I believe the key to a vibrant, safe and successful community is the active participation of its residents. Living in the Scarborough electorate for the past 16 years, I have enjoyed working with local residents on road and community safety issues, and my role as Treasurer of the Parents and Friends Association at St John’s School, where my children attend. I now want to represent my community in State Parliament to build a better future for local families, residents and businesses.

While growing up, I spent a lot of time travelling the Pilbara and Kimberley because of my father’s job as a surveyor with the Lands and Surveys Department. The planning and work of these people in the 60s and 70s built the foundations for the booming economy we enjoy today. Our challenge now is to ensure we use the economic good times to deliver world-class health and education facilities, a safer community and build important infrastructure for the future.

The value of hard work was instilled in me at an early age. As the third of six children, my parents always made sure we worked our hardest and helped each other out. I got my first job as a casual waitress at 14 while I was still at school, before working in a roadhouse, as a nanny, in a day-care centre and for Qantas. You can’t get anywhere in life without rolling up your sleeves and working hard – a message I am now delivering to my children and step-daughter Sarah, who is soon to join the workforce as a qualified hairdresser.

Together with my husband Hal, we have built the former Harvey’s Tackle in Scarborough into the successful Bluewater Tackle World group, with five stores and more than 50 employees across Western Australia. This achievement took a lot of hard work, determination and commitment – three attributes I want to use to build a better community in the electorate of Scarborough.