A third horse has entered the race for the new federal seat of Bullwinkel, which will cover the majority of the Perth Hills, and parts of the Wheatbelt.
Labor has confirmed it is backing Shire of Mundaring Deputy President Trish Cook as its candidate for the notionally Labor-leaning seat.
In October last year, Trish Cook made history when she was elected by her peers to join Shire President Paige McNeil as the first ever female leadership duo on the Mundaring council.
But that historic pairing will end prematurely if she wins the battle for Bullwinkel.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese officially announced her candidacy yesterday in Hasluck, beside local member Tania Lawrence, who will lose part of her electorate in the redistribution.
“I’m so pleased that Trish Cook has agreed to be our candidate for Bullwinkel. There’s nothing that says WA more than a nurse who worked on an oil rig here in WA,” he said.
Ms Cook said she was proud to be running in an electorate named after a war hero, and fellow nurse, Vivian Bullwinkel.
“She helped transition nursing from hospital-based training to university-based training and raise the standard of our profession. I have a lot to thank her for, because I went through both hospital-based training and university-based training, and the profession has certainly increased its standards thanks to her work,” she said.
“As nurses, we listen, we care, we advocate and we serve our patients, and I’ve always tried to take those values into my own, not only professional life, but community life and volunteering as well.”
Ms Cook said she wouldn’t entertain the local petition to rename the new electorate after
Toodyay war hero and nurse Alma May Beard.
“No, I don’t back that change. Lieutenant Colonel Sister Vivian Bullwinkel was a war hero, a war survivor, and did an enormous amount of work in post-military life. She’s a national hero. Her statue is the only female statue in the War Memorial,” Ms Cook said.
“I’m really thankful that the Labor party has put their trust in me as the candidate and I hope to hit the ground running in Bullwinkel.”
State Labor senator Kyle McGinn was reported to be the only other person who nominated for the candidacy.
The battle for Bullwinkel is shaping up to be a prize fight.
The Nationals have previously declared Bullwinkel a must-win seat for their party, and last month they confirmed former state party leader and opposition leader Mia Davies would put her retirement on hiatus to run in the race.
Meanwhile the Liberals have put their tickets on Afghanistan veteran and Walkley award-winning journalist Matt Moran to win the nation’s newest seat.
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