Mia Jane Davies (born 3 November 1978) is an Australian politician who is the current
Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
and leader of the
National Party in
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
. She has been a member of the state
Legislative Assembly since 2013, having previously served in the
Legislative Council from 2009 to 2013. Davies was elected deputy leader of the Nationals in November 2013, and replaced
Brendon Grylls
Brendon John Grylls (born 5 June 1973) is an Australian politician who was a National Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 2001 to 2017. Grylls became leader of the National Party in Western Australia from 2005 to ...
as leader in March 2017 following his defeat at the
2017 state election. As a result of the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
's electoral wipeout at the
2021 state election, she became leader of the opposition after Premier Mark McGowan gave her party the official opposition party funding, the first member of her party to hold the role since
Arthur Watts in 1947.
Early life
Davies was born in
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
to Leonie (née South) and
Dexter Davies. Her father was also a National Party member of parliament. Davies was raised on her parents' farm in
Yorkrakine, a small
Wheatbelt town. She attended
Wyalkatchem District High School before boarding at
Methodist Ladies' College, Perth
, motto_translation = Through Striving to the Heights
, established = 1907
, type = Independent, day and boarding
, gender = Girls
, denomination = Uniting Church
, ...
, and later completed a degree in marketing and media at
Murdoch University
Murdoch University is a public university in Perth, Western Australia, with campuses also in Singapore and Dubai. It began operations as the state's second university on 25 July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its n ...
.
[Mia Jane Davies](_blank)
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 9 July 2016. From 1999 to 2001, Davies lived and worked in London. After returning to Australia, she began working for
Max Trenorden
Maxwell Wayne Trenorden (born 1 August 1948 in Wyalkatchem, Western Australia) is an Australian politician. He was a Nationals member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1986 to September 2008, representing the electorate of ...
(the state leader of the National Party at the time) as an administrative assistant and research officer. She continued on in a similar role when
Brendon Grylls
Brendon John Grylls (born 5 June 1973) is an Australian politician who was a National Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 2001 to 2017. Grylls became leader of the National Party in Western Australia from 2005 to ...
became leader in 2005, and later ran her own consulting business.
Politics
At the
2008 state election, Davies was elected to parliament in third position on the National Party ticket for Agricultural Region. Her election was challenged by
Anthony Fels
Anthony James Fels (born 19 November 1964) is a former Australian member of parliament and perennial candidate for public office. He was a member of the Western Australian Legislative Council representing the Agricultural Region from 2005 to 2 ...
, a
Family First candidate, and the dispute was not settled until just two days before her term was set to begin (in May 2009).
She was 30 years old at the time of being sworn in, becoming the youngest member of the Legislative Council at the time (the "
baby of the house
Baby of the House is the unofficial title given to the youngest member of a parliamentary house. The term is most often applied to members of the British parliament from which the term originated. The title is named after the Father of the House ...
").
At the
2013 state election, Davies transferred to the Legislative Assembly, winning the seat of Central Wheatbelt. Her predecessor in the seat was Brendon Grylls, the party leader, who had transferred to the
seat of Pilbara. After the election, Davies was made
parliamentary secretary to the
Minister for Regional Development and the
Minister for Lands, and also assistant minister to the
Minister for State Development.
[Hon. Mia Jane Davies MLA BMM](_blank)
– Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
In November 2013, Davies was elected deputy leader of the National Party, replacing
Terry Redman
Donald Terence Redman (born 16 April 1963) is an Australian politician. He was a National Party member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from February 2005 to March 2021, representing the electorates of Stirling (2005–2008), Bla ...
(who had replaced Brendon Grylls as leader). Her only opponent for the deputy leadership was
Wendy Duncan
Wendy Maxine Duncan (née Tonkin; born 7 October 1954) is an Australian politician who was a National Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 2013 to 2017, representing the seat of Kalgoorlie. She was previously a m ...
. Davies was subsequently elevated to the ministry, becoming
Minister for Water and
Minister for Forestry.
She was 35 at the time, becoming the youngest-ever government minister from her party (and the eighth-youngest overall). In December 2014, Davies was also made
Minister for Sport and Recreation, replacing
Terry Waldron
Terrence Keith "Terry" Waldron (born 17 February 1951) is an Australian politician. He was a The Nationals member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 2001 to 2017, representing the electorate of Wagin.
Waldron was born in S ...
.
She continued in cabinet until the Barnett government's landslide defeat at the
2017 state election, which also saw Brendon Grylls lose the
seat of Pilbara. Despite this, Davies actually increased her share of the vote, with Central Wheatbelt becoming the safest non-government seat in the state. Following the state election in March 2017; Davies was elected the Leader of the Parliamentary National Party (WA) and Mining and Pastoral MP, Hon Jacqui Boydell MLC became the Deputy Leader.
In 2021 after the political wipeout of the WA Liberal Party, she became State Opposition Leader, the first time the Nationals had been the official opposition since 1947. She became the third woman to be WA Opposition Leader and each from a different party after former Labor Premier Carmen Lawrence and former Liberal leader Liza Harvey.
Although the Nationals were one seat short of official status in the legislature, Premier
Mark McGowan
Mark McGowan (born 13 July 1967) is an Australian politician, the 30th premier of Western Australia, and the leader of the Western Australian branch of the Labor Party.
McGowan was born and raised in Newcastle, New South Wales. He attended t ...
promised that Davies and the Nationals would receive the resources entitled to them as an opposition. On 19 April 2021, the Nationals formed a formal opposition alliance with the remains of the Liberals, led by
David Honey. The Nationals would be the senior partner, and Davies appointed Honey and two other Liberals to her shadow cabinet.
Unlike past Liberal-National Coalitions in Western Australia, each party maintained their independence, and could speak out on their own when there were disagreements with the other partner.
See also
*
Women in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
There have been 66 women in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly since its establishment in 1890. Women have had the right to vote since 1899 and the right to stand as candidates since 1920.
The first successful female candidate for the L ...
*
Women in the Western Australian Legislative Council
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Mia
1978 births
Living people
Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
Murdoch University alumni
National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia
People educated at Methodist Ladies' College, Perth
Politicians from Perth, Western Australia
21st-century Australian politicians
21st-century Australian women politicians
Women members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
Women members of the Western Australian Legislative Council
Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council