Hayley Edwards was formerly the Deputy Mayor for the City of Rockingham and was an independent candidate during the 2023 Rockingham state by-election.[1][2][3]

Hayley Edwards
Deputy Mayor of Rockingham
In office
28 October 2021 – 21 October 2023
Councillor of the City of Rockingham
for Baldivis Ward
In office
19 October 2019 – 28 October 2021
Personal details
Born1980 or 1981 (age 42–43)
Political partyIndependent
Other political
affiliations
Labor (until April 2023)[1]
ResidenceSecret Harbour, Western Australia
OccupationBusiness franchisee

Edwards was the deputy mayor of the City of Rockingham. She was first elected as a councillor in 2019 and was elected deputy mayor by fellow councillors in 2021.[4] She announced that she would not recontest her position during the 2023 Western Australia local government elections.

In 2023, Edwards, who had been a member of the WA Labor Party until April of that year, resigned from the party and announced her candidacy as an independent for the safe Labor seat of Rockingham. The WA Labor Party then moved to preselect the political staffer Magenta Marshall to the seat, who was selected unopposed in the internal party process.[1]

Career edit

Pre-political career edit

In 2000, Edwards enlisted in the Australian Air Force as a military medic. In that role, she received a Commander's Commendation for her involvement in the aeromedical evacuation of the Bali bombing victims in 2002.[5] She ended that role in 2003.[6] She was a paramedic with Ambulance Victoria for four years, until 2010.[7]

In 2011, Edwards became a franchisee of Anytime Fitness, and later served on various internal governance boards for the franchise.[6] As of 2023, she is director of the trading company that owns the franchise businesses.[a] The company owns the Anytime franchises in Midvale and Baldivis.[10]

In 2019, Edwards was involved in the formation of the Rockingham Alliance Against Depression which had its launch at the Hotel Clipper in Rockingham in October 2019. The AAD was based on the European AAD which reduced suicidal behaviors by 24% over a 2 year period.[11]

Politics edit

In 2019, Edwards was elected as a councillor for the Baldivis Ward in the City of Rockingham, for a four-year term. She was elected deputy mayor by her fellow councillors in 2021.[4] In 2023, she announced she would not re-contest her position after her term expired.

In April 2023, Edwards resigned her membership from the WA Labor Party. Then in May 2023, Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan resigned, triggering a by-election in his safe Labor seat of Rockingham.[12][13] Due to Edwards' decision to resign her membership from the Labor Party, Edwards was not eligible to nominate for preselection due to Party requirements for nominees to hold a minimum of 12 months continuous party membership. The party then preselected political staffer Magenta Marshall who was selected unopposed as its candidate for the seat. Following this, Edwards announced that she would stand in the by-election as an independent candidate. Edwards went on to receive 15.95% of the primary and 38.63% of the two-candidates preferred vote[14] and as such was unsuccessful for her campaign to be elected to the seat of Rockingham.

Notes edit

  1. ^ FM Health Group Pty Ltd,[8] owned by the FM Health Group Trust[9]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Brookes, Sarah (20 June 2023). "Ex-Labor deputy mayor enters race to replace McGowan in Rockingham". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  2. ^ "High-profile independent joins race for Rockingham". The West Australian. 20 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  3. ^ "Touching poem for veterans who experience homelessness". ABC Perth. 11 November 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Rockingham Council elects new Deputy Mayor". 91.7 The Wave. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  5. ^ "High-profile independent joins race for Rockingham". The West Australian. 20 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Hayley Edwards LinkedIn profile - 'Experience'". Archived from the original on 24 June 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. ^ "It's still too raw for me to visit Bali bombing memorial". The West Australian. 7 October 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  8. ^ "Search Results - Organisations and Business Names".
  9. ^ "ABN Lookup". November 2014.
  10. ^ "ABN Lookup". abr.business.gov.au. 1 November 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  11. ^ Hegerl, Ulrich; Rummel-Kluge, Christine; Värnik, Airi; Arensman, Ella; Koburger, Nicole (December 2013). "Alliances against depression - A community based approach to target depression and to prevent suicidal behaviour". Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. 37 (10 Pt 1): 2404–2409. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2013.02.009. ISSN 1873-7528. PMID 23438891.
  12. ^ "Rockingham deputy mayor announces by-election candidacy". 91.7 The Wave. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  13. ^ "Liberals confirm Rockingham by-election candidate". Business News. 22 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  14. ^ "Rockingham by-election report" (PDF).