Set along the sleepy curves of Perth’s southern riverside, Tangney has long served as a reliable link in the Liberal Party’s Western Australian chain—a seat that delivered, election after election, with barely a fuss. That rhythm broke in 2022, when Labor’s Sam Lim flipped the script with a thumping swing, shaking the foundations of what had once been considered safe territory.A former dolphin trainer turned police officer, Lim did what no Labor candidate had managed in nearly four decades: he won it. And not by a whisker. An 10.4 per cent swing to Labor stunned seasoned observers. Now, with that margin trimmed to 2.8 per cent and old loyalties reawakening, Tangney is shaping up to be one of the most suspenseful contests of the election cycle.But behind the headlines is a subtler story—of demographic drift, suburban frustration, and how modern Australia is remaking even its most comfortable seats.
Tangney stretches across 102 square kilometres along the Swan and Canning Rivers. Its footprint includes Bicton, Leeming, Murdoch, Willetton and parts of Melville and Canning Vale. It’s a mix of family homes, cul-de-sacs, and increasingly diverse communities that rarely match the voter profiles of decades past.
The 2021 Census paints a picture of affluence and education. The median age is 40, slightly older than the national average. Weekly household income sits at $2,100, well above the national median. Over 70 per cent of homes are owner-occupied, and 35 per cent of residents hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. But perhaps most defining is the diversity: almost 40 per cent of residents were born overseas. Communities from China (8 per cent), India (6 per cent) and Malaysia (5 per cent) have all contributed to shaping the area’s suburban character.
Lim’s 2022 victory wasn’t accidental. He spent years working with WA Police as a multicultural liaison, and speaks more than ten languages. His ability to connect with the Chinese-Australian community in particular, as well as his low-key but consistent community engagement, paid off. Labor’s two-party-preferred vote rose dramatically in the eastern parts of the electorate like Canning Vale, reaching 58.2 per cent in some booths.
The Liberal Party initially looked to Mark Wales—a former SAS soldier and author with national profile—to win Tangney back. But with Wales recently stepping aside due to family reasons, the Liberals have tapped Howard Ong as their new candidate. Ong, a Singapore-born IT entrepreneur, brings a different kind of profile—one that reflects Tangney’s changing face. Having lived in the area for over two decades, Ong has served on local community boards and is known for his work with migrant support initiatives.
His candidacy is drawing interest not only because of his tech background, but because of what it might signal about the Liberal Party’s response to the multicultural swing that helped unseat them. Ong has already begun campaigning with a strong local focus—transport congestion, business support, and infrastructure—while quietly signalling that he can re-engage the CALD vote that drifted last time.
For Lim, Ong represents a fresh challenge. Unlike Morton in 2022 or Wales more recently, Ong doesn’t come with heavy political baggage. Nor does he carry the same vulnerabilities on cultural sensitivity. But he also lacks the name recognition and immediate gravitas of a former minister or war veteran. Whether that helps or hinders him remains to be seen.
Local issues are dominating the discourse. Grocery prices, childcare waitlists, and stalled infrastructure projects have voters talking. Leach Highway and South Street remain pinch points for commuters. Fiona Stanley Hospital, while state-run, is often mentioned in federal forums when it comes to health funding debates. Residents with mortgages are feeling the pressure—rents have risen 15 per cent since 2016, and wage growth hasn’t kept pace.
Climate change and sustainability now rank higher on the local priority list than they did a decade ago. That’s giving a lift to the Greens’ new candidate, Eric Hayward—a postgraduate researcher at the University of Western Australia, and the first Aboriginal person from the South West of WA to earn a law degree from UWA. A former teacher and solicitor, Hayward is campaigning on environmental protection, urban greening and the cost-of-living squeeze. The Greens pulled in over 11 per cent of the vote in 2022 and could once again shape the final count through preferences. Hayward’s campaign, though relatively low-key, speaks to younger voters and renters increasingly drawn to climate and equity issues.
Voting patterns suggest this will go down to the wire. Last election, turnout in Tangney was 90.1 per cent. Informal votes were low at 3.8 per cent, showing a savvy electorate that understands how to make votes count. Pre-poll and postal voting are expected to make up close to 40 percent of the total again, with working families and older voters preferring early options. In 2022, more than 70 per cent of Greens preferences went to Labor.
The social media battleground is heating up, with both Lim and Ong increasing their presence on Facebook and Instagram. Lim’s posts lean personal—local event selfies, casual check-ins, multilingual captions—while Ong’s are policy-forward, with call-outs for volunteers and testimonials from local small businesses.
But offline presence still matters. Labor is pushing hard with door knocks and multicultural meet-and-greets, especially in Willetton and Bateman. The Liberals are canvassing Melville and Bicton, where support has traditionally been stronger. With such a slim margin, a few thousand swing votes could decide it.
This isn’t a seat captured by Canberra talking points or party war rooms. It’s a local race playing out among people who expect to know their MP by name—and who are increasingly willing to change their minds.
Ong’s nomination shows the Liberals are rethinking how they win back seats like Tangney: not through slogans and fear, but through relatability and cultural proximity. Lim, meanwhile, has incumbency on his side, and a base of support built through trust. If he holds on, it’ll be because of deep roots, not a national tide.
Tangney’s story is bigger than one contest. It hints at how multicultural voters are reshaping traditional power bases. It reveals what happens when a party is forced to choose between nostalgia and adaptation. And it reminds us that even in the quiet suburbs of Perth, the future of federal politics is being negotiated one doorstep at a time.
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