Convincing win for Liberal Tanya Davies

By KeRRI e DAVI e S

The seat of Badgerys Creek was quite easily returned to Tanya Davies MP, who was formerly the member for Mulgoa. With a noticeable swing towards Labor across the state, Mrs Davies was one of the few voting patterns that went against the tide and swung towards Liberal.

On Tuesday Mrs Davies announced that she would be putting her hand up for Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party.

“I am humbled by the election result. My community know that I work and fight hard to represent them. I believe this result reflects the community endorsement of my work which is always centred on them,” Mrs Davies said.

Mrs Davies will be serving as a Liberal member in a Labor government, but she is going in with a plan.

“I will be holding the incoming Labor Government to account for all their promises made to my community and Western Sydney during the election campaign,” Mrs Davies said. “I will be calling on the Government to continue to deliver the critical infrastructure and services that Western Sydney needs.

“I would like to sincerely thank the electorate for all their support, my office staff, all the volunteers who contributed their valuable time and effort and my family. My family have been my rock, supporting me every step of the way and I cannot thank them enough.”

First time Labor Candidate Garion Thain gave the seat a good shot and came out smiling.

“The time I’ve just spent with our residents is something that I will cherish,” Mr Thain said.

“I’m proud of how many people we were able to meet, hear from and get to know over just eight weeks. Although I wasn’t successful on Saturday, I want to thank the voters I’ve met for giving me their time, their kind words, for trusting me with their problems, and for many of them trusting me with their vote as well.

“My personal takeaway is this: I love the West, I love the Nepean, and I want to keep fighting for getting the fairest go for our people. I’m not going anywhere, and I want to continue this journey I’ve started.

“Ultimately, I’m very proud to have represented Labor and to have been a part of a movement that returned Labor to government in NSW for the first time in 12 years. Karen McKeown and our new Deputy Premier Prue Car are good friends of mine, and I’m thrilled to see how well they went on Saturday. They’re both going to do amazing things over the next four years.”

Last week’s election result was a challenging night for the NSW Liberal Party. I want to thank Dominic Perrottet for his vision, service and leadership of our State both as Treasurer and Premier during the most challenging period of our time. I also want to thank his wife, Helen and the family for all their support.

I also want to thank the people of Badgerys Creek for returning me to Parliament. I am humbled by this result and eager to continue to be the strong voice and advocate for Western Sydney.

The people of Western Sydney and NSW more broadly sent a clear message on election night that they want a Liberal Party that stands up for families, backs in our small businesses and governs with compassion.

Therefore I have decided that I can offer the leadership and representation that the people of Western Sydney and NSW more broadly demand. Western Sydney is the engine room of the NSW economy and it is critical that the Liberal Party has a spokesperson that can truly champion its people and their aspirations. The new

Western Sydney Airport linking our region to the world, the emerging city of Bradfield and future prosperity of all depend on it.

Our Party must also lead with policies that serve families, individuals and supports small businesses. As the only Liberal left standing in Sydney with what looks to be an increase in support for me, I believe I can offer so much more to the NSW Parliamentary Liberal Party and I will be seeking support from colleagues in the Party over the coming days and weeks for the deputy leadership.

I am committed to ensuring that the Liberal Party offers a clear choice between political parties and addresses the serious concerns of the people of Western Sydney and NSW more broadly. I am honoured to put my name forward for the deputy leadership of the NSW Liberal Party and I look forward to working hard to earn the trust and confidence of my colleagues and the people of NSW.

Tanya Davies MP