Peter Wellington
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Peter William Wellington (born 21 August 1957) is an Australian politician. He was the
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...
member for Nicklin in 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 1998 to 2017, and served 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: ** I ...
from 2015 to 2017. Wellington has held the balance of power in the legislature twice in his career, and both times saw him give support to
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 ...
-led minority governments.


Before Parliament

Wellington grew up on his family's farm at Belli Park. Before entering parliament, Wellington was a
police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
officer, and a solicitor. His first success in politics was when he was elected to a seat on the
Maroochy Shire The Shire of Maroochy was a local government area about north of Brisbane in the Sunshine Coast region of South East Queensland, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity from 1890 until 2008, when it ...
council.


Parliamentary career

Wellington's defeat of the incumbent National Party candidate Neil Turner in the closely contested 1998 election reflected the instability in Queensland politics at the time. He was unexpectedly put in a position of considerable power when the Coalition suffered an 11-seat swing, resulting in a
hung parliament A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing coalition (also known as an alliance or bloc) has an absolute majority of legisl ...
. Nationals Premier
Rob Borbidge Robert Edward Borbidge (born 12 August 1954) is a former Australian politician who served as the 35th Premier of Queensland from 1996 to 1998. He was the leader of the Queensland branch of the National Party, and was the last member of that p ...
could theoretically have formed government with the backing of Wellington,
Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...
independent
Liz Cunningham Elizabeth Anne Cunningham is an Australian politician. She was an independent member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 1995 to 2015, representing the electorate of Gladstone. A conservative MLA in a traditionally Labor district, Cu ...
, and the eleven elected members of the
One Nation Party Pauline Hanson's One Nation (PHON or ONP), also known as One Nation or One Nation Party, is a right-wing populist political party in Australia. It is led by Pauline Hanson. One Nation had electoral success in the late 1990s, before suffer ...
. After some deliberation however, Wellington chose to back Labor on matters of supply and confidence, although he would withdraw that support in the event of "any evidence of gross fraud, misappropriation or illegal activities." As a result, state ALP leader
Peter Beattie Peter Douglas Beattie (born 18 November 1952) is an Australian former politician who served as the 36th Premier of Queensland, in office from 1998 to 2007. He was the state leader of the Australian Labor Party (Queensland Branch), Labor Party ...
was able to form a minority government. Wellington held the balance of power for only a few months, until One Nation MP
Charles Rappolt Charles Robert "Charlie" Rappolt (23 August 1939 – 2 August 1999) was an Australian politician. A member of Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party, Rappolt spent five turbulent months in the Parliament of Queensland in 1998. A native of Cair ...
resigned from Parliament. ALP candidate
Warren Pitt Frederick Warren Pitt (born 14 March 1948) is an Australian politician. He was a Labor member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 1989 to 1995 and 1998 to 2009. Early life Born in Cairns, Pitt was a school teacher before entering p ...
won the resulting
by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
, and the ALP was able to form government in its own right. Despite the loss of the balance of power, Wellington remains popular in his electorate. At the
2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
state election, he was able to easily see off National Party challenger Steve Morrison in order to secure a fourth term. Wellington made headlines again in 2001 when he was severely injured in a farming accident which crushed both of his legs. He suffered a broken collarbone, pelvis, as well as head and leg injuries, and it was at first feared that he would lose one or both of his legs. However, he pulled through without the need for any
amputation Amputation is the removal of a limb by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on indi ...
, and rejoined parliament a couple of months after the accident. In the 2015 state election, the Liberal National government suffered a shock defeat, losing its previously overwhelming majority. Premier
Campbell Newman Campbell Kevin Thomas Newman (born 12 August 1963) is a former Australian politician who served as the 38th Premier of Queensland from 26 March 2012 to 14 February 2015. He served as the member for Ashgrove in the Legislative Assembly of Quee ...
even lost his own seat. The balance of power rested with Wellington and the two members of
Katter's Australian Party Katter's Australian Party (KAP) is an agrarian political party in Australia. It was founded by Bob Katter, an independent and former Nationals MP for the seat of Kennedy, with a registration application lodged to the Australian Electoral Co ...
. Labor leader
Annastacia Palaszczuk Annastacia Palaszczuk ( , Polish: Annastacia Pałaszczuk, ; born 25 July 1969) is an Australian politician who has been the 39th premier of Queensland since 2015 and the leader of the Queensland branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since ...
could have formed government with Wellington's support, while the LNP needed the support of all three crossbenchers to make new leader
Lawrence Springborg Lawrence James Springborg (born 17 February 1968) is an Australian politician. He led the National Party in the Queensland Parliament from 2003 to 2006 and again in 2008, before becoming the first leader of the merged Liberal National Party ...
premier. On 5 February, Wellington announced his support for a Labor government. He had crossed swords on several occasions with Newman's government, and said he could not in good conscience support an LNP government in which several former members of Newman's government would have still figured. He also felt that Labor was best suited to restore transparency to the government. His terms were similar to the ones he laid down 17 years earlier; he stated he would withdraw his support if there was illegal or corrupt activity. By this time, Labor was projected to win 44 seats, which combined with Wellington's support would have been enough for a minority government. On 13 February, the results were formally declared, confirming Labor on 44 seats. With Wellington's support, Palaszczuk was duly sworn in as premier the next morning. On the 16th of February 2017, he announced he would not be recontesting the seat of Nicklin, ending his 19-year parliamentary career.


References


External links


Daylight Saving for South East Queensland Referendum Bill 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wellington, Peter 1957 births Living people Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Australian police officers Australian solicitors Queensland University of Technology alumni Speakers of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Independent members of the Parliament of Queensland 21st-century Australian politicians