Wendy Duncan was the former Member for Kalgoorlie, where she was born and grew up on a pastoral station in the goldfields.
She was educated by School of the Air and her passion for politics and concern for human rights was awakened by a year on a Rotary Exchange scholarship in South Africa during the apartheid era. After completing a degree in politics and Australian history at the University of Western Australia, Ms Duncan undertook postgraduate studies in Canberra and worked with the National Farmer’s Federation on its formation. On her return to Western Australia, she and her husband ran their own business in the pastoral industry and farming in Esperance.
She also worked with law firms, local government and small rural enterprises while studying externally through Curtin to gain a Graduate Diploma of Business.
Seeing the neglect of regional areas by government, Ms Duncan became involved in the Nationals and rose to be its first female State President. She helped develop the Royalties for Regions policy. Ms Duncan entered Parliament in 2008 and successfully held three seats, two in the Western Australia Legislative Council and one in the Western Australia Legislative Assembly, retiring at the 2013 election. She was the first female Leader of the Nationals in the Legislative Council, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Regional Development, and Deputy Speaker in the Legislative Assembly. During her time in Parliament, Ms Duncan was a passionate advocate for regional development with a particular focus on the health and wellbeing of those in more remote areas, and the mining industry and mining education.
She was the founding chair of headspace Kalgoorlie-Boulder, actively campaigned on issues of FASD and aboriginal child health, and has been a passionate supporter of Earbus Foundation since its inception.
