POST Newspapers (14 Feb 2025) By Bret Christian

Fiona Stanley has endorsed Rachel Horncastle’s bid for the state seat of Cottesloe in the March state election, giving a big boost to the community independent’s campaign.

Professor Stanley said she immediately supported Dr Horncastle’s ideals after studying her policies.

“What I get so excited about with the independent movement is they’re not partisan,” said the acclaimed specialist doctor, medical researcher, children’s advocate and 2003 Australian of the Year.

“All the things that she’s standing for are the things that residents of the Cottesloe electorate care about.”

Prof. Stanley was introduced to a rally of Dr Horncastle’s supporters at Leighton Beach on Sunday.

Elizabeth Constable, who represented first Floreat and then Churchlands electorates for 22 years as an independent, was at the beach at the same time.

She told the POST Dr Horncastle had asked her for advice, which she was happy to provide, and would do so in future.

"Sick of politicians not taking any notice of our data"

Prof. Stanley said the independent movement, as embraced by Kate Chaney, had been shown as a powerful force.

“The only thing the community independents really care about is getting the best evidence to implement the best policies that the community have told them are important for them,” she told the assembled volunteers, many of them medicos.

“That, to me, is the biggest, most important thing. I am sick of politicians not taking any notice of our data.

“I am sick of them rejecting ideas because the Greens suggested it or somebody else suggested it, so they can’t even have this best idea.

“Rachel wants to make a difference, and that’s the only reason that she’s going into politics, not because she wants to succeed [for herself].

Prof. Stanley said it was ironic that WA’s biggest hospital was named after her, because her lifetime mission was to keep people out of hospital.

“One of the reasons that I was so attracted to Rachel was that she was so committed to prevention as well as being a good doctor,” she said.

Dr Horncastle is a general practitioner who lives in Mosman Park.

“Being the good doctor is also preventive,” Prof. Stanley said.

“If you can treat kids well, early and diagnose them early, diagnosing all the disabilities they had at the first year of life, we wouldn’t have those kids going into Riverbank and Banksia Hill.”

Dr Horncastle said doorknocking and surveying revealed three main issues for people living in the electorate, which extends from North Fremantle to south City Beach.

They were sustainable planning and development with genuine community consultation; the environment and climate action, and health, including mental health.

“Without good health, we can’t really enjoy life, and we can’t be productive members of society,” she said.

“And we refuse any donations from the big property developers.”

Prof. Stanley said she was “scared” by over-development and its devastating effect on the green canopy.

“We’ve got to realise that taking away trees, deforesting, all those things that we’ve been fighting against forever, all of this environmental stuff is really important for our own health into the future,” she said.

“We’ve got to have more canopy in our cities for children to be able to play.”

“We’re in a mining state, obviously, and there are going to be people in the Cottesloe electorate who support mining and, of course, that’s their prerogative.

“But people have to know how devastating climate change is now, let alone what will happen to the children.”

She quoted a UNICEF report that said 60% of 16-year-old children in Australia were not going to have children because they were too scared of an unsustainable future being provided by Australia’s lack of action on climate change.

The report places Australia at 39th out of 44 OECD countries in terms of environment for children.

The state election will be held on March 8.

Early voting booths, including one at Cottesloe Civic Centre, open on February 24.

Dr Horncastle’s Liberal opponent is Sandra Brewer, a former development industry lobbyist who was pre-selected ahead of the sitting member David Honey.