| Dr. Sally Talbot | |
| Honorific-Prefix: | The Honourable |
| Honorific-Suffix: | MLC |
| Office: | Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council for South West Region |
| Term Start: | 22 May 2005 |
| Birth Date: | 1953 3, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | London, England, United Kingdom |
| Party: | Labor |
| Spouse: | Hon. Jonathan (Jon) Robert Ford MLC JP |
| Children: | David Talbot |
| Residence: | Denmark, Western Australia |
| Education: | Royal College of Music Murdoch University |
| Profession: | ALP State secretary (WA), university lecturer and musician |
| Birth Name: | Sally Elizabeth Talbot |
| Partner: | Hon. Wendy Frances Fatin; |
Dr. Sally Elizabeth Talbot (born 22 March 1953)[1] is an Australian politician. She has been a Labor Party member of the Western Australian Legislative Council since 2005, representing the region of South West. She is aligned to the left faction; and been an active member of Emily's List.
Whilst she held the position of Shadow Minister for ten portfolios from 2007 - 2013, since the McGowan and subsequently Cook governments came to power, she has not been appointed a Minister.[2]
In July 2024, Talbot announced her retirement from politics.[3]
Talbot came from a family active in the British Labour Party where politics was actively discussed and engaged in.[4] At 16 she finished her secondary schooling and attended the Royal College of Music in London, specialising in the cello. She spent the next 15 years working as a musician,[5] however she said her life always turned back to her interest in politics.[6]
While attending Murdoch University in Perth in 1983, she joined the staff as a federal member of parliament, her first formal job in politics. In 2001 she became the Assistant Secretary of the Labor Party, a position she held until 2005. It was in this role that she discovered the importance of engaging ordinary citizens in politics to create a better community, thus it was important to have active and healthy political parties.[6] She left her staff role with the party to become a member of parliament, and later as the first President of the Western Australian branch of the Labor Party to be elected by popular ballot in 2008.[5]
Her doctorate in philosophy from Murdoch University was published, "Partial Reason: Critical and Constructive Transformations of Ethics and Epistemology".
Talbot was in a relationship with Wendy Fatin, a retired federal politician; a son David was born into their relationship in 1988.[7] She has since married Jon Ford, a former Minister in the Gallop and Carpenter governments[8] and they live in Denmark, Western Australia.