Labor’s Susan Templeman has officially been declared Member for Macquarie at the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) office in Penrith today (Wednesday, July 27).
An emotional Ms Templeman thanked divisional returning officer Debbie Bush as the official AEC count of 47,751 two-party preferred Labor votes were declared, marking her first day as the official Member for Macquarie.
“I knew I would cry at this point,” Ms Templeman said to applause.
Ms Templeman thanked the electoral officers for their hard work in Macquarie during the election, and acknowledged both her fellow candidates and predecessor, Liberal Louise Markus.
“I acknowledge the other candidates and thank Louise Markus for the efforts that she made,” Ms Templeman said. “It’s very gratifying to be here today after three goes as the successful candidate.
“It’s an exciting time and I feel an enormous sense of privilege.”
Ms Templeman said she was proud to follow in the footsteps of previous Labor MPs for the seat, including Bob Debus, the late Maggie Deahm, and even former prime minister Ben Chifley.
“I look forward to the challenge for as long as the people of Macquarie are happy to have me,” she said.
Ms Templeman will continue to operate an office in Windsor and, being a Blue Mountains resident, will also meet with residents there.
