Campbell Newman converts Brisbane home office into war room for tilt at Federal politics
Amid a tilt for federal politics, Campbell Newman has offered a look inside his home, where a rooftop addition acts as a political war room.
Reclining in a blue chair in the living room of his Brisbane home with little chihuahua Sassy on his lap, Campbell Newman reflects on why he’s giving federal politics a shot.
“I'm doing it out of a strong sense of duty, and that sounds old-fashioned,” says Newman, who is standing as a Liberal Democrats Senate candidate in the May 21 election.
“I don’t approach it out of some sort of desire to be involved in politics.”
Around his home in the River City’s inner-northside suburbs are mementos of Newman’s near two decades in and out of politics, which he hopes will soon span all three levels of government.
Magazine covers detailing the race to become the Lord Mayor of Brisbane – which he achieved in 2004 and held the role until 2011 – hang in the kitchen, while copies of the Hansard for his time as Queensland premier – from 2012 to 2015, when he resigned after losing his own seat – sit on a bookshelf in the entrance.
Newman and his wife Lisa designed their suburban family home some 20 years ago.
Built into the side of a hill, it is split across four levels and was designed to be sturdy to raise their two girls and rescue dogs, whose little paws have left scratch marks up and down some 50 stairs while playing.
“It's a really funny house,” Newman explained.
The entry level of the home has many of the bedrooms, with the stairs leading down to a hallway which connects to the sunken kitchen and sitting rooms.
A large deck connects each of the separate rooms and becomes interconnected once two big glass doors are rolled back.
Lower still is the pool.
“It’s got some real idiosyncratic problems,” he says.
“The trouble is (the house) really gets blasted by the sun – it’s a very hot location. In Brisbane, you want to be on the northeast side of the hills; we are on the southwest. So, we don’t get the breeze and the mozzies are at the back door.”
Lisa did note a silver lining: “We feel like winter is a good time to have the doors open. We have beautiful winters here.”
Last year, Newman made headlines when he announced he had resigned from the Liberal National Party, which he had been affiliated with since he entered politics. A few weeks later he revealed he would be running on the Queensland Senate ticket on behalf of the Liberal Democrats.
The rooftop addition in 2019 acts as an office that has now been converted to a war room as the poll edges closer.
He says he decided to change his party alignment after becoming concerned that the LNP had no solid platform.
“I volunteered to help … but that was sort of considered to be too hard,” Newman said.
“I want leaders that are prepared to stand up and tell Australians uncomfortable truths. I went with the Lib Dems, because they actually do have a set of very clear principles.”
Few walls in the home are bare, with art pieces covering most of the walls. Several pieces were handed down from each side of the family, such as the painting of English war uniforms through the 19th and 20th centuries.
Others were gifts, including several works by David Hinchliffe, who served as Labor Party deputy mayor through Newman’s time as Lord Mayor.
While the pair disagree politically, Hinchliffe was commissioned to paint Newman’s official portrait when he became mayor.
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