David Crisafulli
Leader of the Opposition in Queensland
Assumed office
12 November 2020
PremierAnnastacia Palaszczuk
Steven Miles
DeputyDavid Janetzki
Jarrod Bleijie
Preceded byDeb Frecklington
Leader of the Liberal National Party
Assumed office
12 November 2020
DeputyDavid Janetzki
Jarrod Bleijie
Preceded byDeb Frecklington
Shadow cabinet positions
Shadow Minister for Olympics and Paralympics
Assumed office
11 October 2021
Preceded byPosition established
Shadow Minister for Tourism
Assumed office
15 December 2017
LeaderDeb Frecklington
Preceded byJon Krause
Shadow Minister for Environment, Science and the Great Barrier Reef
In office
15 December 2017  12 November 2020
LeaderDeb Frecklington
Preceded byChristian Rowan (Environment)
Tarnya Smith (Science)
Succeeded bySam O'Connor
Cabinet posts
Minister for Local Government
In office
3 April 2012  13 February 2015
PremierCampbell Newman
Preceded byPaul Lucas
Succeeded byJackie Trad
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Broadwater
Assumed office
25 November 2017
Preceded byVerity Barton
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Mundingburra
In office
24 March 2012  31 January 2015
Preceded byLindy Nelson-Carr
Succeeded byCoralee O'Rourke
Personal details
Born (1979-04-14) 14 April 1979
Ingham, Queensland, Australia
Political partyLiberal National
SpouseTegan Crisafulli
Children2
Residence(s)Hope Island, Queensland
Websitedclnp.org.au

David Frank Crisafulli (Italian: [krizaˈfulli]; born 14 April 1979) is an Australian politician who is the current leader of the Opposition in Queensland, holding office as the leader of the Liberal National Party since November 2020. He has been the member of the Legislative Assembly for Broadwater since 2017. He was the member for Mundingburra from 2012 to 2015, holding ministerial portfolios in the Newman government.

Early life and career

Born and raised in Ingham, Queensland, Crisafulli graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism degree from James Cook University in Townsville in 2000.

In 1998, he returned to his home town of Ingham as a cadet reporter at the Herbert River Express. In 2000, Crisafulli moved into television, becoming a journalist with WIN News in Townsville, and was made chief of staff of the Townsville newsroom in 2002. During that time, Crisafulli also worked as a correspondent for The Australian and Sunday Mail newspapers, did weekly work for DMG Regional Radio as a newsreader, and lectured in journalism at James Cook University.

Politics

In 2003, Crisafulli was appointed a ministerial media advisor to the then Howard government Minister and Liberal Senator for Queensland, Ian Macdonald. In 2004, Crisafulli successfully ran for what was then the 100% Labor Party-controlled Townsville City Council, on a conservative platform. In 2008, when the Townsville and Thuringowa councils were merged, he made a deal with Les Tyrell, the former Thuringowa mayor, to run in partnership for the mayor and deputy mayor positions on the new council. He was elected as deputy mayor, an office he held until his resignation in 2012 to run for a seat in the Queensland Parliament. During his second term on Council, he became the chairman of the Townsville City Council Planning Committee.

In the 2012 Queensland state election, Crisafulli was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Queensland in the seat of Mundingburra, as a member of the Liberal National party.[1] He was appointed the Minister for Local Government in the new Newman government. In February 2013, his role was expanded when he became Minister for Local Government, Community Recovery and Resilience.[2] He re-contested Mundingburra at the 2015 Queensland state election but was defeated by the Labor candidate Coralee O'Rourke.[3]

Following his 2015 election loss, Crisafulli and his family relocated to Hope Island on Queensland's Gold Coast.[4] He subsequently ran a small business giving advice about dealing with government and business development opportunities.

In May 2017, he defeated incumbent Broadwater MP Verity Barton for LNP preselection to contest the 2017 election,[5] and subsequently won the Broadwater seat.[6] In December 2017, after the election of Deb Frecklington as Leader of the Opposition, Crisafulli was appointed the Shadow Minister for Environment, Science and the Great Barrier Reef, and Shadow Minister for Tourism.

On 12 November 2020, Crisafulli became Leader of the Opposition in Queensland, after the Liberal National Party elected him as party leader following the resignation of Deb Frecklington.[7]

Political views

Crisafulli describes himself as a centrist[8] and as a decentralist.[9]

Crisafulli opposes allowing trans women to compete against cisgender women in sport and voted for an unsuccessful bill tabled by Katter's Australian Party (KAP) leader Robbie Katter that sought to ban trans women from playing women's sports in Queensland.[10]

Crisafulli opposed the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, but decided not to campaign against it and members of the LNP were given a free vote on the issue.[11]

Crisafulli has said if he is elected as premier, he would not roll back Indigenous treaty legislation. This was despite facing pressure from his LNP party grassroots to do so.[12][13] However On 19 October 2023, a few days after the 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum Crisafulli announced the LNP will be dropping its support for Treaty.[14][15][16]

Personal life

Crisafulli lives in Hope Island with his wife Tegan and their two children.[4] He owns a cane farm near Ingham.[17] He is a supporter of the North Queensland Cowboys rugby league club.[17]

References

  1. "Member Biography - Mr David Crisafulli". Parliament of Queensland. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  2. "Premier announces new Ministry". Department of Premier and Cabinet. 30 March 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  3. "Part 2.15 – Alphabetical Register of Members of the Legislative Assembly 1860–2017 and the Legislative Council 1860–1922" (PDF). Queensland Parliamentary Record 2015–2017: The 55th Parliament. Queensland Parliament. Archived from the original on 26 April 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. 1 2 Houghton, Jack; Potts, Andrew (26 October 2015). "Former minister David Crisafulli has moved to the Gold Coast to relaunch his political career". Gold Coast Bulletin. Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  5. "Newman minister David Crisafulli wins pre-selection over Verity Barton". Brisbane Times. 28 May 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  6. "Queensland election: Winners and losers". 9 News. 26 November 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  7. Lynch, Lydia (12 November 2020). "LNP elects new leader and deputy while recount starts in two seats". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  8. Crisafulli, David (31 May 2023). "Reshaping the Centre-Right in Queensland" (Interview). Interviewed by Kerry O'Brien. Home of the Arts, Gold Coast, Queensland: Griffith University. I'm someone who grew up in regional Queensland who saw the value of hard work and agriculture and I grew up in a conservative household, but I probably drift a little further to becoming moderate as I get older, which is maybe in contrast to how others go. I'm a centrist, I'm a political centrist. I'm not driven by hard ideologies on either the left or the right. I'm driven by making sure that people who go to work can do so and build a business free from the regulation of government. I'm driven to make sure that people who are disadvantaged can be able to get access to a health system to be able to lift their lot in life. I do believe in government conducting themselves with integrity and decency. (34min 34sec)
  9. Crisafulli, David (31 May 2023). "Reshaping the Centre-Right in Queensland" (Interview). Interviewed by Kerry O'Brien. Home of the Arts, Gold Coast, Queensland: Griffith University. Handing control back to the members, ensuring that power was decentralised, which has been my philosophy. It was my philosophy as a minister to hand power back from my desk as Local Government Minister back to Councils. I am a decentralist at my heart. (21min 33sec)
  10. "LNP backs 'dog whistle' motion on trans sport after silent party vote". 12 May 2022.
  11. "Queensland LNP leader to vote against Indigenous Voice". 31 May 2023.
  12. "LNP leader under pressure after supporting treaty laws". The Australian. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  13. "LNP downplays Indigenous treaty backing after revolt". The Australian. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  14. 1 2 Mark, Ludlow (7 July 2023). "David who? Crisafulli 'hungry' for Queensland's top job". Australian Financial Review.
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