- Paul Papalia
Infobox MLA | name =Paul Papalia
imagesize = 150px
nationality =Australian
order =
term_start =3 February 2007
term_end =
deputy =
predecessor =Norm Marlborough
successor =
birth_date =Birth date and age|1962|7|12|mf=y
birth_place =Bunbury, Western Australia Western Australia
constituency =Peel
party =Australian Labor Party
spouse =Gillian Papalia
profession =Lieutenant Commander Royal Australia Navy
education =
religion =
footnotes =|Paul Papalia is an
Australia n politician. He has been anAustralian Labor Party member of theWestern Australian Legislative Assembly since February 2007, representing the electorate of Peel. A decorated former navy diver who served two tours inIraq , Papalia entered parliament after winning a by-election sparked by the resignation of scandal-tarred former ministerNorm Marlborough .Papalia served in the
Royal Australian Navy for 26 years before entering politics, working as a navy diver. He specialised in explosives retrieval and escape and rescue, and attained the rank of lieutenant commander. [O'Brien, Amanda. "Iraq war veteran to run for ALP". "The Australian ",December 15 ,2006 .] [Mason, Graham and Spencer, Ben. "No new blood in Ravlich reshuffle". "The West Australian ",December 14 ,2006 .] [Mason, Graham. "Premier gets navy diver for Peel". "The West Australian ",December 15 ,2006 .] He served with theUnited Nations Special Commission in Iraq during the early 1990s, and was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross in 1994 for his work there. ["Australia Day Honours". "Sydney Morning Herald ",January 26 ,1994 .] Papalia later returned toIraq during theIraq War , serving as executive officer in an Australian mine-clearing team. [Baker, Mark. "Secrets of Australian heroism revealed". "The Age ",May 3 ,2003 .] He left the navy in 2004, and operated a small business renovating houses up until the time of his election to parliament. [O'Brien, Amanda. "Lib's hopes on scandal fallout". "The Australian ",January 31 ,2007 .] He publicly opposes the Iraq War, and has advocated a rapid withdrawal of Australian forces from the country. [Taylor, Robert. "Navy man dives in for Peel selection". "The West Australian ",December 11 ,2006 .]In November 2006, state Minister for Small Business
Norm Marlborough resigned from parliament after it was revealed that he had lied to theCorruption and Crime Commission about his dealings with disgraced formerPremier of Western Australia Brian Burke , thus forcing a by-election in his electorate of Peel. [O'Brien, Amanda. "Lib's hopes on scandal fallout". "The Australian ",January 31 ,2007 .] 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. [Taylor, Robert. "Our new man for Peel is a cleanskin, says Carpenter". "The West Australian ",January 18 ,2007 .] 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 PremierAlan Carpenter . [Mason, Graham. "Premier gets navy diver for Peel". "The West Australian ",December 15 ,2006 .] He went on to easily win the by-election, receiving a small swing in his favour in a seat that the government had suspected they might lose. [Lampathakis, Paul. "Labor claims Peel victory". "The Sunday Times",February 3 ,2006 .] Papalia will thus be sworn in as the member for Peel at the next sitting of parliament.Paul Papalia intends to stand for the seat of Warnbro at the forthcoming state elections, following the redistribution of WA Electoral Boundaries after the One Vote-One Value legislation came into effect.References
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