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Lucy Elizabeth Wicks (née Warren; born 1 January 1973) is an Australian former politician. She was a Liberal member of the House of Representatives from 2013 to 2022, representing the Division of Robertson in New South Wales. She lost her seat to the Australian Labor Party candidate Gordon Reid at the 2022 federal election.

Early life

Wicks was born in Canberra on 1 January 1973. She is the oldest of five children born to Mary (née Gilligan) and Max Warren. On her mother's side she is a descendant of Francis Gilligan, an Irishman who was transported to Australia as a convict under the Whiteboy Acts.

Wicks grew up in Canberra and country New South Wales where her father worked as a schoolteacher. She lived for periods in Cowra and Walcha, before the family settled in Point Clare on the Central Coast. She attended the Gosford Christian Community School in Narara where her father was the principal. Wicks holds the degree of Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) in English literature from the University of Sydney. After graduating she returned to Gosford Christian Community School as a teacher from 1996 to 1998.

From 1999 to 2003, Wicks worked as a Liberal Party staffer and electorate officer. She later worked in corporate affairs and communications for Telstra from 2004 to 2011, and as a government relations adviser from 2011 to 2012. In her twenties, she "suffered with massive depression from PTSD arising from a very significant workplace bullying incident that took me years to recover from".

Politics

Wicks was a state vice-president of the Young Liberals from 2001 to 2002. She later served as president of the state women's council and state vice-president in the Liberal Party of Australia (New South Wales Division) from 2011 to 2012.

Wicks is a member of the centre-right faction of the Liberal Party.

Parliament

Wicks was appointed the Liberal candidate for the federal seat of Robertson in 2012. The state executive chose not to hold a preselection for the seat in order to "overcome entrenched local factions", with Wicks reportedly endorsed by opposition leader Tony Abbott. As a result some local members refused to campaign for her. Wicks was nonetheless elected to the House of Representatives at the 2013 federal election, defeating the incumbent Australian Labor Party (ALP) member Deborah O'Neill.

Wicks was appointed to the speaker's panel in February 2015. She was narrowly re-elected at the 2016 election. She has served on various parliamentary committees and in July 2019 she was appointed chair of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit.

In 2020, it was reported that Wicks had attended the Hope Unlimited Church, a Pentecostal congregation, on a number of occasions, and that the church had recently been awarded a government grant. She subsequently stated that she was not a member of the church, had not been involved in the awarding of the grant, and that she attends multiple churches within her electorate, "usually at the request of a church for their special events".

Wicks was defeated at the 2022 Australian federal election by Labor MP Gordon Reid, with a 7.7% swing on a two party preferred basis.

Personal life

Wicks has two children with her former husband Chris. The family lived in Springfield until 2017, when they sold their home and began renting in Terrigal. Wicks also owns an investment property in North Avoca.

In 2017, Wicks announced she had been diagnosed by an integrative medicine practitioner with chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS), or sick building syndrome, following symptoms that included chest infections, chronic fatigue and memory lapses. She was advised to "avoid buildings with mould and other biotoxins" and had to cut back on her parliamentary duties depending on the location. She lobbied for a parliamentary inquiry into CIRS similar to the one into Lyme disease in 2017 and was a committee member for the Inquiry into Biotoxin-related Illnesses in Australia in 2018.

In July 2023, Wicks made a formal complaint to the Liberal Party about state Liberal MLC Taylor Martin, with whom Wicks had previously been in a relationship. Wicks alleged that she was "physically threatened and received hundreds of demeaning, degrading, and abusive texts" from Martin. Wicks was reported to be distressed after the confidential complaint was leaked to the media and she was identified as the complainant by radio station 2GB.

In April 2024, Martin was expelled from the Liberal Party after the party received a report by Patricia McDonald SC into Wicks’ allegations against him.

References

1. "Lucy Wicks MP". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
2. "AEC Tallyroom". Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
3. ^ "MRS Lucy Wicks MP". Archived from the original on 13 February 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
4. ^ "Maiden speech". Hansard. Parliament of Australia. 5 December 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
5. ^ "Robertson Electorate: St Philip's Christian College". Hansard. Parliament of Australia. 5 March 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
6. ^ "About Lucy". Lucy Wicks. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
7. Maddox, Garry (3 May 2019). "Heroin, crime, depression and illness: The human face of the candidates for Robertson". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
8. Massola, James (20 March 2021). "Who's who in the Liberals' left, right and centre factions?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
9. "Liberals candidate gets to work in Robertson". ABC News. 25 June 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
10. Barnes, Denice (14 March 2013). "Rebel Libs refuse to help Robertson candidate Wicks, dubbing her 'Lucy who?'". Central Coast Express. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
11. Taylor, Matt (3 July 2016). "Lucy Wicks all but claims victory but dodges ATO questions". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 13 October 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
12. "Liberal MP Lucy Wicks denies conflict of interest over grant to church that called her a 'dear friend'". Guardian Australia. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
13. "Big swing to Labor on the Coast as the nation votes for change". Coast Community News. 22 May 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
14. Chancellor, Jonathan (27 May 2017). "Lucy Wicks sells Springfield home". RealEstate.com.au. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
15. Baker, Jordan (20 August 2017). "Lucy Wicks MP reveals mystery illness of high mould sensitivity". The Sunday Telegraph. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
16. "Report on the Inquiry into Biotoxin-related Illnesses in Australia". Archived from the original on 19 May 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
17. "Liberal Party figure Lucy Wicks claims she received hundreds of 'abusive' texts from NSW MP". ABC News. 24 July 2023.
18. Wang, Jessica (24 July 2023). "Ex-MP Lucy Wicks 'distressed' after identity leaked over complaint against Taylor Martin". www.news.com.au.
19. "Liberal MP expelled after investigation into abuse complaint". 19 April 2024.

External links

• Search or browse Hansard for Lucy Wicks at OpenAustralia.org
• Profile at TheyVoteForYou.org.au

• 1973 births
• Living people
• Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia
• People from the Central Coast (New South Wales)
• Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Robertson
• Members of the Australian House of Representatives
• Women members of the Australian House of Representatives
• University of Sydney alumni
• 21st-century Australian politicians
• 21st-century Australian women politicians
• Politicians from Canberra
• Australian schoolteachers