Adele Simone Carles (born 19 February 1968) is an Australian politician. She has been a member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly since May 2009, representing the electorate of Fremantle. Initially elected as a Greens WA member, she resigned from the party on 6 May 2010 to sit as an independent. Carles was the first Greens MP to be elected to the Western Australian Legislative Assembly. In November 2010, Carles agreed to guarantee confidence and supply votes for the incumbent Colin Barnett Liberal minority government.[1]
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Carles, a solicitor before entering politics, was narrowly defeated in the 2008 state election. She polled 27.6% of the vote against Labor Attorney-General Jim McGinty (38.7%), marginally less than Liberal candidate Brian Christie (30.2%).[2]
In 2009, Carles was preselected by Greens WA to run again in Fremantle in a by-election following the retirement of Jim McGinty. With the Liberal Party not contesting the election, Carles was rated a chance of becoming only the second Greens candidate to be elected to a lower house of Parliament from a single member electorate, after Michael Organ in the NSW federal Division of Cunningham from 2002-2004.[3]
Carles won the seat with 44.06% of the primary vote, ahead of the ALP's candidate and former Fremantle Mayor, Peter Tagliaferri, as well as receiving enough preferences from other candidates to gain an absolute majority of ballots cast.[4] This was the highest primary vote result for the Greens in a state or federal election in Australia, and the first time the Greens had outpolled all other parties on their primary vote. Their previous record vote was 38.96% in the 2005 Marrickville by-election in New South Wales (also not contested by the Liberals).
In April 2010, Carles publicly acknowledged that Liberal Treasurer Troy Buswell and herself had been engaged in a "mutual, albeit stupid" affair that lasted several months.[5] Carles had previously denied the affair despite persistent rumours, claiming to be a victim of a Labor party smear campaign.[6]
On 6 May 2010, she resigned from the Greens to sit as an independent.[7]
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