Lara Dalton (born 23 May 1970) is an Australian politician. She is a

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

member of the

Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House in the Western Australian capital, Perth. The Legisla ...

, representing

Geraldton Geraldton (Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

since the 2021 state election. Prior to entering politics, Dalton worked at the Geraldton campus of Central Regional TAFE, operated her own cafe, the Salt Dish Cafe, for five years, and then returned to TAFE as a hospitality lecturer. She was the Labor candidate for Geraldton at the 2017 state election. She was defeated by Ian Blayney, but reduced his margin to just 1.3%, recording a swing of 21.5%. She had actually led the field on the first count, but WA National and One Nation preferences proved too much for her to overcome. Dalton was elected to the Legislative Assembly on her second attempt at the 2021 election, receiving 61.71% of the two-party preferred vote and comfortably defeating Blayney amidst a statewide Labor landslide. She actually won 54.7 percent of the primary vote, enough to win the seat on the first count. Her victory made her the first woman to represent Geraldton in its 131-year history. Dalton received mentoring during her election campaign from Victorian politician,

Candy Broad Candy Celeste Broad (born 4 January 1956) is an Australian politician. She has been a Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Council from September 1999 to May 2014, first representing the electorate of Melbourne North Province until ...

, through

EMILY's List Australia EMILY's List Australia is a political network in Australia that supports progressive Labor Party (ALP) women candidates seeking election to political office. Founded in 1996, EMILY's List Australia was inspired by EMILY's List, a political ac ...

References

Living people 1970 births Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Women members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians {{Australia-Labor-WesternAustralia-MP-stub