What’s next for retiring Albany-based MP Alannah MacTiernan?

Retiring Albany-based MP Alannah MacTiernan has vehemently ruled out that a caravanning trip around Australia is on the horizon, but says she can’t see herself staying in one place for too long once she finishes up in January. Ms MacTiernan officially announced her intention to retire in November, and stepped down from Cabinet mid-December. She told the Advertiser earlier this month that she would “wind up” her office over January before stepping away from politics for a third and final time. She said that while her husband, Derek Schapper, was basically living down here now, she hadn’t found herself in a position “where I can imagine staying in just one place”. “I have moved around the State every week so the idea of just staying in one place seems a bit weird,” she said. When asked if that meant maybe a life living out of a caravan was on the cards Ms MacTiernan immediately laughed it off and dismissed the idea. “No, no. Definitely not, that is absolutely not on the agenda,” she said. After 26 years in Federal and State politics, and a cheeky couple of years as the Mayor of the City of Vincent in between, you could forgive Ms MacTiernan for wanting to step away from it all and slow down. Especially when you consider virtually half of that time was spent working in ministerial roles, and that she thought 15 years in politics would be long enough when she first started. She described the time demands of the role as “relentless” but said she felt conflicted about stepping away. Initially there were plans for Ms MacTiernan to pull the pin at the 2021 State election, but even at that point she felt there was too much left to do that had only just been started. “Two years on, I think we’ve made real progress on all of those things, but everything we wanted? Probably not, but that’s always going to be the case — there will always be that next horizon that you’re working on,” she said. “Half of me wants to keep going, and the other part is that you get to a point where you realise it’s pretty full on, seven days a week and you can’t turn off. “Whilst there is no way I see myself as doing nothing — because I want to do lots of things — I certainly don’t want to have that level of pressure.” She said she was keen to keep an eye on how a burgeoning WA hydrogen industry developed because “if we play this right and get all of our ducks lined up, this renewable hydrogen could be magnificent industry for here”. And she was proud of her work helping progressive farmers further develop alternate approaches “because you’re there to do something, not just to necessarily support the status quo” while ensuring funding had continued to be reinvested into “conventional research and development”. “People want more sustainable products, working with those farmers who are doing amazing things in the region and giving them support has been controversial for some farmers,” she said. “We absolutely recognise the conventional stuff needs to be done, but we’ve also got to look at the other science. “The science around the soil biology and integrated pest management because that is increasingly going to be the path of the future.” Ms MacTiernan is adamant that when she steps away, it will be retirement from politics, but not retirement altogether. When asked how she would fill in her time, she declared “one never knows” but that the relentlessness of the task had meant there were “many things with family and friends” she had missed out on. “I feel at some point you’ve got to spend a little more time with family and friends,” she said. She said she might look at opportunities in the area of expertise she had developed through her ministerial roles, and that she would also always have time for younger parliamentary members coming through. That applies most of all to those she considers the “chicks from the sticks”, which is made up of MPs from regional WA. “I believe it is so important to pay it forward, I had people who supported me and I want to pay that forward,” she said. “We’ve got fabulous younger members who you see growing in their capacity all the time and that is a very rewarding thing to see.”