Zak Kirkup


Zak Richard Francis Kirkup is an Australian politician. He has been a Liberal member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly since the 2017 state election, representing Dawesville.

Personal life

Kirkup was born in Perth to Penni Hulston and Rob Kirkup, and grew up in the eastern suburbs around Midland. His mother was an immigrant from New Zealand, while his father was Australian. Kirkup's paternal grandfather was Aboriginal, a member of the Yamatji people of the Mid West. He has one half-sister, who was born when his mother was 17 and given up for adoption.

Politics

Interested in politics from a young age, Kirkup quit his studies at Curtin University to work as a research assistant to Matt Birney. He later worked in the office of Senator Judith Adams, as a campaign officer at the 2007 federal election, as deputy state director - campaigns, and in the office of Premier Colin Barnett as an adviser on environmental issues. After the 2013 state election he switched to the private sector for a period, finding employment as a consultant with building company BGC.
In April 2016, Kirkup won Liberal preselection for the state seat of Dawesville, replacing the retiring former deputy Liberal leader Kim Hames. He won the seat by only 343 votes at the 2017 election, narrowly avoiding becoming a victim of the significant state-wide swing to the Labor Party. Kirkup is one of only thirteen Liberals in the parliament and one of only four in seats outside the metropolitan area.