Steven James Minnikin (born 9 July 1965) is an Australian Liberal National politician who is currently serving as the 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 ...

for Chatsworth, having defeated

Steve Kilburn Steven Andrew Kilburn (born 31 January 1963) is an Australian politician who was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 2009 to 2012, representing the seat of Chatsworth. Born in Brisbane, he served in the navy ...

at the 2012 state election.

Early life and education

Minnikin 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 the 9th of July 1965 and has lived the majority of his life in the Chatsworth electorate. Growing up in Carina, he attended Carina State School before completing his secondary education at Coorparoo Secondary College. Upon graduating school, he completed his tertiary education at both the University of Queensland and the Queensland University of Technology, where he attained a Bachelor of Business and a Master of Property Economics respectively.

Career

Before his election to Parliament, Minnikin initially worked in local government as an Executive Officer and Customer Service Manager for the Redland Shire Council. He subsequently went on to work in the property sector, holding several senior roles including State Development Manager for Australand and National Development Manager for the Peninsula Development Group.

Politics

Minnikin was the President of the Queensland Young Liberals from 1992 to 1993 and served on the QLD State Executive of the then

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 ...

during this period. In the lead up to 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 ...

, he defeated future Newman Government Minister Ian Walker and former candidate Andrea Caltabiano for pre-selection to be endorsed as the Liberal National candidate for Chatsworth. Following the election of the Newman Government, he was appointed Assistant Minister for Public Transport on 3 April 2012. After the defeat of the Newman Government at 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 ...

, he was appointed Deputy Opposition Whip by

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 ...

. He held that role until 22 February 2016 when, following his involvement in a failed party leadership coup against Springborg, he was replaced by

Ros Bates Rosslyn Mary Bates (born 25 May 1962) is an Australian politician. Bates has been a Liberal National Party of Queensland, Liberal National Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland, Parliament of Queensland since March 2009, repres ...

. He subsequently regained this position three months later following Springborg's defeat in a leadership spill to

Tim Nicholls Timothy James Nicholls (born 6 April 1965) is an Australian politician and a former leader of the Liberal National Party of Queensland. He served as the Treasurer of Queensland and the Minister for Trade of that state between March/April 2012 ...

on the 6th of May 2016. In the lead up to the

2017 Queensland state election The 2017 Queensland state election was held on 25 November 2017 to elect all 93 members of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland, the unicameral Parliament of Queensland. The first-term incumbent Labor government, led by Premier Annastacia P ...

he was appointed Shadow Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships and Multicultural Affairs by

, replacing the former Shadow Minister

Fiona Simpson Fiona Stuart Simpson (born 18 April 1965 in Sea Lake, Victoria) is an Australian politician serving as Liberal National Party (LNP) member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, representing Maroochydore since 1992. Simpson served as Speaker ...

who had resigned from Shadow Cabinet for personal reasons. Following the

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

, Minnikin was appointed Shadow Minister for Transport and Main Roads by the then Opposition Leader

Deb Frecklington Deborah Kay Frecklington (born 3 September 1971) is an Australian politician who is the member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland for Nanango, having won the seat at the 2012 state election. She was the Leader of the Queensland Opposit ...

. He has subsequently continued in this role post the LNP's defeat at the

2020 Queensland state election The 2020 Queensland state election was held on 31 October to elect all 93 members to the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The Labor Party was returned to government for a third-term, led by incumbent premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. With 47 ...

, while gaining the added portfolio responsibility of Shadow Minister for Customer Service under the leadership of

David Crisafulli David Frank Crisafulli (born 14 April 1979) is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly since 2017, representing the Gold Coast-based electorate of Broadwater for the Liberal National Party. He was ...

Political positions

Minnikin is considered to be from the

moderate Moderate is an ideological category which designates a rejection of radical or extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religion. A moderate is considered someone occupying any mainstream position avoiding extreme views. In American ...

wing of the Liberal National Party. He is known to be economically conservative, whilst holding 'socially progressive liberal' viewpoints on social issues.

Decriminalisation of abortion

Alongside of

and

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 ...

he was one of the three LNP politicians who used their conscience vote to support the decriminalisation of abortion in Queensland on 17 October 2018. In his speech to parliament in support of abortion being removed from Queensland's criminal code, Minnikin stated "''I believe in the fundamental right of women to be treated as equal members of a free society which acknowledges that, although there are obvious differences in men's and women's physiology, there should be no difference in their opportunity to have sovereign reign over their own bodies''". He further clarified his view on the issue stating, "''No-one should be forced to endure a pregnancy they do not want when safe, modern medical options are available to assist them. I am not pro abortion; I am pro choice, pro autonomy, pro respect. I support the right of all Queensland women to make reproductive choices that respect their agency, individuality, desires and dreams. In the 21st century this issue should, indeed, be a health issue and not a criminal issue''".

Jewish community

Minnikin has also been an outspoken advocate for the State of Israel and the broader Jewish community in Australia. He established the Queensland Parliamentary Friends of Israel group in 2013 and has Chaired the organisation ever since. In that capacity he joined a bipartisan Australian parliamentary delegation visiting Israel in January 2020.

References

External links

* 1965 births Living people Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Liberal National Party of Queensland politicians University of Queensland alumni Queensland University of Technology alumni 21st-century Australian politicians {{Australia-politician-stub