Daniel Morrison: United Workers Union trying to convince him to run for Labor in place of Chris Tallentire

The United Workers Union is actively working to convince Daniel Morrison — a staunch critic of the State Government’s record on youth justice — to be the Labor candidate for the safe seat of Thornlie, currently held by Chris Tallentire. Mr Morrison, a Noongar and Yamitji man, is the CEO of the Wungening Aboriginal Corporation and has lashed the Government for its treatment of juvenile detainees at Banksia Hill and for dragging its feet on raising the age of criminal responsibility from 10. The West understands from multiple Labor sources that the Labor left-aligned UWU is recruiting Mr Morrison, with Mr Tallentire announcing his retirement after four terms Monday. If Mr Morrison were to win the seat at the 2025 election, he could become the first openly gay Aboriginal member of the WA parliament. Mr Tallentire served two terms as MP for Gosnells until it was abolished and replaced mainly by Thornlie. Mr Morrison, who is also the co-chair of Social Reinvestment WA, has welcomed some changes in youth justice policy under Premier Roger Cook and new Corrective Services Minister Paul Papalia but was heavily critical of Mark McGowan’s handling of the issue. In 2022, he labelled a crisis summit led by the then-Premier and funding package a “political stunt”. “I feel very strongly that this is another public relations management tool that the Government is undertaking,” Mr Morrison said at the time. In a joint letter to the National Indigenous Times with fellow chair Glenda Kickett, he criticised the Premier for ignoring the advice of advocates. He wrote Mr McGowan was “misinformed” when he claimed they had offered no real solutions. On the back of the 2021 McGowan landslide, Mr Tallentire was reelected by a 30.9 per cent margin — which has dropped slightly to 30.6 after a redistribution — making it one of 12 seats where Labor won more than 80 per cent of the two-party preferred vote. The UWU is one of two unions that make up WA Labor’s dominant left faction, along with the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union. MPs aligned with the union include the Premier and senior ministers such as Amber-Jade Sanderson, Sue Ellery, John Carey and Jackie Jarvis. Mr Morrison did not respond to requests for comment.