Rhys Williams is an Australian politician who has been the member for Mandurah in the

Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House, Perth, Parliament House in the Western Australian capi ...

since the March 2025 state election. A member of the Labor Party, he was the mayor of the

City of Mandurah The City of Mandurah is a local government area of Western Australia, covering both Mandurah proper and an additional area reaching down as far south as Lake Clifton. The city has a total area of approximately . The city is located in the Pe ...

from October 2017 to January 2025 and a City of Mandurah councillor from October 2009 to October 2013.

Career

Williams was elected to the Coastal Ward of the

council for a four-year term in October 2009 at the age of 21, making him the youngest councillor in Mandurah's history. In October 2013, Williams lost the Mandurah mayoral election to Marina Vergone by two votes. Four years later, he was elected mayor of Mandurah, receiving 50.12 percent of the vote and beating three other candidates, including incumbent mayor Vergone. Williams was re-elected in October 2021 with 85.54 percent of the vote against one other candidate. In 2015, Williams was awarded the Western Australian of the Year Youth Award. In September 2024, the Labor MP for the electoral district of Mandurah, David Templeman, announced he would not contest the 2025 state election. The following day, Williams announced he would seek Labor Party preselection, and in October 2024, he was preselected as the party's candidate for Mandurah. He stepped down as mayor in January 2025, with deputy mayor Caroline Knight acting as mayor until the October 2025 local government election. The Labor Party has used Williams' resignation as mayor to criticise the Liberal Party's Churchlands candidate, Basil Zempilas, for not resigning as lord mayor of Perth. The election on 8 March 2025 resulted in Williams retaining the seat of Mandurah for Labor. Williams is part of the Labor Party's Left faction and is aligned with the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Rhys Living people People from Mandurah Western Australian local councillors Mayors of places in Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia 21st-century Australian politicians Labor Left politicians