Rob Coales
Shire President of Serpentine-Jarrahdale
Assumed office
21 October 2023
DeputyTricia Duggin
Preceded byMichelle Rich
Councillor of Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale
for North Ward
Assumed office
21 October 2017
Personal details
Other political
affiliations		Liberal
Children2
Military service
Allegiance Australia
Branch/service


Years of service1997 - 2017

Rob Coales (born 1975/1976) is an Australian politician and the current president of the Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale since 2023. He is also a member of the Western Australian Police Force as a police sergeant.[1]

Police and military career

Rob Coales was born in either 1975 or 1976 in Western Australia, where he also grew up in. He attended Christ Church Grammar School in Perth.[2][3]

Coales graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in politics from Murdoch University and Graduate Certificate of Transnational Crime Prevention from the University of Wollongong. He then achieved a Diploma of Policing through the Australian Federal Police.[4]

Coales served in the Australian Army Reserve from 1997 to 2017, where he became the Battery Commander of 3 Light Battery of the Artillery Reserve Unit in 13th Brigade. In 2008, Coales was deployed to the Solomon Islands on a peacekeeping mission as part of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands.[3]

Coales then started being a police sergeant at the Gosnells Police Station.[2]

Political career

State politics

In the 2017 Western Australian state election, Coales contested the Electorate District of Thornline for the Liberal party.[5] He was inspired by Andrew Hastie becoming the MP for Canning after having a military background.[2] The West Australian described one of his election songs as cheesy.[6] He loss to Labor candidate Chris Tallentire, receiving only 5,682 votes (24.96%).[7]

In the 2018 Darling Range by-election, Coales - who was still a councillor for the Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale - attempted to seek the Liberal candidacy for the state electorate. However, the Liberal candidate ended up being Alyssa Hayden, who went on to win the election.[8]

Councillor of Serpentine-Jarrahdale

Rob Coales was elected in the 2017 Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale local election as a councillor for the North Ward. Coales was sworn in on 23 October.[9]

Following the 2021 local election, Coales led calls for an investigation into possible fraud during the election.[10]

Shire President

In the 2023 Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale local election, Rob Coales and incumbent Michelle Rich were the only contestants for Shire President. The election saw Coales defeat Rich with a landslide of 2,182 votes (69.8%).[11] Following his win, Coales said he would reduce his duties as a police officer.[4] He was sworn in with his deputy president, Tricia Duggin.[12]

Coales has said one of his main focus is to change public perception of the shire. The local election saw only a 14% turnout.[4]

Coales being elected as president is likely to trigger a by-election in North Ward.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Rob Coales". Business News. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Rob Coales Seat of Gosnells". Perth Now. 7 September 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Thornlie - WA Electorate, Candidates, Results". abc.net.au. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Dee, Mel (26 October 2023). "Landslide win for Coales". Your Local Examiner. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  5. ↑ "Thornlie - WA Electorate, Candidates, Results". abc.net.au. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  6. ↑ "The State election's most cringeworthy song". The West Australian. 7 February 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  7. ↑ "2017 State General Election". Western Australian Election Commission. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  8. ↑ "Darling Range Rob Coales Serpentine Barry Urban". Community News. 9 May 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  9. ↑ "Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale's new team". 97.3 Coast FM. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  10. ↑ Hunt, Annalise (21 October 2021). "Calls for an investigation". Your Local Examiner. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  11. ↑ "2023 Ordinary Election - Serpentine-Jarrahdale". Western Australian Election Commission. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  12. ↑ Dee, Mel (2 November 2023). "Duggin elected as deputy president". Your Local Examiner. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
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