Alannah MacTiernan

Alannah Joan Geraldine Cecilia MacTiernan (born 10 January 1953) is a former Australian politician.

Alannah Joan Geraldine MacTiernan was born on 10 January 1953 in East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Her parents are Hugh Murrough Patrick MacTiernan, an Irish immigrant, and Dorothy Caroline MacTiernan (née Leahy).

She grew up in Heidelberg West in the north-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, attending St Bernadette's Primary School, Ivanhoe, and Our Lady of Mercy College, Heidelberg.

Aged 18, she moved to Western Australia, where she studied at the University of Western Australia.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts, she worked in the Aboriginal Employment and Training branch of the Department of Employment.

From 1975 to 1994, she was involved in the University Women’s Soccer Club, including as president, secretary, treasurer and patron.

In 1976, MacTiernan joined the Australian Labor Party, and at the 1993 Western Australian state election, she was elected to the Legislative Council's East Metropolitan Region.

MacTiernan joined the Australian Labor Party in 1976, as part of the university branch.

She joined the Perth branch in 1979, and then formed the Highgate branch in 1981, where she was the secretary, vice-president, president and membership officer at various points.

She also established and operated the Mount Lawley Maylands Express between 1981 and 1983, a local newspaper which later became the Guardian Express.

She worked for the Department of Employment before practising as a lawyer between 1986 and 1992.

During this time, she also served on the Perth City Council.

In 1986, she completed a law degree.

From 1988 to 2023, she has served in politics at a federal, state, and local level, including as a minister in the Western Australian state governments of Geoff Gallop, Alan Carpenter, and Mark McGowan.

She is best known for her role as the minister for planning and infrastructure during the construction of the Mandurah line.

Born in Melbourne, she moved to Perth to study at the University of Western Australia, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts and later with a law degree.

After forming the Inner City Residents Action Group, she was elected to the Perth City Council in May 1988.

She stayed on the council until she was elected to parliament.

From 1989 to 1991, MacTiernan was an inaugural member of the Heritage Council of Western Australia.

She then practised with law firm Dwyer Durack, becoming a partner there in 1992.

Before her election to parliament, she was a member of several community organisations, including the Perth Theatre Trust, Rod Evans Senior Citizens Centre, the Irish Club of WA, and the Irish–Australian Congress.

Ahead of the 1993 Western Australian state election, Kay Hallahan, an incumbent Labor member of the Legislative Council, chose to instead stand as a candidate in the Legislative Assembly.

MacTiernan took Hallahan's spot as a Labor candidate for the council's East Metropolitan Region.

MacTiernan won, and so she took her seat on 22 May 1993.

In her inaugural speech, she criticised the existence of the Legislative Council, saying:

She became a shadow minister in October 1994, and she was transferred to the Legislative Assembly at the 1996 state election, winning the seat of Armadale.

After Labor won the 2001 state election, MacTiernan became the minister for planning and infrastructure.

Early in this role, she changed the route of the proposed Perth to Mandurah rail line to a more direct but costlier route.

She oversaw the signing of contracts, construction and commencement of services for the Mandurah line.

She also commenced construction on the Kwinana Freeway and Forrest Highway bypass around Mandurah, extended Roe Highway and Tonkin Highway, and expanded Geraldton Port.

After Labor lost the 2008 state election and Premier Carpenter resigned as Labor leader, she was one of the frontrunners to replace him, but she lost out to Eric Ripper.

She resigned from state parliament in 2010 in order to contest the seat of Canning in that year's federal election.

After losing that election, she was elected the mayor of Vincent, in which she served for two years.

She successfully contested the seat of Perth in the 2013 federal election, but only stayed in the federal parliament for three years as she declined to contest the 2016 federal election.

She again entered state parliament when she won election to the Legislative Council's North Metropolitan Region at the 2017 state election.

She was made the minister for regional development and minister for agriculture after that election, and she later became the minister for ports as well.

At the 2021 state election, she transferred to the South West Region and became the minister for hydrogen industry but relinquished ports.

She was the subject of controversy in 2022 when she made comments saying that the Indonesian foot-and-mouth disease outbreak would be good for Australia.

She resigned from cabinet in December 2022 and from parliament in February 2023.