Merome Beard

Merome Beard is an Australian politician, representing the electoral district of North West Central in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly since 17 September 2022. She was elected as a member of the National Party, but she resigned from the party on 31 October 2023 and she intends to join the Liberal Party.

Early life and career
Beard is a great-great-granddaughter of Sir Thomas Cockburn-Campbell, the first president of the Western Australian Legislative Council in 1890.

She competed as a rower at the Australian Institute of Sport and went to the 1994 World Championships.

Beard and her husband have owned and ran the Port Hotel in Carnarvon for over twenty years.

Political career
In late June 2022, Beard was selected by the National Party to contest the 2022 North West Central state by-election for them, after incumbent member Vince Catania announced his plans to retire. Her main competitor was Liberal Party candidate Will Baston, with the Labor Party not fielding a candidate.

Beard won the by-election, which took place on 17 September 2022.

On 31 October 2023, Beard resigned from the National Party. She intends to join the Liberal Party, which would put the National and Liberal parties at three seats each in the Legislative Assembly, potentially causing a change in the leader of the opposition, which is currently Nationals leader Shane Love.