WA businessman and farmer Mic Fels, a resident of South Perth, has been selected by the Liberal Party as their candidate for the seat of Swan in the upcoming federal election.
Mic Fels will contest the seat of Swan against the incumbent Labor MP, Zaneta Mascarenhas, who was elected in the 2022 federal election.
With a background in mechanical engineering and over 30 years of experience in the business sector, Fels said he believes he can address the needs of both families and businesses in the local area.
“The hundreds of small businesses across Swan are a backbone for our community – they provide our kids with their first jobs and are the biggest supporters of local sporting clubs and community groups,” he said.
“Our community deserves better than Labor, and under a Peter Dutton-led Liberal government, we can deliver the change our area needs and get Australia back on track.”
Mr Fels said he believes the country is currently heading in the wrong direction and change is needed.
“What I’m hearing each and every day across our community is that local families are finding it just too hard to keep up with day-to-day expenses at the moment,” he said.
“Families are struggling with rising costs, businesses are feeling uncertain, housing is increasingly unaffordable, and too many people in our community are feeling unsafe.”
The seat, previously held by the Liberals for nearly 15 years under Steve Irons, was gained by Labor at the 2022 federal election when Mascarenhas defeated Kristy McSweeney with a 12.0 per cent swing toward Labor.
After a redistribution of boundaries, the Swan electorate now includes areas that were previously part of the Burt and Tangney electorates, including Lynwood, Ferndale, Wilson, and parts of Beckenham and Langford.
As a fellow engineer herself, speaking to the Examiner Newspapers, Swan MP Zaneta Mascarenhas said it was great more engineers are aspiring to public office.
However, she disagrees that there’s a need for change and believes that many of the issues currently affecting the economy are a direct consequence of the Coalition’s policies during their 15 years in government.
“When we came into office, there was a six in front of the inflation figure; now it’s a three.”
“That speaks volumes about the Coalition’s reckless fiscal management. Labor has been working hard to clean up the mess,” she said.
As Swan’s first female member of parliament in its 101-year history, Mascarenhas said she has a deep connection to the local area and believes she is doing enough to retain the seat.
“I’m proud of what we’ve achieved for Swan—tax cuts for everyone, not just a few, electricity bill relief, pay rises for low-paid workers, and a solid plan to build more homes,” she said.
“We’re also delivering major infrastructure projects like Metronet and the new Causeway bridges that are creating thousands of local jobs.”
Clint Uink has once again been announced as the Greens candidate for Swan after receiving 14.9 per cent of first preference votes at the 2022 federal election, a 2.9 per cent swing towards the Greens.
The 2025 federal election is expected to be held on or before May 24.
