Louise Kingston elected to fill upper house seat vacated by disgraced former National MP James Hayward

Long-term Manjimup resident Louise Kingston has been elected to fill the State Parliament Upper House seat vacated by disgraced former WA Nationals MP James Hayward. She was the Party’s second candidate for the South West Region at the 2021 election and last month confirmed her interest in filling the vacancy. Ms Kingston was declared elected on Tuesday after a recount held at the WA Electoral Commission office. She has lived in Manjimup for more than 20 years with her husband, four daughters and three grandsons, and has vowed to ensure the region has the representation it deserves. Ms Kingston is the manager of Manjimup Community Resource Centre, which states on its website that she operates a busy engineering business with her husband and youngest daughter, and also runs a small farm. Hayward, 53, quit the Nationals in December 2021 when he was charged with sex offences against an eight-year-old girl but remained in the Legislative Council as an independent drawing an MP’s salary until his conviction last month. It rendered him ineligible to remain in Parliament because it carries a maximum sentence of at least five years in prison. He was remanded in custody and is set to be sentenced on October 16.