Paul Papalia
Paul Papalia CSC (born 12 July 1962) is a retired Australian politician. He served as a Labor Party member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from February 2007 until his retirement in July 2026. He most recently served as the member for Secret Harbour having previously served as member for Peel and Warnbro before their abolition. A decorated former navy diver who served two tours in Iraq, Papalia entered parliament after winning a by-election sparked by the resignation of scandal-tarred former minister Norm Marlborough.
Early life and naval career
Papalia was born in Bunbury, Western Australia and grew up in the nearby small town of Burekup. He served in the Royal Australian Navy for 26 years before entering politics, working as a navy diver and rising to the rank of lieutenant commander. He specialised in explosives retrieval and escape and rescue.[1][2][3] Papalia completed Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) selection and reinforcement training in 1988. He then served in 3 SASR Squadron in 1989 and 1 SASR Squadron in 1990 before returning to the Navy in 1991.[4] In 1992 he served with the United Nations Special Commission on Iraq to work as explosives disposal specialist, and was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross in 1994 for his work there.[5] Papalia later returned to Iraq during the Iraq War, serving as executive officer in an Australian mine-clearing team.[6] He left the navy in 2004, and operated a small business renovating houses up until the time of his election to parliament.[7]
Political career
In November 2006, state Minister for Small Business Norm Marlborough resigned from parliament after it was revealed that he had lied to the Corruption and Crime Commission about his dealings with disgraced former Premier of Western Australia Brian Burke, thus triggering a by-election in his electorate of Peel.[8] Peel had been held by the Labor Party since the seat's inception and was generally considered a safe Labor seat, but concerns about an electoral backlash over Marlborough's conduct led the party to look for a candidate without a political background.[9] Papalia thus nominated for Labor preselection in the by-election, and was easily successful – despite having only joined the party weeks before – after receiving strong support from Premier Alan Carpenter.[10] He went on to easily win the by-election, receiving a small swing in his favour in a seat that the government had feared they might lose.[11]
The district of Peel was abolished with effect at the 2008 state election. Papalia instead successfully contested the new seat of Warnbro, essentially the northern three-fourths of his old seat. In March 2017, Papalia was appointed as a Minister in the new McGowan Government, with the portfolios for Tourism, Racing and Gaming, Small Business, Defence Issues, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs. Following the March 2021 election, he was appointed as Minister for Police, Road Safety, Defence Industry and Veterans Issues. After the resignation of Mark McGowan, new Premier announced on 7 June Papalia would gain the portfolio of Corrective Services and lose Road Safety.[12] After the resignation of Bill Johnston from the Cabinet, Papalia gained Racing and Gaming on 7 December. This continues the 4 years Papalia had the portfolio between 2017–2021.[13]
Papalia was awarded the Order of the Star of Italy on 2 December 2021.
In the 2025 Western Australian state election, he was elected in the new seat of Secret Harbour.[14]
Papalia is one of four Labor MPs in state parliament that is not factionally aligned as of 2025.[15]
In 2026 Papalia announced he would be retiring from politics, leaving parliament on 10 July. His resignation resulted in a by-election on 29 August 2026.[16]
References
- ↑ O'Brien, Amanda. "Iraq war veteran to run for ALP". The Australian, 15 December 2006.
- ↑ Mason, Graham and Spencer, Ben. "No new blood in Ravlich reshuffle". The West Australian, 14 December 2006.
- ↑ Mason, Graham. "Premier gets navy diver for Peel". The West Australian, 15 December 2006.
- ↑ McPhedran, Ian (2008). Soldiers Without Borders, Beyond the SAS, A Global Network of Brothers in Arm. Sydney, NSW Australia: Harper Collins. pp. 117, 331–342. ISBN 9780732285555.
- ↑ "Australia Day Honours". Sydney Morning Herald, 26 January 1994.
- ↑ Baker, Mark. "Secrets of Australian heroism revealed". The Age, 3 May 2003.
- ↑ O'Brien, Amanda. "Lib's hopes on scandal fallout". The Australian, 31 January 2007.
- ↑ O'Brien, Amanda. "Lib's hopes on scandal fallout". The Australian, 31 January 2007.
- ↑ Taylor, Robert. "Our new man for Peel is a cleanskin, says Carpenter". The West Australian, 18 January 2007.
- ↑ Mason, Graham. "Premier gets navy diver for Peel". The West Australian, 15 December 2006.
- ↑ Lampathakis, Paul (2 February 2007). "Labor claims Peel victory". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
- ↑ Bourke, Keane (7 June 2023). "Rita Saffioti becomes treasurer, Bill Johnston loses corrective services in WA cabinet reshuffle". Retrieved 5 March 2024.
- ↑ Cook, Roger (7 December 2023). "Refreshed Cabinet team to deliver for Western Australia". Retrieved 5 March 2024.
- ↑ "Secret Harbour - WA Electorate, Candidates, Results". www.abc.net.au. 10 March 2025. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
- ↑ Hastie, Hamish (12 March 2025). "WA Labor's factional makeup has changed dramatically since Saturday. Here's what we know". WAtoday. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
- ↑ "WA minister Paul Papalia quits politics, triggering Secret Harbour by-election". www.abc.net.au. 6 July 2026. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- 1962 births
- Living people
- Australian military personnel of the Iraq War
- Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
- Recipients of the Conspicuous Service Cross (Australia)
- Royal Australian Navy officers
- People from Bunbury, Western Australia
- Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia
- 21st-century Australian politicians
- Australian politicians of Italian descent
- Australian people of Italian descent
- Ministers for police (Western Australia)
- Ministers for tourism (Western Australia)
- Ministers for corrective services (Western Australia)