Ignazia Graziella "Grace" Grace (née Farfaglia; born 12 August 1958) is an Australian politician from the state of

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 ...

. She has been a 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 the seat of McConnel and its predecessor seat, Brisbane Central, for all but two years since 2007. She is a member of the Labor Party. Grace was born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

, the daughter of an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

migrant cane cutter. She was an industrial relations advisor to the Keating Government until 1995 when she was elected as assistant general secretary, and in 2000 the first female general secretary, of the Queensland Council of Unions. Grace was elected to the Legislative Assembly at the 2007 Brisbane Central state by-election following the resignation of Premier

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 ...

. The Coalition did not field a candidate. She won the seat again in the 2009 state election, despite an 8.4 percent swing to the newly merged Liberal National Party (LNP). Grace was a notable supporter of the ALP government's decision to legislate

civil partnerships A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...

for homosexual couples in Queensland. New Farm and

Fortitude Valley Fortitude Valley (often called "The Valley" by local residents) is an inner suburb of the City of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. In the , Fortitude Valley had a population of 9,708 people. The suburb features two pedestr ...

, the main centres for Brisbane's gay community, are both in her electorate and she has built close ties with gay rights organisations. In the 2012 state election she lost her seat to the LNP's Robert Cavallucci. She regained her seat in 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 ...

. She was elected Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, under

Peter Wellington Peter William Wellington (born 21 August 1957) is an Australian politician. He was the independent member for Nicklin in the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 1998 to 2017, and served as Speaker from 2015 to 2017. Wellington has held the b ...

, and was given three Ministerial portfolios in a cabinet reshuffle on 7 December 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grace, Grace 1958 births Living people Australian trade unionists Australian politicians of Italian descent Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Queensland Labor Right politicians 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Women members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly