Shannon Fentiman

• Di Farmer (Women and Youth)
• Coralee O'Rourke (Communities)

• Solicitor
• Politician

The Honourable Shannon Fentiman MP
Fentiman in 2023
Minister for Health and Ambulance Services
In office 18 May 2023 –18 December 2023
Website	www.shannonfentiman.com

Shannon Maree Fentiman is an Australian politician. She has been the Labor member for Waterford in the Queensland Legislative Assembly since 2015 ^[1] and has served as the Minister for Health and Ambulance Services since 2023. ^[2]

Born in 1983/84, Fentiman holds a Bachelor of Laws (First class honours) from Queensland University of Technology and Master of Laws from the University of Melbourne. ^[3]

Prior to her election to the Queensland Parliament, Fentiman worked as a solicitor for Hall Payne Lawyers. She has previously worked as an industrial advocate for the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union and as a judge's associate in the Supreme Court of Queensland to Justice Atkinson. ^[3]

Fentiman has also been a board member of the Logan Women's Health and Wellbeing Centre, Secretary of the Centre Against Sexual Violence in Logan and the Duty Solicitor at the Beenleigh Neighbourhood Centre. ^[3]

Political career

Fentiman stood for Waterford in 2015 after the previous Labor Member Evan Moorhead lost the seat in the 2012 LNP landslide. Waterford was Campbell Newman Government's third most marginal seat held seat by Mike Latter. Fentiman achieved a 14.3% swing towards her, making Waterford once more a safe Labor seat. Fentiman became a first term minister and was sworn in as Minister for Communities, Women and Youth, Minister for Child Safety and Minister for Multicultural Affairs in the Palaszczuk Ministry on 16 February 2015. ^[4]

After the Palaszczuk Government was re-elected on 25 November 2017, Fentiman was elevated to be the Minister for Employment and Small Business and Minister for Training and Skills Development. ^[5] She is also the Ministerial Champion for the Torres Strait. ^[6]

Fentiman was seen as a candiate for the 2023 Queensland Labor Party leadership election however she didn't run.

Child safety

In September 2016, the State Opposition called for Fentiman's sacking as a Minister following a number of deaths of children in foster care or within the child safety system. ^[7] Two months later, an independent review found misconduct and catastrophic failures by her department in relation to the deaths of seven children. In response, Fentiman said she still had confidence in her department’s executive staff. ^[8] Some two weeks later, it was revealed that three child protection staff had been stood down, and a further nine were subject to disciplinary proceedings following the death of 21 month old Mason Jet Lee in June 2016. The child died with injuries from head to toe after being released from hospital just three months earlier. ^[9]

In 2016 Fentiman announced "zero tolerance" drug testing for parents "where there is any suspicion of drug use", with particular reference to amphetamines. Fentiman stated that parents would be required to consent to an Intervention with Parental Agreement before undergoing testing. ^{[10] [11]}

In 2017 Fentiman announced the hiring an additional 300 Child Safety Staff members to address understaffing issues. ^[12] At the time, Queensland had the highest rate of child deaths of any state in Australia, and was exceeded only by the Northern Territory. ^[13]

During the 2017 Queensland state election, it was revealed that a man with child pornography convictions, Hayden Joel Schofield, was employed in her office. Fentiman said she was "completely shocked and horrified as everyone else". The man had worked there "for less than a month". ^[14] Schofield had been convicted in 2011 for accessing over 60 images. ^[15]

LGBTIQ rights

Fentiman as the Child Safety Minister paved the way in Queensland to allow same sex couples to adopt children ^{[ citation needed ]} with legislation passing the Queensland Parliament on 3 November 2016, with both the Liberal National Party and Katter Australia Party opposing the legislation. LNP spokesperson Ros Bates said that there was no need for the bill. ^[16]

She also supported the successful "Yes" campaign to achieve Marriage Equality in 2017.^{[ citation needed ]}

Free TAFE

Fentiman as Minister for Training and Skills Development introduced free TAFE for school leavers in 2018 and subsequently the free apprenticeship program in 2019 to allow young people access training in key priority areas. ^[17]

Meriba Omasker Kaziw Kazipa Act 2020

In 2017 Fentiman and the then-candidate for Cook Cynthia Lui announced an election commitment to new laws to recognise Torres Strait Island families' use of traditional adoption. For generations, Torres Strait Islanders have supported their children and each other with traditional parenting approaches known more recently as "Kupai omasker". Under the practice, children can be given to other members of the community for a range of reasons, including the maintenance of family inheritance rights, provide an infertile couple with the opportunity to raise a child, strengthen alliances or distribute children of different sexes more fairly. Their guardianship can be transferred to other members of the community, typically extended family. ^[18]

There had been a problem in Queensland law, where such adoptions were not legally recognised by the state's Succession Act 1981, ^[19] with one issue being that adopted children are not able to take on the surname of their adoptive parents. ^[20] On 17 July 2020 the Queensland Government introduced a bill in parliament to legally recognise the practice. ^[21] The bill was passed as the Meriba Omasker Kaziw Kazipa Act 2020 ("For Our Children's Children") on 8 September 2020. ^[22]

References

1. Green, Antony. "Waterford". Queensland Election 2015. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 3 February 2015.
2. Riga, Rachel; Jurss-Lewis, Tobias (17 May 2023). "Meaghan Scanlon tipped to get housing portfolio as Palaszczuk's Queensland cabinet reshuffle takes shape". ABC News. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
3. "Hon Shannon Fentiman". Current Members (including Ministers and shadow Ministers). Queensland Parliament. Archived from the original on 8 November 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
4. "Queensland's new Labor Cabinet sworn in at Government House". Australian Broadcasting Corporation 16 February 2015. 15 February 2015. Archived from the original on 22 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
5. Felicity Caldwell (11 December 2017). "Meet your new Queensland government cabinet".
6. Curtis Pitt (19 July 2016). "All Palaszczuk Ministers to champion Indigenous outcomes". Ministerial Media Statements.
7. "Child Safety Minister Shannon Fentiman rejects call for sacking". 25 September 2016.
8. The Courier Mail, November 6, 2016.
9. "Queensland child safety staff could lose jobs after toddler death review". TheGuardian.com . 23 November 2016.
10. "Drug testing for parents to keep kids safe". Ministerial Media Statements. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
11. Mitchell-Whittington, Amy (29 November 2016). "Mandatory drug tests for parents of at-risk children". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
12. Shannon Fentiman (21 July 2017). "Another increase in Child Safety staff for South East region". Ministerial Media Statements.
13. https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/tableOffice/TabledPapers/2020/5620T33.pdf ^{[ bare URL PDF ]}
14. "Man with child porn convictions worked for child safety minister". ABC News. 18 November 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
15. Murray, David; Akers, Trenton (18 November 2017). "Queensland election 2017: Child porn offender worked in Shannon Fentiman's electorate office" . Retrieved 19 October 2021.
16. Gail Burke (2 November 2016). "Adoption laws in Queensland changed to allow same-sex couples to become parents". www.abc.net.au.
17. "Free TAFE for Queensland school leavers". 31 August 2018.
18. Felicity Caldwell (15 November 2017). "Traditional Torres Strait Islander adoption practices to be acknowledged under Labor".
19. "Succession Act 1981". Queensland Legislation. 25 May 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
20. Rigby, Mark (4 June 2020). "Torres Strait Islanders fear time running out for legal recognition of traditional adoptions". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 9 June 2020.
21. Rigby, Mark (16 July 2020). "Torres Strait Islander adoption practices bill introduced to Queensland Parliament". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
22. "'Historic moment': Queensland now recognises traditional Torres Strait Islander adoption practices". SBS News. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2021.

Parliament of Queensland
Preceded by Mike Latter	Member for Waterford 2015–present	Incumbent