Former state Labor minister Sheila McHale is adjusting to life after politics.
IF a week is a long time in politics, then a year out of it must seem like an eternity.
Former state Labor minister Sheila McHale has spent the past 12 months starting the next phase of her career and getting back in touch with parts of life that were pushed to the margins during 12 years in parliament, eight of those in state cabinet.
“I am reacquainting myself with friends and friendships,” Ms McHale admits.
“In politics, your friends are few and far between.”
Not that she regrets a minute of it.
It is clear that politics was a vocation that thrilled her for more than a decade despite the obvious costs, especially as a single mother with a son who is now is his mid-20s.
“When I made the decision and said yes to putting my name forward I had the experience of thinking that is the journey I want to take,” Ms McHale says.
“I did not lose any of that passion until I left.”
Believing she owed something to Australia for the fortunate life it gave her as an immigrant, she gained pre-selection for Thornlie in 1996, replacing Yvonne Henderson after the women in Labor’s left manoeuvred to ensure the seat was to be represented by a female.
“Mind you, given it was a marginal seat, the boys were not that interested,” Ms McHale jokes, in part, noting the huge workload required to take, and then comfortably hold the seat, which later became Kenwick.
A classical music lover who also likes The Panics and is a huge fan of Leonard Cohen, Ms McHale sees a link between her political career and many hours as a dance caller for folk bands here and in the UK.
“If you can get 1,000 people moving in the right direction you can certainly do public speaking,” she says.
Raised in Yorkshire, the youngest of three to working-class parents who split up in her mid-teens, Ms McHale had all the radical coaching available in Britain in the upheaval of the 1970s.
“I worked with a woman who had been heavily involved with the Communist party,” she says.
“She was very influential in my political awareness. I have always had a sense of social justice.”
Looking at world history, it was probably quite lucky that she met an Australian man and decided to join him here in 1978, just a few years before the emergence of Margaret Thatcher’s brand of politics started its decade-long domination of British policy.
“Some people would say love, others would say insanity,” Ms McHale says, reflecting on the reason she came to Perth, a place that still allowed job advertisements to specify the gender requirements of applicants.
Apart from resuming friendships, moving house, travelling with her son, reading books and indulging in cooking, the next phase in the former minister’s life is running drug and alcohol support group Palmerston Association, which is based in Subiaco, close to where she now lives.
Ms McHale admits state Labor’s election failure followed by the global financial crisis diminished her stocks somewhat when it came to employment opportunities, but she believes the Palmerston role suits her perfectly.
“I wanted to be part of a team and set a vision and utilise networks and skills I developed over 12 years. I also had a life before parliament, I had credentials that don’t rely on a 12-year, parliamentary career.”
“I bring a perspective that is different from others in the sector. I bring the knowledge of how executive government works, I understand the psyche of ministers and use that in the best interests of the organisation and broader alcohol and drug sector in a non-partisan way.”
Life’s bonzer for
Sheila
What challenges do you face as CEO of Palmerston?
It is not a sexy area. It is not something people want to talk about even though most of us have a son or daughter or family member with a drug or alcohol problem.
What is it like being a woman in parliament?
There are different standards. Commentators only seem to see what happens in the bear pit of parliament and assess you on that rather than the 90 per cent of what else you do.”
How did the election loss impact you?
I was not quite the commodity I might have been if Labor had won government. I was not on the winning side.”
What place are you most fond of in WA?
Canal Rocks; there is the strength and violence of the ocean, and the beauty of the coastline. I get a sense of the extraordinary vastness and diversity of WA in that spot.
What music are you listening to?
The CDs in the car are Radiohead, at the moment, and Fleet Foxes.
And books?
I am reacquainting myself with the art of reading. Currently it’s Brideshead Revisited and I’ve just finished the biography of Trevor Eastwood.
