "New President for WALGA". WALGA. 5 March 2020. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  17. ↑ "Wanneroo mayor elected to lead WALGA". Perth Now. 6 March 2020. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  18. ↑ "Tracey Roberts". Australian Labor Party. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  19. ↑ "State Recovery Advisory Group to guide WA's COVID-19 recovery". Media Statements. 27 May 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  20. ↑ Scarr, Lanai (11 August 2021). "Wanneroo mayor Tracey Roberts endorsed by Labor Party to take on Christian Porter in the electorate of Pearce". The West Australian. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  21. ↑ Parker, Gareth (12 August 2021). "Wanneroo mayor Tracey Roberts to take on Christian Porter at next election". 6pr. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  22. ↑ Law, Peter (18 June 2021). "Zaneta Mascarenhas looks set to be Labor's candidate for Federal seat of Swan". The West Australian. Archived from the original on 18 June 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  23. ↑ Hastie, Hamish (15 September 2021). "Labor's Porter rival 'vindicated' after council bullying claims dismissed". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  24. ↑ Mckenzie, Matt (1 December 2021). "Porter to leave parliament". Business News. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  25. ↑ Law, Peter (21 December 2021). "Pearce pre-selection: Linda Aitken chosen as Liberal candidate for Christian Porter's seat". The West Australian. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  26. ↑ Giannini, Dominic (21 December 2021). "Perth councillor Linda Aitken to stand as candidate in Christian Porter's seat of Pearce". The New Daily. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  27. ↑ Green, Antony. "Pearce (Key Seat) – Federal Election 2022". ABC News. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  28. ↑ Massola, James (26 June 2022). "The power behind the PM – who are Labor's powerbrokers in government?". WAtoday. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  29. ↑ "Federal Election". Emily's List Australia. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
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