Tania Lawrence
{{Short description|Australian politician}}
{{Use Australian English|date=May 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Tania Lawrence
| honorific_suffix = MP
| image =
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| office = Member of the Australian House of Representatives for Hasluck
| term_start = 21 May 2022
| term_end =
| predecessor = Ken Wyatt
| successor =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1973|09|13|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Perth, Western Australia
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| citizenship = Australian
| party = Labor
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| education =
| alma_mater = Murdoch University
University of Western Australia
| occupation = Public servant
Corporate manager
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| website = {{URL|https://www.tanialawrence.com.au/}}
}}
Tania Lawrence (born 13 September 1973){{cite web|url=https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=299150|title=Ms Tania Lawrence MP|website= Parliament of Australia}} is an Australian politician. She is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and was elected to the House of Representatives at the 2022 federal election, representing the Western Australian seat of Hasluck. She was a ministerial adviser and corporate manager before her election to parliament.
Early life
Lawrence was raised in York, Western Australia.{{cite news|url=https://www.alp.org.au/our-people/our-people/tania-lawrence/|title=Tania Lawrence|publisher=Australian Labor Party|accessdate=3 July 2022}} She holds the degrees of Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Arts from Murdoch University and a Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) in Asian studies from the University of Western Australia.{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-31/new-labor-darling-range-candidate-tania-lawrence-named/9819790|title=Labor names new Darling Range candidate Tania Lawrence after Colleen Yates, Barry Urban sagas|first=Jacob|last=Kagi|publisher=ABC News|date=31 May 2018|accessdate=3 July 2022}}
Career
Lawrence served as a policy advisor to WA state governments led by Richard Court, Geoff Gallop, Alan Carpenter and Colin Barnett.{{cite news|url-status=live|archive-date=7 April 2025|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250407130303/https://thewest.com.au/politics/federal-politics/hasluck-labor-set-to-choose-tania-lawrence-to-take-on-ken-wyatt-in-federal-seat-ng-b881898091z |url-access=subscription|url=https://thewest.com.au/politics/federal-politics/hasluck-labor-set-to-choose-tania-lawrence-to-take-on-ken-wyatt-in-federal-seat-ng-b881898091z|title=Hasluck: Labor set to choose Tania Lawrence to take on Ken Wyatt in Federal seat|first=Peter|last=Law|newspaper=The West Australian|date=11 June 2021|access-date=3 July 2022}}{{Cite Au Parliament |name=Ms Tania Lawrence MP |mpid=299150 |access-date=2022-07-31}} Between 2005 and 2010, she worked in the state government's Office of State Security and Emergency Coordination. She subsequently joined Woodside Petroleum as senior manager of global business integration.{{cite news|url-access=subscription|url=https://theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/thwarted-alp-comes-clean-on-candidate/news-story/152f34dd1cab95df63d2386a8b0dbc03|title=Thwarted ALP comes clean on candidate|first=Andrew|last=Burrell|date=1 June 2018|access-date=3 July 2022|newspaper=The Australian}}{{cite news|url=https://www.watoday.com.au/politics/western-australia/take-two-mcgowan-announces-new-darling-range-byelection-candidate-20180531-p4zim9.html|url-status=live|archive-date=9 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109022626/https://www.watoday.com.au/politics/western-australia/take-two-mcgowan-announces-new-darling-range-byelection-candidate-20180531-p4zim9.html |title=Take two: McGowan announces new Darling Range byelection candidate|first=Nathan|last=Hondros|date=31 May 2018|access-date=3 July 2022|work=WAtoday}}
Lawrence left a government position in 2021 to work full-time as managing director of the Beelu Forest Distilling Company, a boutique distillery which she established on her property in Mundaring.{{cite news|url-access=subscription|url=https://thewest.com.au/politics/federal-election/federal-election-2022-voters-in-key-battleground-seat-of-hasluck-reveal-main-concerns-ahead-of-poll-c-6423493|title=Federal election 2022: Voters in key battleground seat of Hasluck reveal main concerns ahead of Poll|url-status=live|archive-date=7 April 2025|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250407125527/https://thewest.com.au/politics/federal-election/federal-election-2022-voters-in-key-battleground-seat-of-hasluck-reveal-main-concerns-ahead-of-poll-c-6423493 |first=Michael|last=Traill|newspaper=The West Australian|date=16 April 2022|access-date=3 July 2022}} In 2021, her distillery received a $20,000 "innovation voucher" from the WA Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation under a program for start-ups. Her distillery was the only business in the hospitality industry to receive innovation funding, with the other 20 recipients focusing on medical technology, biotechnology and robotics. The voucher was awarded to undertake laboratory research to develop a premium Australian organic spirits distilled with novel proprietary koji strain.{{cite news|first=Desiree|last=Durrani|archive-date=17 November 2022|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221117032733/https://startupnews.com.au/2021/09/24/recipients-of-the-2021-innovation-vouchers-announced/ |url=https://startupnews.com.au/2021/09/24/recipients-of-the-2021-innovation-vouchers-announced/|publisher=Startup News|date=24 September 2021|access-date=12 July 2022|title=Recipients of the 2021 Innovation Vouchers announced }}
Politics
In May 2018, Lawrence was selected as the ALP candidate for the 2018 Darling Range state by-election, which followed the resignation of former Labor MP Barry Urban over the falsification of his credentials. She was nominated at the last minute following the discovery that the new ALP candidate Colleen Yates had also provided false credentials. She lost the seat to the Liberal candidate Alyssa Hayden.{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-23/darling-range-by-election-labor-tastes-defeat-as-liberals-win/9902556?nw=0&r=Channel|title=Darling Range by-election: Liberal Alyssa Hayden wins as Labor, Tania Lawrence concede defeat|publisher=ABC News|date=24 June 2018|accessdate=3 July 2022}}
Lawrence was elected to the House of Representatives at the 2022 federal election. She defeated the incumbent Liberal MP Ken Wyatt, a federal government minister, in the seat of Hasluck.{{Cite web |date=2022-05-16 |title=You never know your Hasluck: can Labor pry away Ken Wyatt's seat? |url=https://www.crikey.com.au/2022/05/16/hasluck-labor-tania-lawrence-ken-wyatt/ |access-date=2022-05-22 |website=Crikey |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |date=2022-05-21 |title='Clear rejection of the Liberal Party': Massive swing to Labor in WA as Hasluck, Swan, Pearce, Tangney fall |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-21/wa-election-result-liberal-loss-alp-gain/101077652 |access-date=2022-05-22}} She is part of the Labor Right faction.{{cite web |last1=Massola |first1=James |title=The power behind the PM – who are Labor's powerbrokers in government? |url=https://www.watoday.com.au/politics/federal/the-power-behind-the-pm-who-are-labor-s-powerbrokers-in-government-20220624-p5awc2.html |website=WAtoday |access-date=26 June 2022 |date=26 June 2022}}
Personal life
As of 2022, Lawrence lives with her husband on their rural property in Mundaring, Western Australia. She previously lost her house in the Toodyay bushfires in 2009.{{cite news|url=https://echonewspaper.com.au/hasluck-candidate-tania-lawrence/|title=Hoping to incite change for Hasluck|newspaper=Echo News|date=14 April 2022|accessdate=3 July 2022}}
In 2015, Lawrence was elected as the first female president of Motorcycling Australia. She held a motorcycle racing licence and had competed in road races at Barbagallo Raceway. Her collection included a BMW S1000RR, a Ducati SuperSport, and a Husqvarna dirtbike.{{cite news|url=https://www.mcnews.com.au/meet-tania-lawrence-president-of-motorcycling-australia/|title=Meet Tania Lawrence, President of M.A.|date=21 October 2015|accessdate=3 July 2022|publisher=MC News}}
References
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{{s-par|au}}
{{s-bef|before=Ken Wyatt}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member for Hasluck|years=2022–present}}
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{{Current Western Australia Representatives}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, Tania}}
Category:Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia
Category:Members of the Australian House of Representatives
Category:Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Hasluck
Category:Women members of the Australian House of Representatives
Category:Labor Right politicians
Category:Murdoch University alumni
Category:University of Western Australia alumni
Category:Public servants of Western Australia