Just weeks out from the state election, Zak Kirkup could have been forgiven for wondering when he would catch a break - but he got a little one on the weekend.
The Western Australian Liberal leader and Dawesville MP is facing a Goliath battle against Premier Mark McGowan, whose approval rating has soared to record highs on the back of his handling of COVID-19.
His campaign has been labelled as "manic", even by supporters of his own party. Then to top it off, on Thursday Mr Kirkup found himself caught up in Facebook's Australian news ban.
But with less than three weeks until polling day, Mr Kirkup got a chance to help an injured Mandurah resident over the weekend, garnering him some new admirers.
On Saturday, Paula George fell over on Mandurah Terrace, hurting her knee and nose in the process.
"I banged my knee and nose quite badly and required four stitches to my nose," she said. "Many kind folk stopped to offer assistance, which was very much appreciated...one of the passers by was Zak. He happened to be driving past with his police security detail, he told them to stop and ran over to offer assistance."
As an ambulance volunteer, Mr Kirkup quickly stepped in to help. "He took charge of the situation and was extremely kind and caring," Ms George said.
"Reassuring me and telling me he wouldn't leave me until the ambulance arrived - I just wanted to say thank you to Zak and everyone who stopped to help."
Ms George shared her unplanned encounter with the Liberal leader in a post on Facebook, which attracted 600 likes.
Mandurah resident Andrew Browne commented, "Zak is a great human being - doing his best for the people. This just highlights his passion."
Mr Kirkup faces a titanic battle to retain his Dawesville seat. No Liberal seat is tighter than his seat, which he holds by a margin of just 0.7 per cent.
He ruled out moving to a safer seat when he was first declared Liberal leader in November.
"I love Mandurah. I would like to continue to represent them as long as they will have me," he said.
