Daniel Morrison-Bird has withdrawn from running for parliament at the 2025 state election. The Indigenous leader had been pre-selected for the safe seat of Thornlie.
“This was a tough choice, but I feel that I can’t give the personal commitment necessary at this time and so have decided to withdraw,” he said in an email to supporters.
“A new candidate will be selected in due course, and I will offer my help for a smooth transition to ensure the success of the Cook Labor government.”
Morrison-Bird is the CEO of the Wungening Aboriginal Corporation, which delivers frontline drug and alcohol support, helps people experiencing homelessness and family violence.
He is also the founding co-chair of Social Reinvestment WA, and has served on the boards of WACOSS, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and Reconciliation WA.
Alongside his background in the Indigenous community the candidate had also been touted as a voice for LGBTIQA+ people in the next parliament.
With Morrison-Bird pulling out just months ahead of the 2025 state election it’s been suggested that former journalist turned political staffer Colleen Egan might be a potential replacement candidate.
Egan is best known for her investigative journalism at The Sunday Times, she later worked as an Assistant Editor at The West Australian. She won Walkley Award for Most Outstanding Contribution to Journalism in 2006 for her role in the acquittal of Andrew Mallard.
After leaving the media Egan served as Attorney-General John Quigley’s Chief of Staff from 2017 until 2023.
The seat in Perth’s south-eastern suburbs has been held by Labor since it was formed in the late 1980s, and former Minister’s Yvonne Henderson and Sheila McHale have both represented the seat. Morrison-Bird was expected to replace retiring member Chris Tallentire who is retiring.
