Meet Your Team

The AWP is an all inclusive and cohesive political party. If you are interested in joining the team and represent your community at a higher level then please contact us here.

MARK PTOLEMY

National Secretary & Registered Officer

Mark Ptolemy lives in the Blue Mountains, N.S.W. with his wife May and their three children, Madeleine, Josephine and Robert.

Mark is a life-long Trade Union member. For 15 years Mark was a Union Official.

Prior to this Mark had a long career in the Disability sector as an Advocate for people with intellectual disability. 

In the late 1990s Mark was appointed to a six year term inspecting disability services and advising the NSW Minister For Community Services and working as part of the office of the NSW Ombudsman. Mark also served for several years as a director on the board of the NSW Council For Intellectual Disability as well as the Commonwealth Disability Council, the Federal government advisory body on disability related issues.

Currently, Mark has returned to working in the disability sector.

For the past 17 years Mark has been a director and now chairperson of a Blue Mountains-based community organisation, The Kinship At Christmas Foundation, which provides a free Christmas Day lunch and gifts for the less fortunate and socially isolated people.

In his spare time, Mark is a published writer.

Politically, Mark was active in the Australian Labor Party for many years. He held numerous branch and committee positions as well as a number of campaign managerial posts. He also served a number of years as a member of the NSW ALP Administrative Committee. In 2004, Mark was a Federal candidate for the Labor Party.

Disaffected by Labor’s weakness on many issues relating to human right and workers’ rights and disillusioned by the abandonment of their traditional values, Mark resigned from the ALP in 2014.

In mid-2015 Mark joined the ranks of AWP and is a co-founder of the Party.

“My belief in the democratic process has been restored since we started the AWP. To be among people who share my values of social justice, workers’ right and ethics in politics has shown me there is another pathway to improve the lot of working people and their families”.
 

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SHANE BROOKS

National President

Shane Brooks lives in the Tamar Valley at Tasmania’s north, a father of 3 grown children, a transport operator and truck driver on and off for 30 years.

Shane is an active member of the Maritime union of Australia spending 10 years as a ships cook in the Australian Maritime industry.

As a boy, my late father always said to me “If you want a job, you will go and get one no matter what it is”!

That statement has seen me sell real estate, dig graves with a pick and shovel, and many other vocations.

But our youth today do not have that same freedom of choice, and may find it difficult to ever find a job at all. This is why we as a nation must re-establish our industry and provide employment for our children and their children to come.

Our corporate loving government needs to be exiled so we the Australian people can actually claim the billions of dollars in tax that is encouraged to be avoided, by the duopoly.
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We must tax the big end of town in a fashion that will return billions to our nation’s economy to support Aged care, welfare, promote and re develop industry, created jobs and - in turn - more fairer taxes to each and every one of us.

We must oppose any sale of Australian land, industry and farm’s. Foreign ownership is in fact selling our country to the highest bidder, often a company that a duopoly member will have interests in.

Australia needs members who are actually interested in the real people, so join the AWP and let’s keep our country fair. 

GAYLE WHATLEY

Treasurer

Gayle Whatley, born in the Midlands of Tasmania. After leaving school I was a secretary for some time. Later I became a wedding photographer, worked on a lathe at Repco for many years sizing genuine Ford and Holden parts. I worked in the Restaurant and Convention industry for 20 years.

Now retired, and living on Flinders Island these past wonderful 28 years. Divorced and with two grown up children, one Granddaughter and a 2 year old Great Granddaughter.

My family had always voted ALP, today they are ashamed on the direction they have taken.

Now I have an opportunity to work with genuine people who care about their fellow Australians. That is why I joined the fight with AWP!

PETER BELL

Membership Coordinator

Peter Bell lives near Ballarat in Victoria with Stephanie, his partner of 30 years. They have four grown children and 8, nearly 9 grandchildren.
 
Peter had been a Labor supporter since he registered to vote and where available has been an active union member.
 
He started working for the Post Master Generals department (PMG) in 1966, firstly as a technician in training until be resigned nearly 20 years later.
 
In his early days at the Postal Workshops in South Melbourne he helped establish a local branch of the PTTA (Union) Credit Co-operative, now one of Australia’s largest.
 
He then went into private industry where he worked as the Quality Manager until he was retrenched.
 
In 1999, after several different jobs he joined the Country Fire Authority, as a brigade administration officer. He was then appointed as an Instructor. He retired in 2012.
 
He has been a member of his local fire brigade for over 20 years and is still an active member.
 
Peter joined AWP in 2015 after watching the ALP change into a party that supported the conservatives rather than a true opposition.
 
“AWP shares my beliefs of a fair go for all, where Australia supports its own people and industries ahead of profit for multinationals that use people, destroy the environment and then just walk away when they’re finished”.

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STEPHANIE BELL

Membership Coordinator

Stephanie Bell I emigrated from Germany with my parents as a small child in 1960.

I have lived in Victoria all my life and I've been living near Ballarat with my husband Peter for almost thirty years.

I have two children of my own and helped raise my husband's son, who lived with me from a very young age.

We now have 9 grandchildren together! I started my working life in the field of Electronic drafting and have worked in a number of different jobs including student housing and aged care. ​

Since 1995, my main interest has been painting and of course, now Australian Politics is taking up a big part of my life.

I joined The Fight to try and secure a better future for myself and my grandchildren.