Labor candidate for Rockingham Magenta Marshall admits being stripped of licence over drink driving in 2021

Labor candidate for Rockingham Magenta Marshall was stripped of her licence for drink driving less than two years ago. The 28-year-old confirmed her licence had been suspended for six months after being approached by The West Australian on Monday. Ms Marshall was caught by a booze bus in October 2021, returning a blood alcohol content of 0.08 — well above the legal limit of 0.05. She would not disclose the circumstances in which the drink driving occurred but said it was a “terrible mistake, which I have regretted ever since”. “I took full responsibility for my actions and paid the price,” Ms Marshall said. “Road safety is everyone’s responsibility. I’m deeply sorry for my actions — it’s something I will never do again.” Ms Marshall pleaded guilty to one charge of driving in excess and was slapped with a $750 fine as well as a six-month license suspension. The West Australian understands Labor was aware of Ms Marshall’s drink-driving conviction at the time of her preselection. The revelation — less than two weeks out from the Rockingham by-election and with early voting now open — is a significant blow to Ms Marshall’s credibility. Independent candidate for Rockingham Hayley Edwards, the city’s former deputy mayor who claims to have been snubbed by Labor during the preselection process, has highlighted the youth and relative inexperience of both Ms Marshall and 21-year-old Liberal candidate Peter Hudson. Ms Edwards has doubled down on this sentiment, saying the drink-driving conviction shows Ms Marshall’s “clear lack of maturity”. “As a member of Parliament you shouldn’t have anything like that on your record — and so recently as well,” Ms Edwards said. The former Air Force medic said the recent conviction “shows a clear lack of maturity and poor decision-making skills”. “I don’t think that’s acceptable,” Ms Edwards said. “Labor had so many excellent candidates (in preselection)... they have really let their standards slip.” Ms Marshall is a Labor party operative who has spent most of her working life with the party, beginning as an electorate officer to Local Government Minister David Michael in his seat of Balcatta. Following the 2021 election, Ms Marshall joined Labor HQ as a campaign strategist and played a role in coordinating the party’s 2022 Federal campaign. She is attempting to replace former Premier Mark McGowan in what is one of the safest Labor seats in the entire country. Mr McGowan won Rockingham with nearly 88 per cent of the two-party preferred vote in 2021, building an imposing margin that is highly unlikely to be overturned by the Liberals. The recently departed Premier has also thrown his support behind Ms Marshall, making a number of appearances alongside his prospective replacement on the campaign trail in recent weeks.