Mia Davies

Mia Jane Davies (born 3 November 1978) is an Australian politician who is the current Leader of the Opposition and leader of the National Party in Western Australia. 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 as leader in March 2017 following his defeat at the 2017 state election. As a result of the Liberal Party'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 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, and later completed a degree in marketing and media at Murdoch University.Mia Jane Davies
– 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 (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 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, 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"). 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
– Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 9 July 2016.

In November 2013, Davies was elected deputy leader of the National Party, replacing Terry Redman (who had replaced Brendon Grylls as leader). Her only opponent for the deputy leadership was Wendy Duncan. 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. 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 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
* 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