Neville John Harper (born 10 September 1926) is an Australian former politician.

Life and career

Harper was born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

on 10 September 1926, to Neville Barclay Harper and Hazel Jane, ''née'' Gardner. He attended New Farm and

Nundah Nundah (previously called German Station) is an inner suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It contains the neighbourhood of Toombul. In the , Nundah had a population of 12,141 people. Prior to European settlement, Nundah was i ...

State Schools and then

Brisbane Grammar School , motto_translation = Nothing Without Labour , established = 1868 , type = Independent, day & boarding , gender = Boys , denomination = Non-denominational , slogan = , key_people = , ci ...

(1940–44) before becoming a grazier, farmer and real estate valuer. On 12 November 1949 he married Marjorie Pointon, with whom he had two daughters. From 1945 to 1947 he served in the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

as a

sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

aboard HMAS ''Hawkesbury'' before returning to manage cattle properties in Barmundu and

Kingaroy Kingaroy is a rural town and locality in the South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. The town is situated on the junction of the D'Aguilar and the Bunya Highways, north-west of the state capital Brisbane and south west of Gympie. As a ...

. In 1952 he was appointed manager of Mactaggarts station in

Cunnamulla Cunnamulla () is a town and a locality in the Shire of Paroo, Queensland, Australia. It is south of Charleville, and approximately west of the state capital, Brisbane. In the , Cunnamulla had a population of 1,140 people. Geography Cunnamulla ...

. Harper was a member of the National Party, and served as chairman of the

Wandoan Wandoan is a town and locality in the Western Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. It was formerly known as Juandah. It is on the Leichhardt Highway about halfway between Taroom and Miles and is the centre for the local cattle industry. In the ...

branch. He served as chairman of the electorate councils for the state seats of

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

(1969–72) and

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

(1972–80) and president of the council for the federal seat of Maranoa (1972–77), for which he also directed the 1974 and 1975 campaigns. In 1976 he was elected to Taroom Shire Council, and he was also elected vice-president of the Queensland National Party in that year. Other party positions he held included chairman of the Defence and Foreign Affairs Policy Committee (1977–81), Membership Coordinator for Queensland (1978–80), member of the State Finance Committee (1979–80), and chairman of the Rural Policy Committee (1981). In 1980 he was elected to 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 ...

as the member for Auburn. Promoted to the front bench as

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

and Minister for Justice in 1983, moving to Primary Industries in 1986 and to Land Management in 1989. He was mentioned as a possible successor for

Joh Bjelke-Petersen Sir Johannes Bjelke-Petersen (13 January 191123 April 2005), known as Joh Bjelke-Petersen, was a conservative Australian politician. He was the longest-serving and longest-lived premier of Queensland, holding office from 1968 to 1987, during ...

during this period. Following the Nationals' defeat in 1989 he became Shadow Attorney-General, but his seat of Auburn was abolished in 1992 and he was defeated for preselection in Callide by sitting member

Di McCauley Diane Elizabeth McCauley (born 4 June 1946) is a former Australian politician. Born at Wondai, she received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland and worked as a grazier. She was a Banana Shire Councillor from 1985 to 1990 and ...

, choosing subsequently to retire.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Neville 1926 births Living people National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Queensland Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Politicians from Brisbane Royal Australian Navy officers Attorneys-General of Queensland Royal Australian Navy personnel of World War II