Merrilyn Miriam Rose (born 24 January 1955) was a
minister in the
Beattie government and member for
Currumbin
Currumbin ( ) is a coastal suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Currumbin had a population of 2,920 people.
Geography
The suburb extends from Currumbin Creek in the north to Wyberba Street in the south. The Pac ...
in the
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
, establishe ...
Parliament.
[Crown Content ''Who's Who in Australia'' 2007, page 1771]
Early life
She was born Merrilyn Miriam Gittins in
Kilcoy, Queensland
Kilcoy is a rural town and locality in the Somerset Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Kilcoy had a population of 1,898 people.
Geography
The township is on the D'Aguilar Highway, north west of the state capital, Brisbane, ...
in 1955 and attended Kilcoy State High School and St Rita's
Clayfield
Clayfield is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Clayfield had a population of 10,555 people.
Geography
Clayfield is by road from the Brisbane GPO. Clayfield is bordered to the north by Nundah, to the east by ...
.
Career
Rose was elected as the member for Currumbin at the
1992 Queensland election. After the 2001 election, the
Premier of Queensland
The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland.
By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is ap ...
, Peter Beattie, appointed her Minister for Tourism and Racing. She was appointed Minister for Tourism, Racing and Fair Trading in 2001.
Rose came under fire when it emerged that her son had driven her ministerial car to watch sporting events in
Sydney, and also faced accusations of bullying staff. The controversy grew to a point that Beattie was forced to sack her from cabinet just before the
2004 election. At that election,
Jann Stuckey
Janet Anne Stuckey (born 21 January 1955) is an Australian politician who represented the electorate of Currumbin in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 2004 to 2020.
She was first elected on 7 February 2004 as a member of the Liberal ...
of 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 ...
soundly defeated Rose, who suffered a massive 17.7 percent swing against her.
Blackmail conviction
Rose had trouble finding a job after the election, and sought an appointment in the Queensland public sector. On 30 May 2007, she pleaded guilty to demanding benefit with threats in October 2006, in relation to her efforts to gain such an appointment. Rose was sentenced to 18 months' jail the following day.
Documenting her experiences after three months in jail, Rose appeared on
ABC Television's ''
Australian Story
''Australian Story'' is a national weekly current affairs and documentary style television series which is broadcast on ABC Television. It is produced specifically by the ABC News and Current Affairs Department. The program first aired on 29 ...
'' series on 20 October 2008.
References
1955 births
Living people
Australian female criminals
Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly
Australian politicians convicted of crimes
Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Queensland
People from the Gold Coast, Queensland
21st-century Australian politicians
21st-century Australian women politicians
Women members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly
{{Australia-Labor-Queensland-MP-stub