Anna Bligh

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The Honourable  Anna Bligh  MP
Anna Bligh at Labour Day 2007
37th Premier of Queensland Elections: 2009
Incumbent
Assumed office  13 September 2007
Deputy	Paul Lucas
Preceded by	Peter Beattie
Constituency	South Brisbane
Born	14 July 1960 (1960-07-14) (age 49) Warwick, Queensland
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Australian Labor Party
Spouse(s)	Greg Withers

Anna Maria Bligh (born 14 July 1960) is an Australian politician and the current Premier of Queensland. She has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly since 1995, representing the electorate of South Brisbane.

Bligh is the first woman to be appointed Premier of Queensland, the third female Premier of an Australian state, and the sixth female head of government of an Australian state or territory. She is one of only two female heads of government in Australia (the other being Kristina Keneally, Premier of New South Wales).

At the 2009 Queensland State Election, she became the first woman in Australia to lead her party to a state election victory.

In 2009, Bligh was elected to the three person presidential team of the Australian Labor Party, of which she will remain a part for three years. She currently serves as one of two vice-presidents of the party. From mid-2010 to mid-2011 Bligh will be national party president.^[1]

Contents 1 Before Parliament 2 Early parliamentary career (1995-2005) 3 Deputy Premier (2005-2007) 4 Premier of Queensland 4.1 First term 4.2 Second term 5 Privatisation 6 Personal 7 See also 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Before Parliament

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 to divorcees (for example, her mother was no longer permitted to take Communion) 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 pro-life 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]

[edit] Early parliamentary career (1995-2005)

Anna Bligh was first elected to parliament at the 1995 election to the safe Labor seat of South Brisbane. 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.

[edit] Deputy Premier (2005-2007)

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 in order to focus on attempting to fix the state's troubled health system.

[edit] Premier of Queensland

[edit] First term

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 Governor Quentin Bryce.

[edit] Second term

Labor was returned to government in the state election held on 21 March 2009. There was a swing against the Labor Government, but it still won a comfortable majority in achieving a fifth consecutive win.

Anna Bligh became Australia's first popularly elected female premier.^[5] The two previous female premiers, Carmen Lawrence (Western Australia 1990-93) and Joan Kirner (Victoria 1990-92), became premiers following the resignation of male premiers (as Bligh did), but both were defeated at the following respective state elections.

Anna Bligh is not Australia's first popularly elected female head of government. Rosemary Follett and Kate Carnell were both popularly elected as Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory , and Clare Martin was elected as Chief Minister of the Northern Territory.

[edit] Privatisation

Anna Bligh has announced the privatisation of five government owned corporations:

• 1. Queensland Motorways (Operating the Gateway Bridge and Logan Motorway tolling systems)
• 2. The Port of Brisbane
• 3. Forest Plantations Queensland
• 4. Abbot Point Coal Terminal
• 5. Queensland Rail's Freight arm (QR Passenger services will remain nationalised).

These privatisations follow previous ones, such as the sale of electricity retailing.

Details on how the privatisation will be effected, e.g. by soliciting buyers; or public float, have not been given. Revenues from privatisation are estimated at approx. $15 billion dollars, and reportedly will go towards balancing the QLD state budget.^[6]

Bligh has faced strong resistance from both within her party and the trade union movement, but has steadfastly defended her privatisation plan as 'not negotiable'.^[7]

[edit] Personal

Bligh is set to become one of the eighteen contestants on the first season of Celebrity Masterchef Australia. She plans to highlight Queensland produce in her dishes.

Bligh is married to Greg Withers, a senior public servant, with whom she has two sons, Joe and Oliver.^[8] In November 2006 the Gold Coast Bulletin used genealogical websites to establish that Anna Bligh is the great-great-great-great-granddaughter of William Bligh, who was the fourth Governor of the colony of New South Wales (which at the time included the area that was to become Queensland). William Bligh is best known internationally as the captain of the Bounty when it was overthrown by mutineers in 1789. When presented with the Bulletin's evidence, she said that she was "pleasantly surprised". Additionally the investigation revealed that her great-great-great-grandfather, Duncerino Bligh, was a barrister who served in the House of Lords.^[3]

[edit] See also

• Next Queensland state election

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Anna Bligh

• Official Website
• Campaign Website
• Parliamentary Biography
• Anna Bligh's response to the 2008 Apology

Political offices
Preceded by Peter Beattie	Premier of Queensland September 2007–present	Incumbent
Preceded by Terry Mackenroth	Deputy Premier of Queensland July 2005 – September 2007	Succeeded by Paul Lucas
Preceded by Peter Beattie	Treasurer of Queensland February 2006 – September 2007	Succeeded by Andrew Fraser
New title	Minister for Infrastructure September 2006 – September 2007	Succeeded by Paul Lucas
Preceded by Tony McGrady as Minister for State Development and Innovation	Minister for State Development, Trade and Innovation July 2005 – September 2006	Succeeded by John Mickel as Minister for State Development
New title	Minister for Finance July 2005 – February 2006	Portfolio abolished
Preceded by ?	Leader of Government Parliamentary Business March 2001 – August 2005	Succeeded by Robert Schwarten
Preceded by Dean Wells as Minister for Education	Minister for Education February 2001 – February 2004	Succeeded by Rod Welford
Preceded by Matt Foley as Minister for the Arts	Minister for Education and the Arts February 2004 – July 2005
Preceded by Naomi Wilson	Minister for Families, Youth and Community Care and Minister for Disability Services June 1998 – February 2001	Succeeded by Judy Spence
Assembly seats
Preceded by Anne Warner	Member for South Brisbane July 1995–present	Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by Peter Beattie	Leader of the Australian Labor Party in Queensland September 2007 – present	Incumbent
Preceded by Michael Williamson	National President of the Australian Labor Party July 2010 – July 2011	Succeeded by Jenny McAllister

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