Michael Reynolds,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, AM (born 16 September 1946) is an Australian politician. He was a Labor member of 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 ...

from 1998 to 2009, representing the district of Townsville. He served as

Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland is elected by the members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly to preside over sittings of the Assembly and to maintain orderly proceedings. The Speaker must be a member of the Legislative ...

from 2006 to 2009.

Biography

Reynolds has first elected to parliament at the 1998 state election. Before being elected as

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

by the 52nd Parliament in 2006, he was the inaugural Minister for Child Safety from 2004 to 2006 with Ministerial responsibilities for adoptions, child protection services, foster/kinship carers etc. Prior to the Child Safety portfolio Reynolds was the Minister for Emergency Services and Minister Assisting the Premier in North Queensland from 2001 to 2004. In Reynolds's first parliamentary term he held the position of Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier in North Queensland. Prior to his election to parliament, Reynolds held the positions of Director, Northern Australia Social Research Institute and Director, Centre for Social and Welfare Research, both at

James Cook University James Cook University (JCU) is a public university in North Queensland, Australia. The second oldest university in Queensland, JCU is a teaching and research institution. The university's main campuses are located in the tropical cities of Cairn ...

. He was also Visiting Professor of Local Government Studies at the University of Canberra. From 1990 to 1996 he was Chairman of the Townsville Port Authority. Mike Reynolds' local government service has included 16 years as a member of the

Townsville City Council The City of Townsville is a local government area (LGA) located in North Queensland, Australia. It encompasses the city of Townsville, together with the surrounding rural areas, to the south are the communities of Alligator Creek, Woodstock an ...

. During this time he was Deputy Mayor of Townsville from 1976 to 1980, then

Mayor of Townsville The City of Townsville is a local government area (LGA) located in North Queensland, Australia. It encompasses the city of Townsville, together with the surrounding rural areas, to the south are the communities of Alligator Creek, Woodstock an ...

from 1980 to 1989. Reynolds was a member of the State Executive of the Local Government Association of Queensland from 1983 to 1989 and was appointed a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in 1985 for service to local government and community. Reynolds also acted as Chair of the Queensland Ministerial Advisory Committee on Child Care from 1991 to 1992, was a member of the Queensland Pacific Technology Program Committee in the Premiers Department from 1991 to 1992 and also was Chairman of the ACT Vocational Training Authority from 1992 to 1995. He is a member of many local community organisations. Reynolds has lived in Townsville most of his life and he graduated with a Bachelor of Social Work (B.S.W.) from

in 1978. Reynolds's active interest in politics began in the mid 1960s and he is interested in all sport, particularly rugby league, cricket, tennis and rugby union. Reynolds was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the

2018 Birthday Honours The 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as p ...

, for promoting relations between Queensland and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

, including as Mayor of Townsville and as Patron of YWAM Medical Ships Programme, nominated by the Papua New Guinea Government. Reynolds is the co-author of the following books - ''The Great Divide: A Comparative Social Profile of Northern and Southern Australia'' (with D Lavery, 1997); ''Achieving Local Ownership of National Goals for the Coastal Zone'' (with L Cutts and D Osborn, 1993); Education and Training for Local Government Employees in Queensland (with V Valentine, 1992). He is also a contributor to the following books: "Local Government and the Challenge of Devolution in Australia" in ''Decentralization Towards Democratization and Development'', (edited by RP Guzman and MA Reforma, 1993); "Recognising the Role of Local Government" in ''What Should Government Do?'' (edited by P Coaldrake and JR Nethercote, 1989

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reynolds, Mike 1946 births Living people Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Mayors of Townsville Speakers of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Queensland 21st-century Australian politicians People from Manly, New South Wales