Zak Kirkup's paternal grandfather was Aboriginal – a member of the Yamatji people of the Mid West.
[3] In 2012, Kirkup was named and subsequently cleared in a Public Sector Commission investigation into alleged breaches of the code of ethics that binds WA ministerial staff.
Kirkup was drinking with a colleague from Barnett's office who falsely informed journalists that then opposition leader Mark McGowan was at the same pub.
[5] After the 2013 state election he switched to the private sector for a period, finding employment as a consultant with building company BGC.
[7] He won the seat by only 343 votes at the 2017 election, narrowly avoiding becoming a victim of the significant state-wide swing to the Labor Party.
[9] After Liza Harvey's resignation four months out from the 2021 Western Australian state election, Kirkup said he would run to be leader.
While Kalgoorlie Liberal MLA Kyran O'Donnell publicly opposed Kirkup's tilt, citing his narrow margin in his seat of Dawesville,[10] Kirkup said that he was "up for the fight" in the upcoming election and he stated that all Liberal policies would be under review in the lead-up to the election.
[21] Kirkup said that if people are "worried about the fact that that might make me a worse or better leader, I can promise you I understand the emotions that I've experienced, and I've got help and I've got through it.
"[21] Conflict of interests concerns were raised over Kirkup's relationship with Jenna Clarke, the assistant editor of The West Australian.