Who’s (maybe) who in the new Crisafulli LNP cabinet

By Cameron Atfield and Matt Dennien

October 28, 2024 — 7.32pm

Newly minted Queensland Premier David Crisafulli and his deputy, Jarrod Bleijie, may have been sworn in to those roles (and everything else) on Monday to allow them to get to work, but the pair will be back at Government House by the weekend to see the rest of their cabinet team formalised.

Crisafulli has previously said that the shadow cabinet he led on the opposition benches in parliament would make the jump across into government. “The team I’m taking to the election is the team that we will have after the election,” he told journalists last month.

Such questions had been raised due to the lack of women – just six of 19, including Crisafulli – and hints that likely new MPs could be elevated immediately.

16 of the 19 members of David Crisafulli’s former Queensland LNP opposition shadow cabinet.Credit: File

On Monday morning, he told ABC Radio Brisbane he wanted to ensure “stability and continuity”.

“The people who you have seen and who have done a really good job will be the people who you see and will be rewarded,” he said later in the day after his formalities with Governor Jeannette Young.

So, with his team all expected to retain their seats, here’s a rundown of how the shadow cabinet looked before the election.

Premier; Tourism

David Crisafulli

Age: 45
Ministerial experience: Local Government, Community Recovery and Resilience (Newman government)
Electorate: Broadwater (previously Mundingburra)

First elected to parliament in 2012, after serving on Townsville City Council, Crisafulli took the leadership after his party’s 2020 election loss. Alongside his stated early effort to reform the party, and now lead it into “generational” government, he has vowed a 20-year tourism plan and subcommittee of cabinet focused on the issue.

State Development, Infrastructure and Planning; Olympic and Paralympic Infrastructure and Jobs; Industrial Relations

Jarrod Bleijie

Age: 42
Ministerial experience: Attorney-General and Minister for Justice (Newman government)
Electorate: Kawana

First elected in 2009, Bleijie was a lawyer before entering parliament. His time as the top legal officer under Campbell Newman was not without criticisms.

Treasurer; Investment and Trade; Home Ownership

David Janetzki

Age: 46
Ministerial experience: None
Electorate: Toowoomba South

Elected in 2016, the lawyer and trained pianist was also a senior banking manager before entering parliament. He stood down as Crisafulli’s deputy in early 2022, citing physical and mental health challenges facing his family.

Attorney-General; Justice; CBD Activation

Tim Nicholls

Age: 59
Ministerial experience: Treasurer; Minister for Finance, Natural Resources and The Arts; Government Services, Building Industry and Information and Communication Technology; Child Safety and Sport; Disability Services, Mental Health and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships; Community Services and Housing and Minister for Women (Newman government)
Electorate: Clayfield

First elected as a Liberal MP in 2006, before the LNP merger, Nicholls had worked as a clerk, solicitor and senior associate in a range of law firms, before a stint as the Hamilton Ward councillor in Brisbane City Council.

Police and Community Safety

Dan Purdie

Age: 51
Ministerial experience: None
Electorate: Ninderry

Elected in 2017, Purdie was previously a detective sergeant of police in the Sunshine Coast Child Protection and Investigation Unit, after stints in the state homicide squad and Australian Crime Commission. He lists surfing and crossfit as personal interests.

Youth Justice and Victim Support

Laura Gerber

Age: 39
Ministerial experience: None
Electorate: Currumbin

Gerber was first elected in 2020 and had formerly worked as a Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions prosecutor, and disciplinary prosecutor with the Office of the Health Ombudsman.

Health and Ambulance Services; Medical Research; Women

Ros Bates

Age: 62
Ministerial experience: Minister for Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts (Newman government)
Electorate: Mudgeeraba

Bates was first elected in 2009, having started her career studying nursing and working in clinical and administrative roles across Victoria, and as general manager of the Wesley Gold Coast Hospital.

Transport and Main Roads; Customer Service

Steve Minnikin

Age: 59
Ministerial experience: Assistant Minister for Public Transport (Newman government)
Electorate: Chatsworth

First elected in 2012, Minnikin came to parliament after studying business and economics, working as a shopping centre development and manager, and working as the executive officer of Redland Shire Council.

Energy and Cost of Living; Water and the Construction of Dams; Regional Development and Manufacturing

Deb Frecklington

Age: 53
Ministerial experience: Assistant Minister to the Premier; Assistant Minister for Finance, Administration and Regulatory Reform (Newman government)
Electorate: Nanango

Frecklington was first elected in 2012, ascending to lead the LNP as Opposition Leader to the party’s 2020 election defeat. She has a bachelor of business and law.

Housing and Public Works; Sport and Racing; Olympic and Paralympic Sport and Regional Engagement

Tim Mander

Age: 63
Ministerial experience: Housing and Public Works (Newman government)
Electorate: Everton

Mander was another first elected in the 2012 Newman landslide, having previously been an Australia Post manager, NRL referee, and chief executive of the Scripture Union Queensland. He was Queensland Father of the Year in 2005 and holds a Bachelor of Ministries.

Environment and the Great Barrier Reef; Science and Innovation; Youth

Sam O’Connor

Age: 33
Ministerial experience: None
Electorate: Bonney

First elected in 2017, O’Connor had been a media advisor to federal Liberal MP Stuart Robert after working as a bartender and courtesy bus driver at Labrador AFL Sports Club. He holds undergraduate degrees in biomedical and political science. He was the only LNP MP to advocate for the Voice to Parliament.

Local Government; Disaster Recovery; Volunteers

Ann Leahy

Age: 53
Ministerial experience: None
Electorate: Warrego

Elected in 2015, Leahy was a former electorate officer, station hand, community service worker and part-time TAFE teacher. She is the granddaughter of John Leahy, the first Country Party President in Queensland.

Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

Tony Perrett

Age: 55
Ministerial experience: None
Electorate: Gympie

Perrett was first elected in 2015, and was deputy opposition whip for a period in 2017 before crossing the floor to vote against an LNP motion on gun laws, and told a candidate forum in his electorate this month he voted against decriminalising abortion in 2018 and “would continue to do so”.

Natural Resources and Mines; Fire and Emergency Services; Corrective Services; Rural and Regional Affairs

Dale Last

Age: 60
Ministerial experience: None
Electorate: Burdekin

A former police officer, councillor and deputy mayor of Townsville, Last has received a National Police Service Medal and lists his personal interests as health and fitness, gardening and fishing.

Education; Arts

Christian Rowan

Age: 52
Ministerial experience: None
Electorate: Moggill

A former president of the Australian Medical Association of Queensland and specialist addiction medicine doctor, Rowan was first elected in 2015. That year, he called for a debate on the death penalty for terrorists, and broke ranks with the party in 2019 to argue for pill testing.

Child Protection; Prevention of Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence; Women’s Economic Security

Amanda Camm

Age: 45
Ministerial experience: None
Electorate: Whitsunday

Camm was first elected in 2020 and was previously a councillor and deputy mayor of Mackay, having also worked in non-profits and as a primary producer.

Employment and Training; Small and Family Business; Open Data

Brent Mickelberg

Age: 43
Ministerial experience: None
Electorate: Buderim

First elected in 2017, Mickelberg is a former bank manager after serving in the Army and working as a stockman.

Seniors, Communities and Disability Services; Multiculturalism and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships

John-Paul Langbroek

Age: 63
Ministerial experience: Minister for Education, Training and Employment (Newman government)
Electorate: Surfers Paradise

Langbroek was first elected in 2004, having previously worked as a dental surgeon. He led the party in opposition across 2009 and 2010, and was deputy leader and shadow treasurer across 2015 and early 2016.

Finance and Better Regulation; Integrity in Government

Fiona Simpson

Age: 59
Ministerial experience: None (Simpson did, however, serve as Speaker during the Newman government)
Electorate: Maroochydore

Simpson is the longest serving MP in state parliament, having been first elected as a National Party MP in 1992. She has held several shadow cabinet roles in various oppositions and served as Speaker, and was a journalist before entering parliament.

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