David Littleproud
David Littleproud | |
|---|---|
 Littleproud in 2021 | |
| Leader of the National Party | |
| Assumed office 30 May 2022 | |
| Deputy | Perin Davey |
| Preceded by | Barnaby Joyce |
| Shadow Minister for Agriculture | |
| Assumed office 5 June 2022 | |
| Leader | Peter Dutton |
| Preceded by | Julie Collins |
| Deputy Leader of the National Party | |
| In office 4 February 2020 – 30 May 2022 | |
| Leader | Michael McCormack Barnaby Joyce |
| Preceded by | Bridget McKenzie |
| Succeeded by | Perin Davey |
| Minister for Agriculture and Northern Australia | |
| In office 2 July 2021 – 23 May 2022 | |
| Prime Minister | Scott Morrison |
| Preceded by | Himself (Agriculture) Keith Pitt (Northern Australia) |
| Succeeded by | Madeleine King (Northern Australia) Murray Watt (Agriculture) |
| Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management | |
| In office 6 February 2020 – 2 July 2021 | |
| Prime Minister | Scott Morrison |
| Preceded by | Bridget McKenzie (Agriculture) Himself (Drought and Emergency Management) |
| Succeeded by | Himself (Agriculture) Bridget McKenzie (Emergency Management) |
| Minister for Water Resources, Drought, Rural Finance, Natural Disaster and Emergency Management | |
| In office 29 May 2019 – 6 February 2020 | |
| Prime Minister | Scott Morrison |
| Preceded by | Himself (Water Resources) Linda Reynolds (Emergency Management) |
| Succeeded by | Keith Pitt (Water) |
| Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources | |
| In office 20 December 2017 – 29 May 2019 | |
| Prime Minister | Malcolm Turnbull Scott Morrison |
| Preceded by | Barnaby Joyce |
| Succeeded by | Bridget McKenzie (Agriculture) Himself (Water Resources) |
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Maranoa | |
| Assumed office 2 July 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Bruce Scott |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 4 September 1976 Chinchilla, Queensland, Australia |
| Political party | Nationals (LNP) |
| Parent |
|
| Education | Chinchilla State High School Toowoomba Grammar School |
| Occupation | Rural banker |
David Kelly Littleproud (born 4 September 1976) is an Australian politician who has been the leader of the National Party since May 2022. He has represented the Queensland seat of Maranoa since the 2016 federal election and was a cabinet minister in the Turnbull and Morrison governments.
Littleproud grew up in Chinchilla, Queensland, the son of former state government minister Brian Littleproud. He worked as an agribusiness banker with NAB and Suncorp before entering politics. He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2016. Littleproud was appointed to cabinet the following year, subsequently serving as Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources (2017–2019), Water Resources, Drought, Rural Finance, Natural Disaster and Emergency Management (2019–2020), Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management (2020–2021), and Agriculture and Northern Australia (2021–2022). He was elected deputy leader of the Nationals in February 2020 under Michael McCormack. He retained the position under Barnaby Joyce and successfully challenged Joyce for the leadership following the Coalition's defeat at the 2022 election.
Early life
Littleproud was born in Chinchilla, Queensland. His grandfather George Littleproud served on the Chinchilla Shire Council, while his father Brian Littleproud was a state Nationals MP and government minister.[1] He attended Chinchilla State High School and Toowoomba Grammar School.[2] As of 2019, he was one of the two members of the national cabinet who had no tertiary qualification.[3]
Littleproud was an agribusiness banker before entering politics.[4] He spent 17 years with the National Australia Bank (NAB), including 12 years based in Warwick, Queensland, as district manager (agribusiness and commercial). He joined Suncorp in 2011 as executive manager (business and agribusiness banking) for South West Queensland.[5] As of 2018[update], Littleproud was the owner of Mr Rental Southern Downs, a rent-to-buy business that employed four people.[6]
Littleproud said he first joined the National Party at 6 years old.[7]
Political career
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Littleproud was elected to parliament in 2016, succeeding retiring Nationals MP Bruce Scott.[4]
Within 18 months, Littleproud was elevated directly to cabinet as Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, following a reshuffle of the Second Turnbull Ministry. He was sworn in at Government House in Canberra on 20 December 2017.[8][9]
In November 2018, Littleproud was additionally appointed Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Drought Preparation and Response. Following the Morrison government's return at the 2019 federal election, his title was changed to Minister for Water Resources, Drought, Rural Finance, Natural Disaster and Emergency Management. He re-assumed the agriculture portfolio following Bridget McKenzie's resignation in February 2020 following the Sports rorts affair (2020), becoming Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management.[10]
Deputy leadership
Littleproud was viewed as a potential candidate to replace Barnaby Joyce as National Party leader in February 2018. The position was eventually won by Michael McCormack.[11] On 4 February 2020, following Bridget McKenzie’s resignation, he defeated Keith Pitt and David Gillespie to become deputy leader of the National Party.[12][13] The ballot for the deputy leadership was held simultaneously with a leadership spill in which McCormack defeated a challenge by Joyce. It was subsequently suggested that Littleproud could emerge as a compromise candidate if conflict continues between supporters of McCormack and Joyce.
Leadership of National Party
Littleproud challenged incumbent Nationals Party leader Barnaby Joyce along with Darren Chester in a three-way contest for the leadership of the party on 30 May 2022 after the incumbent Liberal/National Coalition government lost office to the Labor opposition. The Nationals party room got bigger, however, their coalition partner suffered massive seat losses due in part to Joyce's unpopularity in metropolitan electorates.[14][15] Littleproud was elected Leader of the National Party with Perin Davey as deputy, replacing Joyce. The Nationals, per longstanding policy, did not release the results.
Political positions
Murray-Darling Basin
On 14 February 2018, Labor and the Greens voted to disallow a mechanism in the Murray Darling Basin Plan that would reduce the amount of water being returned to the environment in the northern basin.[16]
The disallowance motion triggered a crisis in basin states when New South Wales and Victoria pledged to abandon the Plan as a result. It was widely considered the withdrawal of the two largest states would see the Basin Plan dismantled after it had taken more than a century to strike the agreement.[17] On 7 May 2018, in the lead up to a second disallowance motion that would have blocked 36 environmental water savings projects, Littleproud struck a deal with Labor that both secured the works in question and the 70GL recovery reduction for Northern Basin farmers which had previously been disallowed. This effectively resurrected the Murray-Darling Basin Plan by reassuring Basin states the Plan would be fulfilled as agreed in 2012.[18] In addition to securing the Basin Plan, Littleproud delivered enhanced protections for Aboriginal people in the Basin. This included an Indigenous position on the MDBA board and a world-first $40 million indigenous fund so Aboriginal communities could buy water for either cultural or economic purposes.[19]
Regional Investment Corporation
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Littleproud successfully negotiated with the Senate crossbench for passage of legislation establishing the Regional Investment Corporation. On 6 February 2018 the new laws passed the Senate,[20] breaking a political deadlock that had dragged on months. On 16 May 2018 it was announced that the RIC's headquarters would be set up in Orange, New South Wales.[21]
LGBT rights
In December 2017, Littleproud was one of four members of the House of Representatives to vote against the Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Bill 2017, which legalised same-sex marriage in Australia.[22] Littleproud had pledged to vote according to the majority response of his electorate of Maranoa in the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey, and Maranoa recorded a result of 56.1% against changing the definition of marriage.[23]
In 2023, he called on One Nation leader Pauline Hanson to take action against Mark Latham (One Nation's leader in New South Wales) for a tweet that contained vulgar and homophobic language targeted at Alex Greenwich, a gay man who is the independent member for Sydney.[24]
Climate change
In 2018, Littleproud told The Guardian “I believe the climate is changing. Whether it is manmade or not, I don’t really care,” however by 2023 Littleproud described renewable energy as a ‘virus’ and criticised the Albanese government of running a “reckless race” toward renewables.[25] Littleproud has voted consistently against greater action on climate change, including against net zero emission agreements and the Paris Climate Agreement.[26]
Personal life
Littleproud has three children. He and his wife Sarah announced their separation in 2019, ending a 20-year marriage.[27]
As on 23 October 2021, Littleproud possesses a large share portfolio in the resources industry: he owns shares in BHP, mining company South32, oil and gas exploration company Blue Energy, iron ore company Atlas and engineering company Ausenco.[28]
References
- ^ Burgess, Katie (15 February 2020). "'You get it into your blood': For David Littleproud, politics is a family affair". The Canberra Times. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
- ^ "ABOUT HON DAVID LITTLEPROUD MP". Archived from the original on 6 February 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
- ^ "What Degrees do Ministers in Australia Have and Why it Matters (Guess the top 3!)". Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
- ^ a b "Maranoa – Australia Votes". Election 2016. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 11 July 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
- ^ "Suncorp appoints new agribusiness head for Sth West Qld". Farm Online. 15 June 2011. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
- ^ "Minister defends rent-to-buy business". Armidale Express. 26 February 2018. Archived from the original on 30 May 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
- ^ https://amp.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/may/30/david-littleproud-elected-new-nationals-leader-with-perin-davey-as-deputy
- ^ "Queensland National MP David Littleproud becomes Australia's new agriculture minister". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 24 April 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
- ^ Turnbull, Malcolm (19 December 2017). "Ministerial Arrangements" (Press release). Government of Australia. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
David Littleproud will become Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources. He will bring to the role two decades of experience in agribusiness before he joined parliament.
- ^ "Hon David Littleproud MP". Senators and Members of the Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
- ^ McIlroy, Tom (23 February 2018). "Nationals leadership: who could replace Barnaby Joyce?". The Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 23 February 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
- ^ "Bridget McKenzie quits Cabinet, resigns as deputy Nationals leader". ABC News. 2 February 2020. Archived from the original on 4 February 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
- ^ Worthington, Brett (4 February 2020). "Joyce fails to topple McCormack for Nationals leadership". ABC News. Archived from the original on 4 February 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
- ^ Grattan, Michelle (14 February 2020). "Morrison can only look on as Nationals' 'wicked problem' damages his government". The Canberra Times. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
- ^ "Michael McCormack dismisses claims he will stand down as Nationals leader". The Guardian Australia. 16 February 2020. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
- ^ https://amp.abc.net.au/article/9400160
- ^ "Murray Darling Basin Plan under threat following disallowance motion". The Land. 14 February 2018. Archived from the original on 25 May 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
- ^ "Statement on the Murray-Darling Basin Plan". Department of Agriculture and Water Resources. Archived from the original on 25 May 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
- ^ "New safeguard for Indigenous water rights". Department of Agriculture and Water Resources. Archived from the original on 15 February 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
- ^ "Regional Investment Corporation to go ahead as Coalition agrees to changes". The Sydney Morning Herald. 6 February 2018. Archived from the original on 25 May 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
- ^ "Regional Investment Corporation Based in Orange". farmingahead.com.au. 21 May 2018. Archived from the original on 25 May 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
- ^ "House of Representatives Hansard THURSDAY, 7 DECEMBER 2017". Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
- ^ "Same-sex marriage and the defining image that almost wasn't". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 11 December 2017. Archived from the original on 6 June 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
- ^ "'Take control': Littleproud sprays Hanson over Latham remarks". 3 April 2023.
- ^ https://reneweconomy.com.au/renewables-are-a-virus-where-have-you-gone-david-littleproud/
- ^ https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/representatives/maranoa/david_littleproud
- ^ "MP's marriage breakdown revealed as election looms". South Burnett Times. 8 January 2019. Archived from the original on 6 February 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
- ^ NAPIER-RAMAN, Kishor (20 October 2021). "Holding the country ransom while owning mining shares — guess who?". Crikey. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
Prime Minister: Malcolm Turnbull | ||
| Cabinet |  | |
| Outer Ministry | ||
| Assistant Ministers | ||
| Resigned | ||
Prime Minister: Scott Morrison | ||
| Cabinet |
|  |
| Outer Ministry | ||
| Assistant Ministers | ||
| Resigned | ||
Prime Minister: Scott Morrison | ||
| Cabinet |
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| Outer Ministry | ||
| Assistant Ministers | ||
| Dismissed/resigned | ||
- Living people
- 1976 births
- Leaders of the National Party of Australia
- Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Maranoa
- Members of the Australian House of Representatives
- Liberal National Party of Queensland members of the Parliament of Australia
- National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia
- 21st-century Australian politicians
- Members of the Cabinet of Australia
- Turnbull government
- Morrison government
- People from Chinchilla, Queensland