Tania Lawrence

Biography

Tania Lawrence is an Australian politician and member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She was born on September 13, 1973, and raised in York, Western Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Arts from Murdoch University and a Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) in Asian studies from the University of Western Australia.

Before entering politics, Lawrence worked as a policy advisor for various Western Australian state governments. She later worked for Woodside Petroleum as a senior manager of global business integration. In 2021, Lawrence left a government position to work full-time as managing director of the Beelu Forest Distilling Company, a boutique distillery she established on her property in Mundaring. Her distillery received an innovation voucher from the WA Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation to develop a premium Australian organic spirits distilled with novel proprietary koji strain.

Lawrence’s political career began in 2018 when she was selected as the ALP candidate for the Darling Range state by-election. However, she lost the seat to the Liberal candidate Alyssa Hayden. In 2022, she was elected to the House of Representatives in the federal election, defeating the incumbent Liberal MP Ken Wyatt in the seat of Hasluck. She is part of the Labor Right faction.

Lawrence lives with her husband on their rural property in Mundaring, Western Australia. She is a motorbike enthusiast and was elected as the first female president of Motorcycling Australia in 2015. Lawrence has also competed in road races at Barbagallo Raceway and has a collection of motorbikes, including a BMW S1000RR, a Ducati SuperSport, and a Husqvarna dirt bike. In 2009, she lost her house in the Toodyay bushfires.