Aaron Stonehouse

The Honourable Aaron Stonehouse MLC
Aaron Stonehouse MLC
Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council for South Metropolitan Region
Incumbent
Assumed office 22 May 2017
Personal details
Born	(1990-06-29) 29 June 1990 Subiaco, Western Australia
Political party	Liberal Democratic Party
Occupation	Call Centre Manager
Website	Official Site

Aaron Stonehouse (born 29 June 1990) is an Australian politician. He was elected to the Western Australian Legislative Council at the 2017 state election, as a Liberal Democratic Party member in South Metropolitan Region. His term began on 22 May 2017.^[1] As of the 2017 state election, Mr Stonehouse was the youngest member to have been elected to the WA Parliament in over 20 years.^[2]

Writing in The Spectator shortly after his election, Stonehouse outlined his platform as being the support of free markets, saying that he would "not vote for increases in taxes, or new laws that add to the burden of regulation".^[3]

Early Life

Stonehouse was born in Subiaco, and educated at a range of schools in Queensland and Western Australia, before graduating from Maranatha Christian College (now South Coast Baptist College) Rockingham. He worked in retail, and as a call centre manager, prior to his election.

Political Career

He was elected to the Western Australian Legislative Council at the 2017 state elections, as a Liberal Democratic Party member for the South Metropolitan Region. Since his election, Stonehouse has been a strong and vocal advocate for a range of issues centred upon personal choice, and personal responsibility. He has been a strong proponent of drug reform^[4], favouring decriminalisation of all substances less harmful than alcohol, and has also advocated for a range of amendments to the WA legal system, to allow for trial by judge alone^[5], and to return judicial discretion to property confiscation cases arising from drug declarations^[6].

In July 2018, Stonehouse was appointed as the WA spokesperson^[7] for Legalise Vaping Australia, and is collecting signatures for a petition to be presented to the WA Parliament, calling for its legalisation as a matter of urgency. In September 2018 he was successful in forming a Legislative Council Select Committee to inquire into nanny state laws, including the mandatory wearing of bicycle helmets, the legalisation of e-cigarettes, and a range of other issues. The Committee is expected to report back to Parliament in late 2019 with a series of recommendations.

Interests

Stonehouse is a self-confessed gaming enthusiast, a sporting shooter, and an active Airsoft participant. Upon election, he announced his intention to bring forward legislation to legalise the sport of Airsoft in Western Australia, and as of September 2018 was in the process of commissioning a private member’s bill to achieve that, in close consultation with the WA Police Minister and WA Police.

References