William Stephen Byrne (born 19 April 1958) is an Australian

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

politician who was elected to represent

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...

in 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 ...

at the 2012 state election. He served until his retirement due to ill health in 2017. His party was heavily defeated at the 2012 election and Byrne was one of seven ALP members of the Legislative Assembly returned at that election. Of the seven ALP members returned at the general election, Byrne was the only one new to the Legislative Assembly although Jackie Trad was soon elected in South Brisbane replacing former Premier Anna Bligh who resigned immediately after the election defeat. After Labor's victory 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 ...

, he was sworn in as Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries and Minister for Sport and Racing in the Palaszczuk Ministry on 16 February 2015. In December 2015, Byrne's portfolio in the Palaszczuk Ministry changed when he became the new Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services and the new Minister for Corrective Services. He regained the Agriculture and Fisheries portfolio and was given the new ministry of Regional Economic Development in a November 2016 reshuffle. In February 2016, the state opposition called for an investigation into Byrne under firearms laws after he admitted to using a rifle to shoot rats at his home twenty years earlier. On 7 October 2017, Byrne announced that he had resigned from the Queensland Cabinet as Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries and Minister for Rural Economic Development, and that he would not be contesting the next election. He cited a serious and "life threatening" health issue as the reason for his retirement.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, Bill 1958 births Living people Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Queensland Australian Army officers 21st-century Australian politicians