Anna Maria BlighAC (born 14 July 1960) is a lobbyist and former Australian politician who served as the 37th Premier of Queensland,in office from 2007 to 2012 as leader of the Queensland Labor Party. She was the first woman to hold either position. In 2017,she was appointed CEO of the Australian Banking Association.
Bligh was born in Warwick,Queensland. She is a descendant of William Bligh,who is famous for the Mutiny on the Bounty and being the 4th Governor of New South Wales.[1] Bligh grew up on the Gold Coast. Her parents separated when she was 13. She attended Catholic schools until Year 9 and considered becoming a nun. One of her aunts became a nun and another had entered a convent. However,the church's attitude towards divorced people (her mother was no longer permitted to take Communion) reportedly estranged her and her mother from the church.[2]
Studying at the University of Queensland from 1978,Bligh gained a Bachelor of Arts. Bligh traces her politicisation to her first year at University,observing a right-to-march rally in King George Square where people were being hit over the head by the police. Bligh's first involvement in activism was student protests against the Vice-Chancellor Brian Wilson's controversial administrative restructuring within the university. She then went on to be involved in the Women's Rights Collective which campaigned for legalised abortion against the anti-abortion policies of the Bjelke-Petersen government. Bligh's next role was as Women's vice-president of the Student Union. She then ran an election ticket called EAT (Education Action Team) in an unsuccessful bid to oust the faction in charge,headed by the future Goss government identity David Barbagallo. Law student Paul Lucas,Bligh's future deputy premier,was a part of Barbagallo's team. Her 1982 team included the former Minister for Education,Training and the Arts Rod Welford. Anne Warner,who was a future Minister in the Goss Government,was an office holder at the time in the Union. Warner soon become one of Bligh's key political mentors.[2]
She subsequently worked in a number of community organisations,including child care services,neighbourhood centres,women's refuges and trade unions as well as in the Queensland Public Service.
Bligh was the secretary of the Labor Party's Fairfield branch in 1987.[3]
Parliament
Bligh with members of the first Beattie Ministry in 1998
Bligh was first elected to parliament at the 1995 election to the safe Labor seat of South Brisbane,succeeding Anne Warner. A member of the Socialist Left faction of the Labor Party,she was promoted to the ministry following the election of the Beattie government in 1998 as Minister for Families,Youth and Community Care and Disability Services. In 2001,Bligh became Queensland's first female Education Minister. She assumed additional responsibility for the Arts portfolio in 2004.
Education Minister
As Education Minister,Bligh introduced a number of reforms,including a universally available Prep year in every Queensland Primary school,which added a thirteenth year of education and brought Queensland schooling into line with other Australian States for the first time. She lifted the entry age of schooling,while also transforming early childhood education which led to an increase in kindergarten programs from 28% of 3-4 year olds to 94%.
Bligh also oversaw the introduction of “Earning or Learning”laws,requiring all young people aged 15 to 17 to be enrolled in school or in full-time work –effectively lifting the school leaving age from 15 to 17 - the first such laws in Australia.
In July 2005,the retirement of the Deputy Premier and Treasurer Terry Mackenroth forced a cabinet reshuffle,which saw Bligh promoted to the office of Deputy Premier and Minister for Finance,State Development,Trade and Innovation. Bligh's appointment as Deputy Premier coincided with her election to parliament ten years earlier. In early February 2006,Bligh also gained the Treasury portfolio after Beattie relinquished the responsibility to focus on attempting to fix the state's troubled health system. [citation needed]
Premier
Bligh had long been touted as a likely successor to the long-running Premier Peter Beattie,and he publicly endorsed her as his replacement when he announced his retirement from politics on 10 September 2007.[4]
She was subsequently nominated unopposed by the Labor caucus in a deal that saw Paul Lucas from the Right faction succeed her as Deputy Premier. She became the leader of the Labor Party on 12 September. After Beattie formally resigned on 13 September 2007,Bligh was sworn in by the then GovernorQuentin Bryce. Bligh led Labor to victory in the 2009 state election. Bligh lost eight seats from the large majority she'd inherited from Beattie,and also suffered an eight-percent swing on the two-party vote. Nonetheless,due largely to taking 34 out of 40 seats in Brisbane,Labor still won 51 seats out of 89,enough for a comfortable majority. The election marked the Queensland ALP's eighth consecutive election win;the party has been in government for all but two years since 1989.
In 2009,Bligh was elected to the three person presidential team of the Australian Labor Party,to serve until July 2012. She served as National President of the Australian Labor Party for the 2010–11 financial year.[6]
Queensland Floods
Anna Bligh's leadership came to national and international attention in 2011 as she led the response and recovery effort to devastating natural disasters –a series of catastrophic floods across 78% of Queensland,including Brisbane –followed by a category 5 cyclone.
In an emotion-charged speech during a media conference at the height of the crisis,Bligh rallied the state,declaring,"We are Queenslanders. We're the people that they breed tough,north of the border."
Bligh led a major reconstruction program,including a legislated Reconstruction Authority administering a $6bn rebuilding budget.
Economic Reform
As Treasurer and Premier,Bligh held responsibility for a state budget of almost $50 billion. Her reforms include:
Australia's largest infrastructure building program,averaging $15bn (AUD)/year,including new export chain capacity,major new roads and public transport infrastructure and a $9bn ‘Water grid’connecting water storages and constructing new water sources,including a recycled water scheme and a desalination plant to drought proof Queensland's major urban populations.
Major reform of utilities,including the amalgamation of water authorities into a framework structured into supply,distribution and retail corporations of government and the restructure of electricity supply to provide for private commercial retailers,including the sale of Queensland's electricity retailer.
New investments into research,science and innovation –shifting a predominantly resource economy to a knowledge-based,creative economy - this 10-year program of investment saw the establishment of 36 new science research institutes and the ratio of scientists and researchers to population grow faster than any other state.
Privatisation of the bulk freight and coal division of the government-owned railway business in 2010.
Significant new investment in the Arts,including the construction of a new Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) and other cultural infrastructure,which saw an increase in cultural tourism. These new investments,including additional funding support for the performing arts and major exhibitions,heralded a renaissance in Queensland's arts and cultural sector with the Queensland Art Gallery now being the most visited museum in the country.
Bligh led the successful bid for the Gold Coast to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Social Policy
As Minister for Families,Youth and Community Care and Disability Services and later as Premier,Bligh oversaw a number of changes,including;
Implementation of Queensland's first stand-alone Disability Services agency,accompanied by a tripling of budget expenditure to services for people with a disability
Australia's first Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in Orphanages and Institutions,resulting in a compensation scheme,a dedicated counselling service and beneficial foundation for victims
Welfare reforms in remote indigenous communities,linking welfare payments with school attendance,alcohol rehabilitation and counselling programs
Legislated a Preamble to the Queensland Constitution formally recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders,Queensland's indigenous peoples,as first custodians
The first complete overhaul of Queensland's Child Protection legislation in more than 40 years
Introduction of significant new legal protections for those experiencing domestic violence,including in same sex relationships,and carer and elder abuse
New laws to provide for same sex civil unions
Introduction of fluoride into all Queensland drinking water supplies
Privatisation
Bligh announced the privatisation of five government owned corporations:
Coal-carrying rail lines,currently owned by Queensland Rail (QR Passenger services will remain nationalised).
More than 3,000 workers were to be offered voluntary redundancies,just three months after the privatisation of QR National.
Queensland Motorways Limited and Forestry Plantations Queensland were not being sold,but rather being leased for an estimated 50-year lease. Since this announcement,the Queensland Government announced plans to sell Queensland Rail to the public.
Revenues from privatisation were estimated at $15 billion,to go towards balancing Queensland's state budget.[7]
The sale of these assets aimed at removing significant overheads from the Queensland government's debt portfolio,allowing further growth of the government's capital assets,as well as aiding the government to return to its AAA credit rating. Bligh faced resistance from both within her party and the trade union movement,but defended her privatisation plan as 'not negotiable'.[8]
The 2009 annual state conference of the Australian Labor Party –Queensland Branch,passed a motion,moved by then Treasurer Andrew Fraser MP,seconded by Parliamentary Secretary for Healthy Living Murray Watt MP,supporting the sale of the assets,recognising that the sale would allow the Queensland Government to grow its asset portfolio,and retire debt.
Bligh with Kevin Rudd and British Foreign Secretary William Hague at a 2011 barbecue to raise funds for Queensland flood victims.
Bligh's management of and performance during the 2010–11 Queensland floods was widely approved. Labor had been well behind the LNP, led by John-Paul Langbroek, for most of the time since the fall of 2010. However, the following Newspoll saw a record turnaround in Bligh and Labor's fortunes. Labor rose from a two-party deficit of 41–59 to a lead of 52–48, with Bligh's personal satisfaction-dissatisfaction standing going from a negative 24–67 to a positive 49–43.[9] Bligh's recovery in the polls was a factor behind Langbroek being forced to stand down in favour of Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman.[10] Newman had become a national figure during the floods, and polling showed he was the only non-Labor politician who even came close to matching Bligh's popularity during that time.[11]
However, Newman was not a member of parliament, and a by-election could not be arranged to allow him to get a seat in the chamber. For this reason, Jeff Seeney was elected as interim parliamentary leader of the LNP while Newman led the LNP's election team and simultaneously contested the Labor-held seat of Ashgrove.[12] Bligh harshly criticised Newman's move, saying it was irresponsible for Newman to "cut and run" from his post as Lord Mayor while Queensland was still rebuilding.[11] She also hinted that she might call an election a year before it was due. She had previously promised not to call an election for 2011 to focus on recovery, but was concerned that the unorthodox leadership arrangement on the opposition side could make the co-operation necessary for the recovery effort impossible.[13]
On 25 January, Bligh announced an election for 24 March. It was the first time in Queensland history that the voters knew the election date in advance of the parliament being dissolved. Bligh made this decision after learning that the Commission of Inquiry into the 2010–11 Queensland floods would not release its final report until 16 March, rather than the middle of February as originally planned. She wanted Queenslanders to see the report before they went to the polls.[14]
Bligh asked Governor Penny Wensley to dissolve parliament on 19 February, formally beginning the 35-day campaign.[15] She began the race as an underdog; the LNP had regained a substantial lead in polling since Newman took the leadership.
Bligh was dogged throughout the campaign by the perception that she'd misled voters about the asset sales. With Labor sinking in the polls, Bligh conceded in a 13 March interview with the Brisbane Times that in all likelihood, Labor would not be re-elected.[16] The final Newspoll of the campaign appeared to confirm this, showing Labor's support had sunk to only 39.2 percent.[17]
At 24 March election, Labor suffered one of the largest electoral wipeouts in Australian history, and the worst defeat that a sitting government in Queensland has ever suffered, double the previous record-holder of the 1989 election. Labor was reduced from 51 seats to seven, suffering a swing of more than 15 points. This was largely because of a near-total meltdown in Brisbane, which had been Labor's power base for over two decades. The party lost all but three of its seats in the capital, in some cases suffering swings of over 10 percent. Bligh herself suffered a 9-point swing in South Brisbane, and she only overcame her LNP challenger on Green preferences. Ten members of her cabinet were defeated. It was only the sixth time since 1915 that Queenslanders have thrown a government from office in an election.
The next day, with Labor's defeat beyond doubt, Bligh announced she was retiring from politics. She had intended to stay in parliament, but said that the severity of Labor's defeat made her realise the party could not "develop an effective opposition" with her even as a backbencher. She resigned as both premier and state Labor leader that day, and handed her resignation to Wensley the same afternoon, to take effect from 30 March 2012.[18][19] Bligh had intended that the timing of her resignation would allow a by-election to be held on 28 April 2012, the same day as local government elections.[19] She was ultimately succeeded as state Labor leader by her Transport Minister, Annastacia Palaszczuk.
Later reports suggested that Bligh would not be able to formally resign from Parliament until the writ of election for South Brisbane was returned, meaning that a by-election would be too late to coincide with the Brisbane City Council election.[20] But on 2 April, she was declared the winner,[21] and a writ was subsequently issued for the by-election.[22]
After politics
In 2014, Bligh was appointed CEO of YWCANew South Wales,[23] a not-for-profit organisation striving to end domestic violence and build a safer world for women and children. In 2017, she was made CEO of the Australian Banking Association.[24]
As CEO, Bligh led the industry's response to the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, setting out to strengthen bank culture and rebuild trust.
When the Royal Commission interim report was released, Bligh described it as a “day of shame” for the industry and vowed to do “whatever it takes” to regain trust and move the industry from a selling culture to a service culture.
She oversaw the development of an updated Banking Code of Practice and worked with the industry to deliver significant reform.
In 2020, Bligh led the banking sector's response to COVID-19. For the first time, Australian banks agreed to a unified response to assist customers experiencing hardship as a result of the pandemic. Banks agreed to pause loan repayments on almost one million mortgage and business loans for at least six months. The ABA also worked with regulators to ensure that deferred loans would not affect a customer's credit rating. Bligh described the loan deferrals as “a multi-billion dollar lifeline” for customers.
Bligh attributed the banks’ response to COVID-19 to their strong “financial firepower” and their role in the wake of the Royal Commission.
Bligh's memoir, "Through The Wall", was published in April 2015.[26]
In 2017 Bligh was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia for eminent service to the Parliament of Queensland, particularly as Premier, to infrastructure development and education reform, as an advocate for the role of women in public life, and to the not-for-profit sector.[27]
Bligh holds Honorary Doctorates from the University of Queensland and Griffith University.
She is a non-executive director of Medibank Private and a board member of the International Banking Federation (IBFed).
Peter Douglas Beattie 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 Labor Party from 1996 to 2007.
Campbell Kevin Thomas Newman is an Australian former politician who served as the 38th Premier of Queensland from 26 March 2012 to 14 February 2015. He served as the member for Ashgrove in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland between 24 March 2012 and 31 January 2015. He was LNP Leader from 2 April 2011 to 7 February 2015; Newman previously served as the 15th Lord Mayor of Brisbane from 27 March 2004 to 3 April 2011.
One of the six founding states of Australia, Queensland has been a federated state subject to the Australian Constitution since 1 January 1901. It is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The constitution of Queensland sets out the operation of the state's government. The state's constitution contains several entrenched provisions which cannot be changed in the absence of a referendum. There is also a statutory bill of rights, the Queensland Human Rights Act 2019. Queensland's system of government is influenced by the Westminster system and Australia's federal system of government.
Lawrence James Springborg is an Australian politician. He led the National Party in the Queensland Parliament from 2003 to 2006 and again in 2008, before becoming the first leader of the merged Liberal National Party from 2008 to 2009. He led the LNP again from 2015 to 2016 before announcing his retirement. He currently serves as Mayor of Goondiwindi Regional Council, having been elected in March 2020.
The Liberal National Party of Queensland (LNP) is a major political party in Queensland, Australia. It was formed in 2008 by a merger of the Queensland divisions of the Liberal Party and the National Party. At a federal level and in most other states, the two parties remain distinct and often operate as a Coalition. The LNP is a division of the Liberal Party of Australia, and an affiliate of the National Party of Australia.
Bruce Stephen Flegg is a former Australian politician. He was a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 2004 to 2015, representing the electorate of Moggill in south-western Brisbane for the Liberal Party and its successor the Liberal National Party. He was the leader of the state Liberal Party from 2006 to 2007 and served as Minister for Housing and Public Works in the Newman government from April to November 2012.
John-Paul Honoré Langbroek is an Australian politician who has been a member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland representing the centre-right Liberal Party and its successor, the centre-right Liberal National Party, in the seat of Surfers Paradise since 2004. He was Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary leader of the LNP from 2009 to 2011—the first person from the Liberal side of the merger to hold the post. He was a minister in the Newman government before its defeat at the 2015 state election.
Annastacia Palaszczuk is an Australian politician who served as the 39th premier of Queensland from 2015 to 2023. She held office as the leader of the Queensland branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 2012 until her resignation, and has been a member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland (MLA) for the division of Inala since 2006. Palaszczuk is the fifth-most tenured premier in Queensland state history and the first woman to win the premiership from opposition, she also presided over the first majority female cabinet in Australian state and federal history.
Jeffrey William Seeney is a former Australian politician and the former Deputy Premier, Minister for State Development and Minister for Infrastructure and Planning of Queensland. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 1998 to 2017, representing Callide for the Nationals (1998–2008) and merged Liberal National Party (2008–2017).
Rachel Genevieve Nolan is a former Australian politician. She was elected as the state member for Ipswich on 17 February 2001. At the time she was Queensland's youngest ever female MP. She held the seat until 26 March 2012.
Ronan Oliver Lee is an Irish Australian former politician and research fellow in the Institute for Media and Creative Industries at Loughborough University London. He was previously a visiting scholar at Queen Mary University of London's International State Crime Initiative. His research focusses on Myanmar, the Rohingya, genocide, and hate speech. He was formerly a political advisor and Labor and later Green Party member of the Queensland State Parliament. Lee represented the seat of Indooroopilly since he was first elected as a Labor Party member in 2001.
Andrew Peter Fraser is Chancellor of Griffith University, and was formerly an Australian Labor politician. He was first elected into the Legislative Assembly of Queensland on 7 February 2004. He was the Deputy Premier of Queensland, Treasurer and Minister for State Development and Trade of the Queensland Government. On 24 March 2012, Andrew Fraser lost his seat to the LNP candidate Saxon Rice.
Judith Caroline Spence is an Australian politician and former member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland for the Labor Party, from the 1989 election to 2012. She represented Mount Gravatt until 2009, but after a redistribution she switched to Sunnybank, which covered much of the same territory. She was Leader of the House, a role responsible for the co-ordination and management of Government business in the Assembly from 7 April 2009 to 24 March 2012.
Kate Jennifer Jones is an Australian former politician. She served as a Labor Party Member of Parliament in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 2006 to 2012, and again from 2015 to 2020. Jones first represented the seat of Ashgrove until she was defeated by eventual Premier Campbell Newman at the 2012 state election. Jones retook the seat for the Labor Party at the 2015 state election. The seat was abolished prior to the 2017 state election, so Jones contested and won the new seat of Cooper at that election. In the Palaszczuk Government, she was the Minister for Innovation and Tourism Industry Development, Minister for State Development and the Minister for the Commonwealth Games.
Stephen Robertson is an Australian politician, he is a former member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland who represented the electoral district of Stretton for the Labor Party. He was the Minister for Natural Resources, Mines and Energy and Minister for Trade in the cabinet of Premier Anna Bligh. He had previously held the positions of Minister for Health (2005–2009) and Minister for Emergency Services (1999–2001).
The 2009 Queensland state election was held on 21 March 2009 to elect all 89 members of the Legislative Assembly, a unicameral parliament.
The 2012 Queensland state election was held on 24 March 2012 to elect all 89 members of the Legislative Assembly, a unicameral parliament.
The 2015 Queensland state election was held on 31 January 2015 to elect all 89 members of the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Queensland.
A by-election was held for the seat of South Brisbane in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland on 28 April 2012, the same day as local government elections, following the decision of former Premier Anna Bligh to retire from politics. Jackie Trad retained the seat for the Labor Party.
Jacklyn Anne Trad is an Australian former politician. She was Deputy Premier of Queensland from 2015 to 2020, Treasurer of Queensland from 2017 to 2020 and represented the Electoral district of South Brisbane for the Labor Party from April 2012 to October 2020.
1 2 Jamie Walker (3 June 2006). "out of left field". QWeekend Magazine. p.13.
↑ Hubbard, Murray (11 November 2006). "Bligh's spirit Anna's bounty – Deputy Premier revealed to be the captain's direct descendant". Gold Coast Bulletin. p.12.
↑ Matt Wordsworth (25 January 2012). "Qld to have March 24 poll". PM. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
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