Andrew Cary Powell (born 15 May 1973) is an Australian politician. He was first elected for the seat of

Glass House The Glass House, or Johnson house, is a historic house museum on Ponus Ridge Road in New Canaan, Connecticut built in 1948–49. It was designed by architect Philip Johnson as his own residence. It has been called his "signature work". The Glas ...

to the

Queensland Parliament The Parliament of Queensland is the legislature of Queensland, Australia. As provided under the Constitution of Queensland, the Parliament consists of the Monarch of Australia and the Legislative Assembly. It has been the only unicameral s ...

for the

Liberal National Party of Queensland The Liberal National Party of Queensland (LNP) is a major political party in Queensland, Australia. It was formed in 2008 by a merger of the Queensland divisions of the Liberal Party and the National Party. At a federal level and in most other ...

at the 2009 Queensland election.

Early life

Powell was born in Melbourne, but moved to Sydney while in primary school and later to

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. He received a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Arts from the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

in 1995, and a Certificate III in Public Administration from the Department of Defence in 1996. He became a public servant with the Commonwealth Department of Defence (1996–2000) before spending a year as a short-term missionary in Fiji and New Zealand. When he returned, he re-entered the public service in the Queensland Department of the Premier and Cabinet (2001–04) and then Child Safety (2005–09).

Political career

In the

2009 Queensland state election The 2009 Queensland state election was held on 21 March 2009 to elect all 89 members of the Legislative Assembly, a unicameral parliament. The election saw the incumbent Labor government led by Premier Anna Bligh defeat the Liberal National ...

, he was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Queensland The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembl ...

for the seat of

, representing the Liberal National Party.

Member of Parliament

As the Shadow Minister for the Environment in 2011, Powell's environmental policies were ranked 'negative' on all four areas assessed by a collection of five environmental interest groups, including Queensland Conservation and the Australian Marine Conservation Society. When sent the initial reports by these groups and asked for feedback, Powell declined to respond. After retaining his seat with an increased majority at the

2012 Queensland state election The 2012 Queensland state election was held on 24 March 2012 to elect all 89 members of the Legislative Assembly, a unicameral parliament. The Labor Party (ALP), led by Premier Anna Bligh, was defeated by the opposition Liberal National Pa ...

, Powell was sworn in as Minister for the Environment and Heritage Protection in the Newman ministry on 3 April 2012. In 2014 as the environment minister, he advised Australians to boycott the American ice-cream company

Ben & Jerry's Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings Inc., trading and commonly known as Ben & Jerry's, is an American company that manufactures ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sorbet. Founded in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont, the company went from a single ice cream p ...

, saying they had damaged the reputation of the

Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...

and jeopardised jobs and tourism dollars. Land clearing, although on a downward trend under the previous Bligh Ministry, increased substantially during Powell's tenure as Environment Minister. Data from the Queensland Government's Statewide Landcover and Trees Study (SLATS) shows a grand total of nearly 1.2 million hectares of land was cleared. Powell retained his seat in the

2015 Queensland state election The 2015 Queensland state election was held on 31 January 2015 to elect all 89 members of the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The centre-right Liberal National Party (LNP), led by Premier Campbell Newman, attempted to win a s ...

, with a 2.5% swing towards him in the

2017 Queensland state election The 2017 Queensland state election was held on 25 November 2017 to elect all 93 members of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland, the unicameral Parliament of Queensland. The first-term incumbent Labor government, led by Premier Annastacia P ...

, but lost his ministerial responsibilities as a result of the election of the Palaszczuk Labor Government.

References

1973 births Living people Liberal National Party of Queensland politicians Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Australian public servants University of Queensland alumni 21st-century Australian politicians {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub