Dr. Sally Talbot | |
---|---|
Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council for South West Region | |
Assumed office 22 May 2005 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Sally Elizabeth Talbot 22 March 1953 London, England, UK |
Political party | Labor |
Spouse | Jon Ford |
Domestic partner | Hon. Wendy Frances Fatin |
Children | David Talbot |
Residence | Denmark, Western Australia |
Education | Royal College of Music Murdoch University |
Profession | ALP State secretary (WA), university lecturer and musician |
Website | www |
Sally Elizabeth Talbot (born 22 March 1953) [1] is an Australian politician. She has been a Labor Party member of the Western Australian Legislative Council since 2005, representing the region of South West. She is aligned to the left faction; and been an active member of Emily's List. Whilst she held the position of Shadow Minister for ten portfolios from 2007-2013, since the McGowan and subsequently Cook governments came to power, she has not been appointed a Minister. [1] Talbot called the belief that sex is immutable to be "right wing extremism". She was quoted in 2024 as saying that "[S]ex is also regarded now as a social construct." [2]
In July 2024, she announced her retirement from politics. [3]
Talbot came from a family active in the British Labour Party where politics was actively discussed and engaged in. [4] At 16 she finished her secondary schooling and attended the Royal College of Music in London, specialising in the cello. She spent the next 15 years working as a musician, [5] however she said her life always turned back to her interest in politics. [6]
While attending Murdoch University in Perth in 1983, she joined the staff as a federal member of parliament, her first formal job in politics. In 2001 she became the Assistant Secretary of the Labor Party, a position she held until 2005. It was in this role that she discovered the importance of engaging ordinary citizens in politics to create a better community, thus it was important to have active and healthy political parties. [6] She left her staff role with the party to become a member of parliament, and later as the first President of the Western Australian branch of the Labor Party to be elected by popular ballot in 2008. [5]
Her doctorate in philosophy from Murdoch University was published, "Partial Reason: Critical and Constructive Transformations of Ethics and Epistemology".
Talbot was in a relationship with Wendy Fatin, a retired federal politician; [6] a son David was born into their relationship in 1986. [7] She has since married Jon Ford, a former Minister in the Gallop and Carpenter governments [8] and they live in Denmark, Western Australia.