John Mark Dempsey (born 7 April 1966) is an Australian politician currently serving as Mayor of the

Bundaberg Regional Council The Bundaberg Region is a local government area in the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland, Australia, about north of Brisbane, the state capital. It is centred on the city of Bundaberg, and also contains a significant rural area surroundi ...

. He previously served as the Queensland Minister for Police and Community Safety in the

Newman Government Campbell Newman led the Liberal National Party of Queensland to its first victory at the 2012 state election. His interim Ministry of three members was sworn in on 26 March 2012, pending his determination of the make-up of his full Ministry. Hi ...

and was a member of the

Queensland Legislative Assembly 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 Assembly ...

from 2006 to 2015.

Political career

Opposition

A member of the National Party, Dempsey was first elected at the 2006 state election to the

Electoral district of Bundaberg Bundaberg is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland in central Queensland, Australia. It covers the city of Bundaberg, as well as the immediate surrounding area. History The electoral district of Bundaberg was created ...

. He became a member of the Liberal National Party when the National party merged with the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

in July 2008. While in Opposition, Dempsey served as the Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Minister for Police and Corrective Services from 21 September 2006 to 12 August 2008. He was a member of the Parliamentary Crime and Misconduct Committee from 11 October 2006 to 16 June 2011, and was the Shadow Minister for Child Safety and Shadow Minister for Sport from 6 April 2009 to 29 November 2010. Dempsey was appointed the Shadow Minister for the Environment and the Shadow Minister for Sport and Recreation from 29 November 2010 to 11 April 2011. He was appointed as Shadow Minister for Mining and Resource Management from 11 April 2011 to 19 February 2012.

Newman Government

In March 2012, the Liberal National Party won 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 ...

. Dempsey was sworn in as Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Multicultural Affairs and Minister assisting the Premier on 3 April 2012. On 16 April 2012 Dempsey was appointed acting Minister for Police and Community Safety following the resignation of David Gibson. He was appointed to the office in his own right on 23 April 2012, with

Glen Elmes Glen Wayne Elmes (born 11 August 1955) is an Australian politician who represented Noosa in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 2006 to 2017. Elmes is a member of the Liberal National Party (LNP). Prior to entering parliament, Elmes w ...

taking his place as Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships and Minister Assisting the Premier. In January 2015, Dempsey was defeated 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 ...

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 ...

candidate

Leanne Donaldson Leanne Elizabeth Donaldson is an Australian politician. She was the Labor member for Bundaberg in the Queensland Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland est ...

. Dempsey finished with the highest primary vote, however Donaldson was declared the winner following the distribution of preferences.

Local Government

On 19 March 2016, Dempsey was elected as Mayor of

, winning with approximately 71% of the primary vote. As at May 2018, Dempsey is not a member of any political party.

Federal Politics

In March 2022 Dempsey announced he would be an independent candidate for the federal lower house seat of Hinkler in the

2022 Australian federal election The 2022 Australian federal election was held on Saturday 21 May 2022 to elect members of the 47th Parliament of Australia. The incumbent Liberal/National Coalition government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, sought to win a fourth conse ...

References

External links

* * 1966 births Living people Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Queensland Liberal National Party of Queensland politicians People from Bundaberg People educated at Brisbane State High School 21st-century Australian politicians Mayors of places in Queensland {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub