WA election 2025: Outgoing Albany MLA Rebecca Stephens on her term in State Parliament and election loss

Outgoing Albany MLA Rebecca Stephens is disappointed to lose her seat in the 2025 State election but proud of what she’s achieved as Albany’s first female member of the Lower House. “Look, yeah, it is what it is, and I’m grateful that it’s Scott (Leary), I think he’ll be a good member for the community,” she said, sitting down with the Advertiser on Friday. “But it’s still disappointing when you win a primary vote, and you worked so hard to deliver all the things you’ve delivered.” And Ms Stephens has worked hard, helping countless members of the community over the past four years. “I took great pride, and so did my staff, in making sure anyone that walked through our office doors was treated with respect, dignity, and we did absolutely everything we could,” she said. “We were so happy to help those people and that’s the messages that are coming in now.” The other message that has come through was the regional backlash to Labor with the party losing the seats of Albany, Geraldton, Murray-Wellington and Warren-Blackwood. In Albany, Ms Stephens suffered a 19.9 per cent swing against her in the two-candidate preferred vote, which she lost to Nationals candidate Mr Leary, despite winning the primary vote. Issues like the live sheep export ban, gun law reform and the botched rollout of the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act were “challenging” for the first-term member who said while she felt supported by ministers, “there was a lot more going on than probably was acknowledged at the time”. “And the live sheep, it didn’t matter whether you tried to say to someone, ‘It’s a Federal issue, and I don’t support it’, it didn’t cut through,” she said. The addition of 3840 electors from the Shire of Plantagenet to the electorate also “definitely affected” the vote, but “wasn’t a decimation”. Ultimately, Ms Stephens puts the swing down to the “very strong push” by the other candidates to oust her with their “put Labor last” message. Despite the loss, Ms Stephens would not have done anything differently. “I could not have knocked on one more door,” she said. “I had a really incredible team around me doing the campaign. “I physically couldn’t have done much more and very proud of what we did.” Though disappointed by the results, Ms Stephens was relieved to see Mr Leary win over “divisive” Liberal candidate Thomas Brough who made headlines throughout the campaign for comments on gun laws, abortion, gender and sexuality. “I hope the commentary and the divisiveness and the negativity and hatred in the community, I hope it doesn’t continue the way it did during the campaign, because it’s not good for a community like Albany or any community when we all have to live in harmony,” she said. “Everyone can have their own opinion, but I think when it’s so vocal and divisive within a community, it’s not a nice thing.” Mr Brough was a surprise pick for the Liberal branch who many assumed would preselect Mr Leary, a longtime Liberal member who had stood as the party’s candidate in the 2021 election. “I think Scott was very hurt when he wasn’t pre-selected, and I think this is just a real clear message that he had the support and probably should have been backed,” she said. “I actually think he’ll have a far more enjoyable career as a member of Parliament with the National Party than the Liberal Party.” Ms Stephens’ entry into politics began in 2017 when she was elected to the City of Albany council after four years as the mayor’s personal assistant. “As a young mum with two young kids, and having grown up in Albany, it was something I thought, ‘why not have a voice at the table too?’,” she said. She made the move to State politics when retiring Peter Watson tapped her to replace him in the 2021 election, which she went on to win with 50.8 per cent of the primary vote and 63.7 per cent of the two-candidate preferred vote, becoming Albany’s first female member. Over the ensuing four years, she would use her background as a councillor, public servant and business woman to deliver major funding commitments to Albany, with more on the way, including 30 extra beds at Albany Health Campus, 51 new affordable homes in Spencer Park and a residential rehabilitation facility for the region. She says she could not have done it without the support of her team, some of whom, like Guy Wroth, had spent decades on Mr Watson’s team. “When you have mature staff, they absolutely go the next mile,” she said. She was also grateful to her Labor colleagues, in particular the six other regional women elected to their first term in 2021 — Collie-Preston MLA Jodie Hanns, Dawesville MLA Lisa Munday, Geraldton MLA Lara Dalton, Kalgoorlie MLA Ali Kent, Kimberley MLA Divina D’Anna, and Warren Blackwood MLA Jane Kelsbie. Led by former South West MLC and “mama chick” Alannah MacTiernan, the group — dubbed “the chicks from the sticks” — helped each other navigate State Parliament. Remembering the “daunting” experience of entering her first term, Ms Stephens is keen to help Mr Leary where she can. “I think for someone new, it’s a lot to learn, and also being in Opposition, you will have less support, I would say, from the party and from other members, because there’s only potentially six of them, whereas we had a diverse range of colleagues who had been in Parliament for a very long time,” she said. As for a return to State politics, Ms Stephens is not ruling it out. “The question is, ‘are you going to run again’ and not at the moment but who knows,” she said. “I wouldn’t say that my career in politics is over.” For now, she hopes she will be remembered as “someone that got on and did things for Albany”. “The voice that we had in for regional West Australia, from an Albany point of view, it was so strong,” she said. “It’s reflective of how much investment we have and will continue to have down here, which I think will be lost.” With Labor winning the election, Ms Stephens will get to see that investment delivered over the next four years. “I really still look forward to working with the Premier and helping however I can, to make sure that Albany continues to have investment and a future and opportunity because it’s such a fantastic place to live,” she said.

WA election 2025: Outgoing Albany MLA Rebecca Stephens on her term in State Parliament and election loss

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