After 163 years Qld has its first male Aboriginal minister
One of the new ministers in Premier Steven Miles’s cabinet marks a first in the 163-year history of Queensland Parliament.
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An Indigenous man has been appointed to Queensland Cabinet for the first time, with Lance McCallum named employment minister.
Mr McCallum’s elevation into Premier Steven Miles’ cabinet as employment, small business, training and skills development minister marks the first time in the Parliament’s 163-year history an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander man has served as a minister of the Crown.
He was emotional and bit his bottom lip while outlining his journey to the role.
“I’d like to pay tribute to those that have come before me and have helped pave the way and blaze the trail for me to stand here,” Mr McCallum said.
“I didn’t see many people like me in leadership positions when I was growing up, and it’s hard to be what you can’t see.”
Mr McCallum joins Treaty, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships Minister Leeanne Enoch – a Quandamooka woman – in the cabinet, and Torres Strait Islander Cynthia Lui among the three Indigenous Labor MPs.
“I hope that by being here as part of the Miles Labor government, along with Minister Enoch and the Member for Cook Cynthia Lui, that we can provide some inspiration and leadership for people out there that might be out there watching,” he said.
The trio follow Eric Deeral, the first Aboriginal person elected to an Australian state parliament when he joined the Queensland Parliament in 1974.
Mr McCallum was elected in May 2020 following the resignation of 20-year MP Jo-Ann Miller in the safe Labor seat of Bundamba.
He was re-elected in October 2020 with a 70 per cent two-party vote over One Nation, pushing him into then premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s assistant ministry with responsibility for hydrogen development and the 50 per cent renewable energy target by 2030.
The 50-year-old is the oldest of five children and grew up in a “modest” three-bedroom home in the Redlands.
His father Patrick was the sole-income earner while mother Elizabeth cared for him and his siblings.
In his maiden speech to parliament in May 2020 Mr McCallum said while his family did not have material wealth, they were rich in the things that mattered.
Mr McCallum is from Labor’s Left faction and was previously a public servant and then Electrical Trades Union organiser, who campaigned against Newman government’s asset sales.
Originally published as After 163 years Qld has its first male Aboriginal minister
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